J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the stories behind the songs on our 14th single of 2025:
DIVORCE
This song is written from the perspective of someone whose wife has left him for another man, wants a divorce, and refuses to reconcile. The singer is praying to God and asking for wisdom about what to do next. When we started ApX in 1992, I never expected to write a parody about this topic. Then again, back then, I never expected to be able to write about this topic from personal experience, either.
As a kid, if I'd fall and scrape my knee, my mom would comfort me and say, "It'll be better before you're married the second time." She was kidding; my parents almost made it to their 67th anniversary (till death did they part). God says He hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). So do I.
When I first became a born-again Christian, my best friend was separated from his wife, who was in an adulterous relationship with another man. She wanted a divorce, even though they had a young child. He knew the Bible gave him a right to divorce her (Matthew 5:32, 19:9), but he loved her and fought it for as long as he could. However, she wouldn't budge.
God eventually brought a godly woman into his life, and I was best men at their wedding. As I type this, they've been married for 35 years. Over a decade later, I found myself in the same situation with the same ultimate result. I've now been happily remarried for 25 years.
I've seen it happen with others, too. Some reconcile, some remarry, some stay single. But even when a spouse chooses to remain unfaithful, God remains faithful.
"Divorce" features J. Jackson on lead vocals and backing vocals, Tom Tincha on guitars, Rich Mannion on keyboards, Keith Haynie on bass, and Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner on drums and percussion.
TOLD ON HIGH
The gist of this song is that, no matter how far we've fallen and how low we may feel, we have a priest far above who intercedes for us on high.
I didn't pre-plan to put our parodies of "Hold on Tight" by ELO and "The Voice" by The Moody Blues on the same single but, after we did, I noticed some things that sure made it look like they belonged together: The first two major rock concerts I ever attended in the big city (Pittsburgh) occurred two weeks apart during the fall of my senior year in high school — ELO and The Moody Blues.
I saw ELO on October 16, 1981. Their latest single at the time, "Hold on Tight," had just peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the weeks ending October 3 and 10. I saw The Moody Blues on November 1, 1981. Their latest single at the time, "The Voice," had just peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the weeks ending October 3 and 10 ... yes, the same weeks as "Hold on Tight.”
Those two tunes reached even greater heights on the Billboard rock chart — #2 for "Hold on Tight" and #1 for "The Voice" — although not at the same time.
Both ELO and The Moodies were big bands for my brother-in-law Bob, and I used to pore over their album covers in his collection in the late '70s before buying my own stuff. I took French all through high school, so I appreciated the French lyrics in the third verse of "Hold on Tight." Our parallel verse is in English, but I tried to write and sing it in a way that at least sounded French ... un peu, au moins.
"Told on High" features J. Jackson on lead vocals and backing vocals, Tom Tincha on guitars, Rich Mannion on keyboards, Keith Haynie on bass, and Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner on drums and percussion.
