Walking With Jesus

"Walking With Jesus" finds singer Jason Pierce in conversation with the Son of God. Jesus warns the vocalist that his drug-taking and debauchery will cost him in the afterlife, and after thinking about the advice, Pierce decides Heaven does sound like an attractive place. But there's a dilemma: he doesn't think he can get through the rest of his life without getting high, so he asks the Lord for forgiveness and carries on with his hedonistic lifestyle.

This was one of the first songs written by Spacemen 3. They recorded an early iteration for a 1984 demo tape in Rugby before remixing it for their first single, thickening the guitars. Released in November 1986 it peaked at #29 on the UK Independent Chart.

Jason Pierce mentions Jesus' name in many of his songs. Uncut magazine asked him if he considered himself a Christian. "No, I don't," he replied. "I adore gospel music - I've always thought it comes from a place of truth, and I feel like so much music isn't truthful, it's copying somebody else's ideas or style in order to sell something. When I was still in Rugby I discovered gospel and, I guess like rock and roll, I love the language. 'Lord help me' sounds so much more than just 'help me.' With 'Walking With Jesus,' the reference lays out the story, and then makes the rest of the telling of the story easier to do - so it's a kind of a vehicle, and people respond to it, They understand it. I don't believe people listen to my music and say, I better get to church - but they understand it, and it puts ideas across in a way that obviously works on every level. Do I have faith? No, well I probably have faith but not any with religious beliefs. It's impossible to stand in front of those gospel choirs and not be deeply moved."