“Griftwood” shows an arena rock aesthetic, hiding his lyrical theme. The song talks about fake-preachers that use religion as a way to get richer. He has talked about it to Metal Hammer:
About people who will say or do anything to advance themselves. Like these Bible-thumpers, they don’t believe in...
[Intro]
(Yes) Yeah
[Verse 1]
Suffering for The Lord is not an easy thing
Be it a conjuring
So ordained and adored, so immaculate
Ooh, so worth the debt
[Pre-Chorus]
I'm your rock, baby, I won't back down
I'm your rock, baby, ask yourself, ooh
Are you righteous? (Yes)
[Chorus]
You want to play with the sire? (Yes)
You want a view from the spire? (Yes)
You want a seat by the pyre?
And never ever suffer again
(Yes)
(Yeah)
(Yeah)
[Verse 2]
Sacrifice for the horde, leads the way from shame
Be it a loser's game
The disdain and abhorred, lash of the senate whip
Ooh, it's a power trip
[Pre-Chorus]
I'm your rock, baby, I won't back down
I'm your rock, baby, ask yourself, ooh
Are you righteous? (Yes)
[Chorus]
You want to play with the sire? (Yes)
You want a view from the spire? (Yes)
You want a seat by the pyre?
And never ever suffer again (Yes)
You want to console the griever? (Yes)
You want to guide the believer? (Yes)
You and the greatest deceiver?
And never ever suffer again
[Bridge]
Holy Mother
You washeth the sin from my feet
Holy Mother
You shine like the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky
Holy Mother (Mother)
You washeth the sin from my feet
Holy Mother
You shine like the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky
The world rests heavy on your shoulders
Holy Mother
You shine like the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky
[Guitar Solo]
[Pre-Chorus]
I'm your rock, baby, I won't back down
I'm your rock, baby, ask yourself, ooh
Are you righteous? (Yes)
[Chorus]
You want to play with the sire? (Yes)
You want a view from the spire? (Yes)
You want a seat by the pyre?
And never ever suffer again (Never ever suffer, never ever suffer again)
You want to play with the sire? (Yes)
You want a view from the spire? (Yes)
You want a seat by the pyre?
And never ever suffer again (Yeah)
You want to console the griever?
You want to guide the believer?
You and the greatest deceiver?
And never ever suffer again
Griftwood was written by Tobias Forge & Klas Åhlund & Peter Svensson.
Griftwood was produced by Klas Åhlund.
Tobias told Kerrang!:
That song’s about [Mike Pence] and anyone like him who’s willing to soil everything they’ve worked for. They definitely qualify for a front-row ticket to Hell. Which is so ironic, because that’s what they believe in. [People like that] completely demean themselves, and just ea...
Tobias Forge:
I love Hollywood rock like Van Halen and Mötley Crüe, and it just feels fitting to have an uplifting track towards the end of the record. Musically, one thing that inspired the more Sunset Strip elements of the song was knowing that it was going to throw you off with a really long cur...