If you look at the concept of ‘God’ as a metaphor for all of our own personal struggles, this song quickly becomes an exercise in self-examination; what have I done? What have we done?

Thankfully married to a satisfying beach-side strum-groove, the hard question comes with a side of easy living. Maybe the lesson is quite simple: remember to enjoy the little things; a cigarette in heaven, perhaps.

“What’s the point of forgiving us
for the sins we won’t stop making
it must take up your time
Do you ever take breaks
from our tearful confessions
and with your angels and saints
enjoy a cigarette in heaven
and be a cool god?”— Jack Symes

And when we are done playing games with self-identity, and collectivism, and personal politics, the question still remains: how committed is this nation, and this world, to being uptight? Did we build a society that has a working concept of a cool God?

Jack Symes is a young, promising artist from Los Angeles, CA. This song is featured on our CHILL NEW Songwriters playlist.