From the recording Love & Dystopia vol.2
This song is about societal unrest with overtures to “end of time” Christian prophecy. It highlights both already realized and potential future consequences for the choices people have made as far back as the Garden of Eden. As the song begins, the nuclear doomsday clock is set at “5 minutes ’til midnight.” As the song advances, so do the hands of the clock, and subsequently, a move toward an “Armageddon” type scenario. The references to knowledge represent both Genesis’ “knowledge of good and evil,” and Oppenheimer’s creation of the atom bomb. Being set "free" refers to man's expulsion from the "Garden." The lyric “let’s see what’s on TV” is commentary about our jaded disconnect with reality. The song ends with the blinding light of a nuclear flash in parallel with the bright light of the return of Christ. The last line of each chorus is a lamentation for the souls of those who cannot see both the truth around them, and also, the reality of Christ.
Lyrics
5 Minutes
It’s 5 minutes ’til midnight, let’s see what’s on TV
Watch closely so you can tell the things that you might need
The lights are dim and they’re fluttering It’s time to say your prayer
Way too late to go back and change some things that need repair
And the hands make another move
And the time passing here with you
Every hour knowing something new, a change is coming
Your innocence was in the garden, then knowledge set you free
Then Jesus came to pay your pardon, but you could never see
It’s 3 minutes ’til midnight, a storm is gathering
The war of words of the people shouting so loud it’s deafening
You keep your thoughts in your silence, remember who you are
You think you’re standing alone and hiding, you’re really not that far
And the world rolling faster through. It’s the time to do what you do
Everything feels alive and new. You hear a calling.
Your innocence was in the garden, then knowledge set you free
Then Jesus came to pay your pardon, but it could never be
It’s 1 minute ’til midnight, the chance has come and gone.
Soon a light in the sky will blind us, each and every one.
We’ll never put back our findings, for the things we’ve found.
It’s been said that your sins will find you, they always come around.
And you dream you are in command. You create with your steady hand
While you weep for your fellow man, while understanding
Your innocence was in the garden, then knowledge set you free
Then Jesus came to pay your pardon, but you just couldn’t see
Your innocence was in the garden, then knowledge set you free
Then Jesus came to pay your pardon, but it could never be
5 Minutes
It’s 5 minutes ’til midnight, let’s see what’s on TV
Watch closely so you can tell the things that you might need
The lights are dim and they’re fluttering It’s time to say your prayer
Way too late to go back and change some things that need repair
And the hands make another move
And the time passing here with you
Every hour knowing something new, a change is coming
Your innocence was in the garden, then knowledge set you free
Then Jesus came to pay your pardon, but you could never see
It’s 3 minutes ’til midnight, a storm is gathering
The war of words of the people shouting so loud it’s deafening
You keep your thoughts in your silence, remember who you are
You think you’re standing alone and hiding, you’re really not that far
And the world rolling faster through. It’s the time to do what you do
Everything feels alive and new. You hear a calling.
Your innocence was in the garden, then knowledge set you free
Then Jesus came to pay your pardon, but it could never be
It’s 1 minute ’til midnight, the chance has come and gone.
Soon a light in the sky will blind us, each and every one.
We’ll never put back our findings, for the things we’ve found.
It’s been said that your sins will find you, they always come around.
And you dream you are in command. You create with your steady hand
While you weep for your fellow man, while understanding
Your innocence was in the garden, then knowledge set you free
Then Jesus came to pay your pardon, but you just couldn’t see
Your innocence was in the garden, then knowledge set you free
Then Jesus came to pay your pardon, but it could never be