In episode 56 of Hooked on Creek, I explore the lyrics of Fire & Brimstone by Max Creek and share my thoughts on what the song means.
Mark Mercier’s skillful songwriting in Fire & Brimstone touches on themes of death, mortality, morality, religion and existentialism. I appreciate the song’s powerful reflections on the human condition, its vivid imagery and how the song contrasts judgment and redemption in the verses and chorus. Ultimately, I think Fire & Brimstone is a thought-provoking song that invites me to consider some of life’s most fundamental questions.
This episode features a performance of the song Fire & Brimstone performed live by Max Creek during Camp Creek at Woodstock Valley Ski Area in Woodstock, Connecticut, on August 1, 1993.
Transcript of episode 56
You’re listening to Hooked on Creek, a podcast celebrating the music, history and fans of the legendary jam band Max Creek. I am your host, Korre Johnson, and you are listening to episode 56.
Welcome back to Hooked on Creek. I am glad you are here with me and I am excited to talk more about this band that I love so much. In this episode, I am going to explore the lyrics of Fire & Brimstone and show some love to Mark Mercier as a songwriter and storyteller.
But before I do that, I want to announce that after far too long of a wait, I am finally going to see Max Creek live and in person again! That’s right, I purchased tickets for both nights of the Creekend at the Met in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on January 24th and 25th. My plan is to fly in from Milwaukee on Thursday and leave on Sunday. So, if you are going to be at these shows, please let me know. I would love to see you in real life and share the experience with you. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Met, so I am super excited.
Alright, well one of the things I love about Max Creek is finding lyrics in their music that help me reflect on life and the human experience. A great example of this is the song Fire & Brimstone. For me, every time I listen to Fire & Brimstone I am reminded of the gift Mark Mercier has for songwriting and storytelling, and I am left pondering some of the deepest questions about life, death and the nature of morality.
Lyrically, Fire & Brimstone is filled with religious references and metaphors. From this perspective, the song seems to convey a sense of fear and regret about one’s past sins and a hope for redemption. Our narrator in the song acknowledges their own sinfulness and the impending judgment day, but he also expresses a desire to escape the fiery punishment of hell and find peace in God’s presence.
In full disclosure, I am an atheist so my interpretations of this song from a religious perspective should be discounted accordingly. But nonetheless, it’s clear Fire & Brimstone invites a religious interpretation. That said, one of the many things I appreciate about this song is that although the lyrics reference traditional religious beliefs about heaven, hell and the devil, they also suggest a sense of skepticism and doubt. I think this tension between religious faith and existential doubt creates a fertile environment for our songwriter, Mark Mercier, to tell this incredible story and captivate us in his narrative, regardless of our position on religion.
Now before I attempt to unpack all of the lyrics to Fire & Brimstone, please know it’s totally fine if you disagree with my interpretation of the song. I am just one guy with an opinion and a podcast. Alright, so let’s look at the first verse of Fire & Brimstone by Max Creek:
Old man sittin’ in his rockin’ chair
You know that he don’t know it
But it’s hot as hell down there
Now he’s just sittin’ there and wonderin’
As he runs out of time
Just where in hell he’s goin’ at the end of the line
The song begins with this image of an old man sitting in his rocking chair, seemingly unaware of the impending doom that awaits him. Here, the old man seems to be a symbol of the inevitable passage of time and the approach of death. I think this old man wondering about where he’s going at the end of the line is our anxiety about the afterlife — and this anxiety is part of our shared human condition. I mean, we’ve all sat around and wondered about it. I think that’s normal because it stems from a fundamental desire we all have for meaning, purpose and a sense of continuity beyond our physical existence.
OK, let’s move on and look at the second verse:
Now I’ve been evil and a sinner, too
I know that I ain’t that good
But I’m just as bad as you
Just take a good look around you and you can tell
That one man’s heaven is another man’s hell
Here, I think Mark is raising questions about morality and the nature of sin. The narrator in the song acknowledges his own shortcomings, but insists that he’s no worse than anyone else, as reflected in the lines “Now I’ve been evil and a sinner, too. I know that I ain’t that good, but I’m just as bad as you.” In a way, I think this is suggesting a belief in the inherent equality of human beings, regardless of their actions.
And then the line “Just take a good look around you and you can tell that one man’s heaven is another man’s hell” seems to point to a subjective nature of morality and the idea that what constitutes good or evil can vary from person to person. I love how this verse challenges assumptions about morality and recognizes different people may have different notions of what is right or wrong behavior.
