Paul Cauthen’s “The Book of Paul”: Sonic Gold, Spiritual Confusion

Paul Cauthen’s songs are that Mormon girl you wanted to date in high school but couldn’t because she was Mormon. My first taste of that forbidden fruit was his banger “Cocaine Country Dancing.” I’m not trying to hear songs about cocaine, but it’s a sonic gem. Still, I choose truth over chaos. Later I landed on “Country As Fuck.” I don’t mind some cussing, and the guy’s got chops, but shouting “bout to start a new religion” isn’t funny to me. It’s sacrilegious. I never heard King David sing, but I feel his words: “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.” Cauthen would do well to humble himself before the throne of the living God, lest the Lord rebuke him in His wrath…

This past year, Cauthen kept showing up on my Instagram feed. He seemed like a nice guy, not a total pagan. As if the wanton wickedness that once looked inviting had proved itself a fleeting mist. It seems Paul got married and even has a kid on the way. I can appreciate that; while the rest of the rockers are cocaine country dancing and playing the harlot, Cauthen answered the call to marry and be fruitful and multiply. I was pleased. Maybe Paul found the straight and narrow and the blessed yoke of Christ the King. With growing optimism, I saw him often reference “God” in his posts. Not vague nods to a distant deist God, but gratitude toward the specific God of the Bible. It felt like that Mormon girl started going to a local Baptist church and was back on the market. A win for everyone.

At the same time as Cauthen’s reforms, there were announcements of the forthcoming album “Book of Paul.” The Bible reference wasn’t lost on me. I secured a promo copy of “Book of Paul” and listened to it while I was working, not really paying attention just yet to the lyrics, but to the music. It was, of course, as you’d expect, mostly sonic perfection. Knowing I’d review the album, I found a recent interview with Cauthen and gave it a listen. I learned a lot about the walking contradiction that is Paul Cauthen. A few of note:

• He comes from four generations of pastors (Church of Christ).
• He said the lessons of his youth, especially on the Lordship of Christ, are coming back to him now. These are things his grandpa taught him.
• At 10, his granddad (whom, I think, raised Paul) died but left him a handwritten list of 10 things: keep God first, take care of your mom, find a God-fearing woman. Those marked Paul.
• Now, with a son on the way, he wants to pass those same eternal truths on to him.

So far so good.

But, (most) things never really are black and white, are they?

On one side of his mouth, he tells us what ultimate truth is, where his allegiance stands, what matters to him. But on the other, he deceives himself, clings to a life of folly, keeps the rebel image, and doubles down on sin. At one point the interviewer, who is clearly a Christian and just as puzzled as I am, said, “you’ve had some wild times.” He replied, “I’ve still got some wild times ahead of me.” What’s that supposed to mean? “Wild” like riding broncos, or “wild” as in kicking off the law and Gospel of God?

Can Christ be crucified twice?

I often wonder if Joseph Smith (the inventor of Mormonism) was a pious fraud or a diabolical tool in the hand of Satan. I’m not saying Cauthen is a false prophet, but what are we to think when he tells us that he prays before each show, asking to be used by God as he goes out and performs. He prays that he might glorify God, and that “my pulpit is the stage,” and all manner of pious talk, yet when he gets on stage, you wonder what sort of “sermon” he preaches from there. “Well, it’s all on the Book of Paul.”

The album opens with the title track, and listeners instantly see that a potential reform has happened to Paul:

I’ve cussed, I’ve drank, I’ve kicked the lights out

I’ve toked, I’ve coked, I blew the house down

This hell raising fire turned ashes to the ground

Sweep ‘em up, throw them out

Cause there’s a new man in town…

Now, you’d expect, after acknowledging the folly of one’s life, and especially speaking in the past tense as if a change has taken place, that we’d hear about the new man in town and what he is animated by, what drives him, what his conduct is shaped by, and how he operates in the world. But not so fast, this is what we get:

“I’d do it all again”? I might be wrong, but it seems that this song (and the album, and his comments from the interview referenced above) show us a man who is confused at best and an apostate at worst. The Apostle Paul, in one of his books, tells readers not to look at their face in the mirror and then walk away and forget what they look like. Has Paul Cauthen heard the truth and exchanged it for a lie? How can we continue in sin once we’ve died to it? Now, of course, it is one thing to struggle with a sin (say I have a wicked propensity to being a jerk to people and then I act on that, and when I’m done I say with the Apostle Paul, “O wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death?” and grieve over my sin, even in some small degree, then that shows the Spirit of God is at work in me). Yet, you’ve got the sort of people who don’t just struggle with their wickedness, but they exchange the truth of God for a lie and call evil “good” and good they call “evil.”

You will know a tree by its fruit.

Another line in the same song shows Paul’s double talk, acknowledging sin while, it appears to be, celebrating it:

Again, perhaps I’m reading brother Paul wrong. But we as Christians are called to give no uncertain sound, yet what we hear from these words is confusing and doesn’t offer the listener hatred of sin and love of Christ.

All that to say, Paul Cauthen comes off as a hypocrite. I know that’s a strong word, but it’s a reality. If he is a Christian, then he needs to lean into Christ and “be holy as [God is] holy” and be “hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”

I might be wrong, and I hope I am, but you can see for yourself on April 3rd when Cauthen’s “Book of Paul” comes out.

Paul, brother, if you’re reading this, share this with your pastor and elders, get their feedback, and bring this all before the Lord, for He is worthy.

A few thoughts on some of the songs:

• “Book of Paul” theologically and lyrically is one huge contradiction, but sonically it’s perfection.
• “Ain’t No Crime” hit best while doing some shade tree mechanic work.
• “Texas Swagger” is, if I recall, Cauthen’s attempt at a Texas state song. It’s a proper rodeo jam.
• “Blue Denim and Black Gold” isn’t written by Cauthen. Here we have a great tune with mediocre storytelling. All the pieces of a classic are there, but the story lands at a junior college level.
• “Dark Horse” shows Cauthen’s hipster/indie rocker roots and could’ve been a Mumford and Sons song before they went dumb.
• “Cigarettes and Billy Graham” is the best song of the album, maybe the best song of the year (well, this or “Gary” from Stephen Wilson Jr.). When you get the album, go straight to this cut. Listen to the chorus of “Cigarettes and Billy Graham” and tell me that doesn’t sound exactly like a Montgomery Gentry song. The verse could be a Tim McGraw radio hit, and even though real cowboys don’t rock the Kenny Chesney, the intro and music sound just like that. But don’t be ashamed, this is a hit.
• “Road Dog” feels like a 2010 indie rock track (think The Lumineers or Fleet Foxes). The whoops in the chorus are nails on a chalkboard.