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Trial By Fire....Is it really that simple?
by Thom and Brent Meyer

Trial By Fire might be the best album never to be heard by the casual Journey Fan. The album netted Journey their only Grammy nomination for "When You Love A Woman", but the album was so much more than that one song.

After a 10 year hiatus, the band came back together with maturity and perspective like never before. In my opinion, this was reflected in their songs, and in the tone of the majority of the album took on. There were a few surprises, both good, and well, let's just say interesting. Unfortunately, being gone 10 years did not harm the band members, but it was enough time for fans to lose their interest. The group was up against many issues after a decade away. Music changed considerably, their core fan base had matured beyond high school prom songs, and the impact of multi-media and video had truly killed the radio star. As a fan of this album, it frustrates me to know that it did not get into the hands of many of the people who would truly appreciate it and was never accepted in the public sector. The strides it did make are now overshadowed by the controversy that soon followed. Even now, the band seems to underplay the quality of this CD in lieu of promoting their reincarnation. Much debate has ensued over who's fault this might be, but regardless of blame, the fact remains that the album is largely overlooked. I like to take the radical approach when looking at a song or an album. I enjoy offering to the reader the perspective that may have never crossed the mind of the musicians and/or authors, but that seem to remain a valid explanation of the lyric. In a previous piece here on the website, "Don't Stop Believin', or is it really that simple" you get a good flavor of my style. In this article I will explore the title song from this little appreciated album. This song spoke to me from the very first time I heard it, and sometimes I think I am the only one out here who heard it's brilliance. Again, that might be because the way I listen to it in my own world of make believe, it appears so complex and different. Without further ado, I'd like to offer you the meaning and a closer insight to the masterpiece that would be "Trial By Fire". Let's start with the first verse.

Treasures in the jars of clay
let the light shine out of darkness
fallen down but not destroyed
It's Just another Trial by Fire

This is in fact similar to the Phoenix like character and references on the album cover. A phoenix representing the rebirth of something from it's remains or previous ashes, this represents the band. The Treasures in a jar of clay are the songs within the band that had been housed waiting for the light to shine and to allow them to then share the treasures with the rest of us. The light had been shielded by the jar but now appearing out of the darkness and the members, while wounded, were not killed though their experiences, and are now making an offering in their resurrection.

In my song I'll send a prayer
Do you know me do you hear me?
Where's the will to face this shame
It's just another Trial by Fire

Here the band members are meekly making a move toward reuniting with their loyal following. However talented and well received, they remain meek not knowing the true feelings within the fans after a 10 year hiatus. To "send a prayer" is to hope and wish for the best not knowing the outcome, all coming through song of course. As they approach meekly they once again ask if they are remembered and if they are welcome, almost as if to say "hi, um, remember me?" Following is their acknowledgment that shame is part of the reunion, the shame that they left without saying good bye and for leaving when so many of us were still willing to follow. So after asking "remember me?" they go on to say to themselves "we need strength, they might be mad at us...you aren't upset are you?"

Hello Mr. Moon
Can I have some time with you
Trouble keeps me running
you can see it coming ...........I know who shines down on you

The moon here is a great reference. It is both the theoretical man in the moon and the theory of a blue moon. In this sense, if you combine the two you have a "blue man in the moon" who will listen at times and understand when you are at your most desperate hour. To share your secrets with someone who doesn't talk back, always listens, and is visible and known to everyone is to have a best friend with whom you can confide in. For instance to share your innermost thoughts like "trouble keeps me running"; which is to admit you are wrong in the way you deal with life. "You can see it coming" clearly states this "best friend" understands and can see the destructive nature of these tendencies. Finally, the song states that at least the "blue man in the moon" has someone who shines down on it, something good, a greater power, the sun, a comforting entity to which it can draw upon.

Hello Mr. Moon
I've come back to talk to you
all my life I'm runnin' from the love thats comin'
saving grace please pull me through

The song/author continues to converse with it's understanding and loving, yet body-less, counter part; the blue man in the moon. He goes on to say that once again I am back to talk to you, to seek comfort in you. I confide that I in fact run from any and all love that seeks me, it scares me and I do not know how to cope with it. I am desperate and tired of running from something so good offered by so many. It goes on to wonder what is wrong with me? Ending by pleading...I am a desperate, wayward man, I have been running and am tired. Let me take comfort in you and in my hour of desperation, please pull me through.

In my doubt I can't believe
like a wave tossed where the wind blows
Tears of faith temper my soul
It's just another Trial by Fire

Now this is getting deep. "In my doubt I can't believe" is about as deep a statement as you can make. It is to say that I understand so little that I am not even sure I am capable of doubting what I can't understand. (Deep! I told you!) The analogy of a wave in the sea which is a slave to the wind and at the mercy of it's will, continues to clearly state exactly how
lost and helpless this quest has been for this person. What quest you ask? The quest to find what we can not understand, the desire to leave what was real and to see a transcendent ideal of love and peace found nowhere but within. In fact, if it could not be found on the road in front of fans, or in a hotel alone late at night, or even in the solitude of a touring bus it was never to be found at all because within is the only place to truly find that love and the peace that comes with it. Finally, the tears of faith are an external acknowledgment that the transcendent oasis within exits, and it is finally understood that by shedding these tears the soul is comforted and relieve of the incredible burden it carries.

You see I never once mentioned the meaning of the phrase "trial by fire". That is because hidden in all of this is the irony it is all very simple. The clearly painted pictures that exist only in the words of this song are just the explanations and the exclamation marks that surround the uneasy return of the band after a long time away. It is a fact that even superstars feel this lack of self-confidence and worry of rejections. Elvis being concerned that his highly successful television special (and return to the public eye) that aired in 1968 is a clear example of the superstar returning to the fickle fans. Journey in this case never realized anywhere near the success as Elvis did, but they were well known and loved by many. To them this reunion and offering to the fans was scary and without confidence. Talking to the moon, acknowledging your faults, wanting more than you had, praying, all the while realizing that you are good and desirable, are all indications of a plea for unconditional acceptance of your return. In the end the simple irony is that they had no way to plan it. There was no precedence in their lives to fall back on. They were naked unto their creators, the fans, and did not know how to act or how to return but to ask for understanding and to admit that they were without experience thus the whole effort, the entire experience was nothing more than learning and coping as they go, the classic definition of "Trial By Fire"! The fact is that they don't know what they are doing any longer or how to go about it. But they collectively decided what the heck, we will do our best and adjust along the way, and we will succeed through our approach...Trial by Fire.

Sure, I warned you that this analysis would not be conventional. I hope it was less annoying than it was thought provoking. I don't assume the song is all about Steve Perry, but I do assume that all the members experiences came together to paint this masterful picture. Go listen to it again after reading this article, and tell me there is not a tear in your eye or a pain in your heart knowing that it was the beginning and the end, one in the same for this carnation of Journey. I hope you enjoyed the ride!