Music Series: New Person, Same Old Mistakes

Here I will examine the lyrics of a known secular song to digest it from a Catholic Christian perspective. Of course, this is all just interpretation and perspective from one angle. This is essentially me making connections that the songwriter may or may not have been trying to make, but it still fits the perspective nonetheless. It's all just fun and games at the end of the day.

Tame Impala is a psychedelic rock band from Australia. Filled with multi-instrument, multi-band musicians and a lead singer known for his high falsetto, Tame Impala have steadily grown in popularity over the years. Their most recent album, Currents, has taken more of an electronica tone in the psychedelic rock realm, which makes the tunes all the more catchier and accessible to people who prefer the electronic to the rock. One of that album's hits, New Person, Same Old Mistakes, has garnered popularity in part due to being covered by Rihanna and for being used in promotions for the new FX series Atlanta. With a groovy bass and soft falsetto echoes, New Person, Same Old Mistakes is musically attractive and top notch. Yet, obviously it's the lyrics that concern us here.

To me, New Person,Same Old Mistakes could be talking about a recent convert, someone who has just recently turned away from a life dedicated to sin in order to turn towards a life of discipleship for Jesus Christ. There is essentially one main character, that I'm naming Tommy.This man Tommy is trying to inform his old friends about his conversion. These old friends are not convinced about the Christian life and faith in God. So the fear of the friends telling Tommy to drop Christianity and return to life without God gives Tommy pause. Here are the opening lyrics:

"I can just hear them now

'How could you let us down?'

But they don't know what I found

Or see it from this way around"

Tommy understands his friends, understands them very well. The friends almost feel betrayed by this conversion, seeing it as an act of stupidity. They would view the conversion as stupidity because they do not understand the point of Christianity and their view of Christianity/ God cannot allow them to understand. Yet, Tommy does understand, he does see the point of Christianity, which is why he converted. Of course, since this is still a new way of life and the life of a Christian disciple is a hard one, Tommy has to struggle, both with himself and with the people around them.

"Two sides of me can't agree...

Going with what I always longed for"

Tommy has two sides because he has two approaches on how to proceed in life. He could either revert back to his old way of life, ignoring time to pray, serve the needy, attend church, or any other activity that brings Christians closer to God. Or, he could choose to do those acts of discipleship despite any challenges or hardships he may have to face along the way. These two ways of life do not match up and cannot agree because they both have different purposes. Yet, we hear Tommy choose to go for what he has 'always longed for', which makes us think that he chose the right path, the harder path. Perhaps he has always longed for truth, understanding, God, or a lifestyle of ethics and morals that makes right and wrong more clearly defined.

"Feel like a brand new person

(But you make the same old mistakes)

I don’t care I’m in love

(Stop before it’s too late)"

Tommy feels like a new person. Maybe he was recently baptized or confirmed in his faith. Maybe this new Christian way of life is so different from the previous way of life that Tommy has truly transfigured who he is and what he stands for. He is new creation in Christ now and he understands that something is different. He is so new, however, that not every action he takes differs from the actions in his past. Whether it is in the back of his mind or something that his friends have said previously, there is something telling Tommy he is not different enough, that he is still doing things that he used to do before the conversion. The convert fights back with a counterargument that he is 'in love'. He has fallen in love with God and has chosen to pursue Him despite the setbacks and criticisms.

"I finally know what is love

(You don’t have what it takes)

(Stop before it’s not too late)

(I know there’s too much at stake)

(Making the same mistakes)"

Here is something that sounds Scriptural in this particular context. The first letter of St. John tells the reader that God is love. Tommy, through this conversion experience, has discovered God and knows that God is love. However, these repeated mistakes and the criticisms are still in the back of Tommy's mind. Perhaps even some of these lines, like 'too much at stake' and 'same mistakes' are coming from Tommy specifically, bringing back the two sides not agreeing. Either way, it is a duel and struggle, where Tommy believes he is on the right path, but there is still some resistance from outside as well as inside for him to be fully convicted.

"I know you don't think it's right

I know that you think it's fake

Maybe fake's what I like

Point is I have the right

I'm thinking in black and white

I'm thinking it's worth the fight"

Here is Tommy's rebuttal to his friends and the criticisms those friends have thrown around. Again, we understand that Tommy understands his friends. To me, Tommy even throws in a witty bit of sarcasm. The third line 'Maybe fake's what I like' can be Tommy's facetious response so that he can tell these old friends that he has faith and trust in his conversion experience. Tommy has the right to choose God or not, both in terms of law and free will, and the old friends cannot stop Tommy from pursuing God. Through this conversion experience, Tommy realizes that he is starting to see the world with a less relativistic mind. Knowing the truth means that things are black and white, right or wrong, in most cases. This new point of view, to Tommy, is worth taking on these doubts and criticisms because of the truth Tommy finds in God.

"Man, I know that it's hard to digest

But baby this story ain’t so different from the rest

And I know it seems wrong to accept

But you've got your demons, and she's got her regrets"

Again, Tommy understands his friends. He knows that since these friends cannot see this conversion and cannot see Christianity from the same perspective that he can, it is challenging for these friends to fully comprehend Tommy's experience. Yet, Tommy knows he is not the only one who has gone through this conversion experience. There are many other people, especially in contemporary Western society, who once ignored or abhorred the Christian faith until life and God led them to a conversion experience where they take on the discipleship of Christianity. Tommy even gets to tell his friends that they have stuff to work on and overcome in a struggle before having a similar conversion experience. Some friends have demons, personal struggles and grudges, that they have to overcome. In one particular case, a female has a past experience that she regrets. Maybe this girl left Christianity or misunderstood or mistreated Christian people in the past.

"A realization is as good as it gets"

At the end of the day, Tommy can only tell his friends so much and try to relate to them so much. If they are still confused as to why Tommy has chosen to convert , the most basic message he can leave them with is that he has come to realize love and truth in the Christian faith. If they cannot accept that, which the rest of the song tells us that they can't at this time, then they will never fully understand and be able to comprehend Tommy's conversion and his new life in God.

In some ways this song reminds me of the parable about the sower and the seed in Scripture. "A sower went out to sow...Some [seed] fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it" (Matthew 13: 3-7, NAB). Tommy could be the seed in the first scenario here, where he is springing up very instantly in his conversion experience. He is having trouble because at the moment he is in shallow soil and lacking deep roots in his faith life. Tommy can also be the seed in the second scenario if he sticks around his friends and lets their words get to him. The friends, being the thorns due to their words and actions, can choke Tommy's faith and relationship with God if he is not too careful.