Review: The Far Country by Andrew Peterson

AKA an album I grew up with

And I long to find it
Can you feel it, too?
That the sun that’s shining
Is a shadow of the truth

It’s funny. Ten years ago, I heard these songs time and time again when my parents played them in the car on roadtrips to my grandparents’ house and on the short drives to church, but I barely thought anything of them. It was background noise. This album came out when I was four months old, so I grew up with it.

But now, that background noise makes up some of my favorite music.

Andrew Peterson’s writing and music has deeply inspired me, and it started back then, before I even realized what was happening—but now The Far Country has got to be one of my favorite pieces of art.

At its core, I’d call this a folk-rock concept album about heaven. The album’s name comes from a quote by German theologian Meister Eckhart: “God is at home. We are in the far country.” It’s a collection of ten songs about heaven, so it’s also a collection that dwells on mortality—life and death—and hope.

The title track dives right into the point that the current earth is not our home; we’re made for something more. I especially love the bridge:

I can see in the strip malls and the phone calls
The flaming swords of Eden
In the fast cash and the news flash
And the horn blast of war
In the sin-fraught cities of the dying and the dead
Like steel-wrought graveyards where the wicked never rest
To the high and lonely mountain in the groaning wilderness
We ache for what is lost

“Lay Me Down,” “Queen of Iowa,” and “The Haven’s Grey” are three tracks on the album that approach the topic of death head-on, but with great faith. In “Lay Me Down,” AP contemplates his own death, because

We are not alone
We are more than flesh and bone
What is seen will pass away
What is not is going home

“Queen of Iowa” is a poignant description of singing with a woman facing a terminal condition.

I could see my illusions scatter
Every time she drew a breath
I could see the heart of the matter:
The heart is a matter of life and death
Well I'll never be the same

— “Queen of Iowa”

And “The Haven’s Grey” is a beautiful Tolkien-inspired song about passing from this life to the next. This is the first of his songs that caught my attention after first reading The Lord of the Rings.

There is no road to bear me from my sorrow
No healing that is deeper than this hurt
My heart is gone away across the water
To the bright, undying shores beyond the world
When I sail
When I sail from havens grey
Caught up on the wind and blown away
I will close my eyes on the Shadowlands
And bid goodbye to all my friends
Parting is the price, it is the price that I must pay
To sail beyond the arms of the havens grey

Like the homage to Tolkien in the last song, “Little Boy Heart Alive” has a lovely little reference to C.S. Lewis’ Narnia in the middle of lyrics about the joy of a childlike faith:

Feel the beat of a distant thunder
It's the sound of an ancient song
This is the Kingdom calling
Come now and tread the dawn

“Mystery of Mercy” (a track that Andrew wrote but was originally performed by Caedmon’s Call) beautifully weaves Biblical imagery with both a reflection of unworthiness and a call of hope. Gotta love the hammered dulcimer!

You are the bringer of the moon and all the seasons
You are the singer of the tune that calls the stars
My God, my God
Oh, why hast Thou accepted me?
You took my sin and wrapped me in
Your robe and Your ring
…
It's a mystery of mercy
And the song, the song I sing

In “Mountains on the Ocean Floor,” AP solemnly reflects on the brokenness of humankind as well as the redemption of God.

There are mountains (Miles away beneath the waves)
Mountains on the ocean floor
They're rising from the deep
Where no one ever sees
…
No one ever knows
There's a molten heart of stone
That is waiting to explode
Only God can see it grow

Track eight is another really special one. “All Shall Be Well” takes Julian of Norwich’s well-known phrase and infuses it with reminders of God’s working through both nature on earth and in the spiritual realm.

Cause all shall be well, all shall be well
Break the chains of the gates of Hell
Still all manner of things will be well
…
There’s a light in the darkness
There’s an end to the night

Now we come to the longest as well as my favorite song on the album—“For the Love of God.” This song is perfect to me. Written (at least partly, I’d assume…if I’m remembering this story correctly!) as a gift for a friend’s wedding, this track is filled with reminiscences of the goodness of God, beauty, and hope (and debatably, bits of humor). While I love the instrumentation on the entire album, the guitar on this song in particular just fills me with peace.

Now, love is not a feeling in your chest
It is bending down to wash another's feet
It is faithful when the sun is in the west
And in the east
It can hurt you as it holds you
In its overwhelming flood
'Till only the unshakeable is left
"This new command I give you," He said
"Love as I have loved"

Last but not least, “More” closes the collection in another quiet reflection, beautifully summing up the idea that this life isn’t all that we’ve got.

There is more than what the naked eye can see
Clothing all our days with mystery
Watching over everything
Wilder than our wildest dreams
Could ever dream to be
There is more

---

While it makes me sad that it took me a few years to realize just how incredible these songs are, something about that makes it feel even more special. While I love them all, this is easily my favorite Andrew Peterson album. I think it just goes so underrated compared to the rest of his work—which is why I wanted to write and recommend it.

Although this is essentially an album of folk music, it blends elements of enough genres—rock, country, bluegrass, and more—that I think a fairly broad audience could enjoy it. The way that truth is conveyed here is always profound and beautiful—never preachy. While it’s sure to resonate with fellow Christ-followers who believe that this earth is not their home, I’d hope that it might even resonate with the spiritually curious or those wondering what a view of the next life could look like.

Give these songs a listen and let me know what you think!