On God: Vampire Weekend’s Albums-long Battle with Faith and Religion

Throughout Vampire Weekend’s last four albums, front man and principal songwriter Ezra Koenig has covered several bases — oxford commas, relationships, social class, and … God?

Written by Myah Taylor

Photo courtesy of Rolling Stone

After ditching a college ethos and straying away from their affinity for the world beat sounds inundated throughout Vampire Weekend (2008) and Contra (2010), the Columbia-educated indie-rockers grew up on their third album, Modern Vampires of the City (2013). On Modern Vampires, the colorful melodies of Vampire Weekend's first two projects remain, but the lyrics are much heavier, as Koenig dives into themes of mortality, existentialism, and his own inner-conflict with faith and religion. But the theological discussions Koenig, who is Jewish, opens up aren’t merely surface level; they’re personal.

Koenig’s struggle to believe is perhaps best articulated on fan and critic favorite “Ya Hey.” With its title playing off ‘Yahweh,’ God’s personal name in Hebrew, and use of biblical references in its lyrics, “Ya Hey” portrays Koenig talking to God directly about his hesitance toward faith. 

In the first verse of “Ya Hey,” Koenig justifies his reservations by pointing to the lack of love God has received from not only the general population, but his own people, the Israelites (Zion). “Oh, sweet thing,” Koenig sings, “Zion doesn't love you, and Babylon don't love you. But you love everything.” This dichotomy between God’s everlasting love for mankind and the world’s general apathy toward him, faith, and religion seems to establish a disconnect for Koenig who goes on to sing, “Oh, you saint. America don't love you, so I could never love you in spite of everything.”

God’s anonymity also proves troublesome for Koenig. In “Ya Hey’s” chorus, he references the account of the burning bush from the Book of Exodus when the voice of God, concealed by the blaze, asks Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt on behalf of ‘I am,’ which also translates to ‘Yahweh.’ “Through the fire and through the flames, you won't even say your name. Only ‘I am that I am.’ But who could ever live that way?” Koenig muses.

Although God is called by numerous names throughout the Bible, ‘I am,’ or ‘Yahweh,’ is the holiest of them all — so holy that religious Jews refuse to ever utter the word, using names such as ‘Lord’ or ‘Adonai’ instead. Despite his uncertainty surrounding God’s identity, Koenig shows reverence toward the holy name by singing the phonetically similar phrase,“Ya Hey,” throughout the song, rather than saying the actual word.

Regarding “fire and flames,” the idea of hell weighs heavily on Koenig, who suggests no one could be “right” in their faith on the provocative track “Unbelievers.” “If I'm born again / I know that the world will disagree,” Koenig sings after the chorus of church organs open the song. “Want a little grace / But who's going to save a little grace for me?” Other verses reference the “fire awaiting unbelievers'' and sinners, as well as Koenig’s musings of whether or not the world has planned this fate for him.

On “Everlasting Arms,” Koenig grapples with the confusion between his own free will and God’s sovereignty, suggesting the two can’t coexist. “If you’d been made to serve a master, you’d be frightened by the open hand, frightened by the hand,” Koenig questions. “Could I have been made to serve a master? Well, I’m never gonna understand, never understand.” But the emotional weight really comes at the beginning of the track when Koenig admits that religion and pursuing God’s counsel only brought him “to ruin,” so he pleads to be “left to himself.”

Throughout Vampire Weekend’s latest LP, Father of the Bride (2019), Koenig continues his use of religious imagery, albeit in a way that seems more accepting of faith, rather than rejecting.

On “Bambina,” Koenig takes on the perspective of a devout Christian facing religious persecution, and juxtaposes the speaker with a modern Christian who rejects any type of violence. Then on “We Belong Together,” Koenig’s pairing of the “lions and lambs” refers to Jesus Christ, who, according to the vision in the Book of Revelation, is both the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb who was sacrificed for the sins of the world. The Book of Revelation also references God’s people, the Church, being reconciled in Christ and coming together with him in a marriage. In this instance, God is the Father of the Bride (the Church), the album’s namesake. 

The religious cynicism heard on Modern Vampires of the City seems to dissipate on Father of the Bride. But uncertainty still remains. “I’ve been cheating through this life, and all its suffering,” Koenig sings on the sunny single “This Life.” He questions, “Oh, Christ, am I good for nothing?”

It’s unclear where Koenig stands regarding his faith. Underneath Vampire Weekend’s catchy hooks and quirky word play are a multitude of questions. And though it may seem Koenig has given up on religion entirely, his lyrics would suggest he’s still searching for answers.