Akright, now let’s look at the chorus:
I’m gonna lay me down
I’m gonna lay me down
I’m gonna lay me down, dear lord
Lay me down by the river
To stay with you
I absolutely love the imagery and symbolism Mark brings into the chorus with these lyrics focused around a river. As a metaphor, a river can represent the flow of life, the passage of time or the boundary between the earthly and the divine, and a river can also be associated with purification and transition.
Here, the recurring plea to “lay me down” by the river seems to reflect a longing for reconciliation with a higher power and a hope for a peaceful afterlife. I think this reveals the narrator’s desire for redemption and forgiveness. I can understand how, for religious believers, laying oneself down by the river can be a symbolic act of surrender in the search for divine mercy.
But perhaps from a philosophical standpoint, this theme of redemption can be interpreted as taking responsibility for one’s actions and seeking authentic self-change. Or if you prefer, laying oneself down by the river can be interpreted as a desire for peace, rest or a connection to nature. Or maybe, it represents a longing for death. So, I think you can take from these lyrics whatever interpretation you want, or maybe need.
OK, let’s move on to the third verse:
Well it’s too late to say you’re sorry
And it’s too late to make amends
And it’s too late to say that you got the time
‘Cause you ain’t got time to spend
Judgment time’s a-comin’, it’ll be here any day
What you gonna do if you waste your life away?
To me, this verse conveys a sense of urgency and the inevitability of facing the consequences of one’s actions. Of course the concept of judgment day is a common theme in many religious traditions, and in this song, the narrator uses it as a reminder that time is limited. But the idea that it might be “too late to make amends” also points to the potential limits of our actions, recognizing some factors might be outside of our control.
But I think the biggest takeaway from this verse is the warning “What you gonna do if you waste your life away?” It just hangs there in my mind, reminding me of the weight of my decisions. It forces me to confront my own mortality and calls for me to live more authentically in the face of this awareness.
Alright, now at this point in the song the chorus is repeated and then Fire & Brimstone transitions into its final verse:
Now, the devil, well he’s a son of a bitch
And a liar so they say
And the devil’s gonna get you my friend
Unless you change your way
Get down by the river and get ready for judgment day
Oh, the fires of hell are gonna steal your soul away
OK, so the exploration of the afterlife and the concept of judgment day is a classic theme in literature and songwriting, and it is well represented again in this verse. I love the line “Now, the devil, well he’s a son of a bitch and a liar so they say” because it creates a sense of tension and conflict between the narrator in the song and the forces of evil. It also suggests that the devil’s power lies in his ability to tempt and deceive humans, which raises questions about the nature of free will and the extent to which individuals are responsible for their own actions.
So after this final verse, the song concludes with a repetition of the chorus, further emphasizing the river as a symbolic place of ultimate surrender and connection with a higher power.
Taken in its entirety, one of the things I love about Fire & Brimstone is the vivid imagery Mark creates through his lyrics. As I listen to this song, my mind paints a picture of a world on the brink of judgment with this old man sitting in his rocking chair facing his mortality and grappling with the consequences of his actions. I mean, if I close my eyes right now I can see it perfectly. And then throw in some references to fire, hell and, of course, the river and I’ve got some great visuals to enhance my musical experience.
Another thing worth noticing in this song is the contrast between the verses and the chorus. The verses contain imagery of judgment, sin and the fires of hell, while the chorus offers a sense of peace and redemption. The verses are harsh and direct, while the chorus, on the other hand, is softer and more introspective. I think this contrast between the verses and chorus creates a dynamic tension within Fire & Brimstone that adds emotional complexity to the song.
OK, so what does all this mean? Well, taken in its entirety, I think Fire & Brimstone is a thought-provoking song that invites me to consider some of the most fundamental questions about my human experience. And now I will again remind you that as an atheist, I am probably not the most credible person to interpret the religious themes in Fire & Brimstone. But that said, I think Mark’s lyrics offer a lot to chew on — even for a heathen like me. So there you go. Fire & Brimstone is a song about death, mortality, morality, religion and existentialism — and that’s why I love it.
Alright, so think about all of that while I play for you an incredible live version of Fire & Brimstone. This is Max Creek performing live during Camp Creek at Woodstock Valley Ski Area in Woodstock, Connecticut, on August 1, 1993.
And that concludes episode 56 of Hooked on Creek. You can find a link to stream or download the music featured in this episode by looking in the episode show notes. And if you have feedback about this episode or want to share what Fire & Brimstone means to you, visit hookedoncreek.com and click the contact link to send me a message. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for tuning in!