Meaning of “Fate of the Faithful” by Greta Van Fleet
All things considered, there could only be one of two general ways of interpreting the song “Fate of the Faithful”. Either it is sarcastic in nature, or it’s one of those tracks whereas the vocalist, in a roundabout way, is alluding to his lack of faith in a Higher Power.
Under our estimation, the former is more likely the case. Greta Van Fleet is a band whose lyrical style is such that there cannot be a consensus as to what this song means unless the band itself issues a statement.
And to the best of our knowledge, they have yet to do so, meaning that we have to climb this mountain ourselves. So there’s a high probability that everyone is going to agree with this analysis. But the best theory we can come up with is “Fate of the Faithful” serving the purpose of Josh and the gang mocking musicians and the such who think they’re cool with God but actually aren’t.
Indeed, the world “God” is mentioned three times in this song, which is a lot considering it doesn’t contain that many words to begin with. And in all three instances, it can be argued that the vocalist is singing about those who have fallen out of grace with the Most High.
For instance the chorus implies that “the God song” which “the blessed people” apparently favor (as referenced in the first verse) is one that is disillusioning them, i.e. their belief system being unable to save them from ‘burning in the end time’.
“Hail, the God
song
All trill to the tune, devout reprise
Hail, the eon
We knelt on this slab, the blessed people
We fought for
the fable, ah
But instead we burn
And in the end of time, oh
Left an empty urn”
And the second verse seems to focus on a singer who was once on “God’s acre”, which we will take as meaning cool with the Most High, but her songs no longer adhere to such a standard.
So it can be reasonably argued that this piece is aimed at religious-minded folk who have fallen off due to their own hubris or inability to remain on a straight path. Greta Van Fleet is a band who is known to incorporate Christian and spiritual ideas into their music.
And it may be that this song is meant to speak to the phenomenon of how musicians of all genres these days tend to imbue their music with religious references while at the same time not striving to adhere to any type of related standard.
THE TEAM BEHIND “FATE OF THE FAITHFUL”
The labels backing this outing are Lava Records and Republic Records, with this track being a part of “Starcatcher”, the Greta Van Fleet LP that came out on 21 July 2023.
The members of this group – Danny Wagner and siblings Jack, Sam and Josh Kiszka – all get writing credit for “Fate of the Faithful”, as does the track’s producer, Dave Cobb.
