Sawyer Brown's "800 Pound Jesus" Was Nominated for 2 CCMA Awards 21 Years Ago

Twenty one years ago, country music Sawyer Brown released a very unusual song entitled "800 Pound Jesus." The song tells the story of a man who purchases a statue of Jesus. He attempts to commit suicide by hanging himself, but his attempt is thwarted by landing in the statue's arms. The song was so popular among fans of country music and Christian music that it was nominated  by the Christian Country Music Association for both Song of the Year and Video of the Year. 

The song, written by Billy Maddox and Paul Thorn, was released in the year 2000 and it was third single from Sawyer Brown's Curb Records album Drive Me Wild. The song reached number 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Watch the video here.

Songwriter Paul Thorn said the song was really about a real statue of Jesus that was placed in his dad's front yard. Surprisingly, it weathered many storms and remained upright in its position.

Thorn goes on to talk about what the song means to him, "Going deeper though, we can easily relate to the meaning of the full song. Just as Jesus constantly helped the protagonist in the song, he also regularly aid us. We often make bad decisions (thanks to our free will), and thereby suffer tragic consequences.

Always the good God who truly cares about our welfare, he intervenes when necessary. That doesn't mean he'll passively watch first then fix our mess after. Sometimes, he'll knock our noggins. Case in point, we need to heed his instructions. It's for our own good and growth anyway."

Here are the lyrics:

I saw a garage sale
Pulled up in the yard
Found a statue of Jesus
It was eight feet tall
He held out his arms
And he seemed all alone
So I loaded him up
And drove him home

Out by my driveway he
Looks down the street
With his long hair and sandals made
Of rebar and concrete
I painted him white with a long purple robe
He's a rock of ages on our gravel road

He's an eight-hundred pound Jesus
Standing taller than a tree
He's an eight-hundred pound Jesus
A bigger man than you or me

I thought loosin' my job was
The end of the world
Till my best pal ran off with my best girl
I felt suicidal with no real friends
So I walked outside with a rope in my hand

Out by that statue there's a big old tree
So I stood on his shoulders
And I counted to three
I had every intention of buying the farm
But when I jumped off he caught me in his arms

He's an eight-hundred pound Jesus
Standing taller than a tree
He's an eight-hundred pound Jesus
A bigger man than you or me

I wanted to return the favor to him
Cause I never had a more solid friend
So I planted some flowers
All around his feet
And I bought him a flock
Of ceramic sheep

He's an eight-hundred pound Jesus
Standing taller than a tree
He's an eight-hundred pound Jesus

A bigger man than you or meHe's a bigger man
Than you or me 

 

 

Tags : sawyer brown mark miller 800 Pound Jesus Paul Thorn Sawyer Brown Drive Me Wild Curb Records