! CONTENT IS NOT ORIGINALLY BY ME !
A compilation of all Panic! At The Disco songs and their meanings based off of Genius.com with a little bit of my editing. FYI, The second album and onwards, is where pictures start to appear, the debut album is j...
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"I Constantly Thank God For Esteban" is a statement about hypocrites and liars, disguised as a criticism of religion.
Give us this day our daily dose of faux affliction Forgive our sins forged at the pulpit With forked tongues selling faux sermons
This is a play on a a line from the biblical passage know as "The Lord's Prayer."
Faux affliction is a synonym for fake pain and most likely refers to popular preachers pretending to heal "sick" people to gain more recognition. By replacing sustenance with "faux affliction", they imply that that both the preacher and audience rely on the "healings" in one way or another.
"Forked tongues" paints an image of the evil or the Devil himself. They could also be referring to any of the many biblical verse about false prophet . This ties into the later line about preaching with conviction. Since lying is a sin, they must ask for forgiveness for the faux sermons and faux afflictions.
Because I am a new wave gospel sharp And you'll be thy witness So gentlemen, if you're gonna preach For God sakes preach with conviction
By stating he's a "new wave gospel", Brendon cuts ties with his perception of disingenuous music and the artists' that produce it. He's not only associating himself with his own figurative religion (I.e. his music), but also bluntly stating that he's smart enough to see through the lack of conviction (or sincerity) in a lot of other artists' work.
The phrase "You'll be thy witness" fits with the religious metaphors of the song; it is another way of telling the listener, "you'll see" or "I'll show you".
The next line continues the religious imagery. Conviction is defined as the state of being compelled to tell the truth. At the surface, this line seems to be about people who claim to be devoutly religious and obsessed with their faith, yet constantly sin and do hypocritical things. They don't practice what they preach!
On a deeper level, this could be a commentary on the music industry or society as a whole. Some musical artists do what they do as a way to get money, rather than to inspire their listeners, and pretend that their hearts are in the right place. Similarly, people in general sometimes lie about their motives or who they are in an attempt to fit in. Panic! is sick of all this falsehood, and they want people to be more honest.
Strike up the band Oh, the conductor is beckoning Come, congregation, and let's sing it like you mean it No, don't you get it, don't you get it, now Don't you move
Brendon's referring to the church as the "band", making it seem unprofessional, a little childish, and perhaps even entirely staged. The "conductor" would likely be the lead priest, and the "congregation" would likely be the followers of the church.
By telling the congregation to "sing it like [they] mean it", he's insinuating that their faith in the church isn't legitimate, and that they need to sell their religion to the public if they want to be taken seriously.
Just stay where I can see youDouse the lightsWe sure are in for a show tonight
The church acts as though they're the spitting image of thoughtfulness, when in reality they're anything but.
Almost as if calming a wild animal, Brendon serenely sings "just stay where I can see you", before "dousing the lights" on their dishonest agenda. To douse the lights means to suddenly shut off all the lights, leaving everyone in the room in utter darkness. This almost always causes complete chaos, and by metaphorically doing this, Brendon can expose the church for what they've really become, with the complete panic that'll likely be created among the masses as only an afterthought.
Then, the next line is a sarcastic jab at the way the situation will likely be handled. Brendon implies that when the public finally realizes just how hypocritical the church is, it'll be a messy situation, almost as entertaining to watch as a show.
In this little number we are graced by two displays of character We've got the gunslinger extraordinaire Walking contradiction
In these lines, the narrator is pointing out the contrast between people's true personalities and the way that people try to portray themselves for attention and acceptance. They act as if they are a 'gunslinger extraordinaire', someone with talent and skill that is worthy of praise. In reality, though, they are a different person entirely, and are thus a walking contradiction, as the public persona that they try to maintain contrasts with their true personality, which can't be discarded.
And I for one can see no blood from the hearts And the wrists you allegedly slit And I for one won't stand for this If this scene were a parish you'd all be condemned
Those who allegedly slit hearts may be claiming to have broken many people's hearts without having actually done so. This could also refer to people who claim to have a mental illness such as depression, but really do not have such conditions.
These lines are a critique of the stereotypes of the emo/scene culture that Panic! was considered a part of. Emo culture was sometimes associated with self-harm, and as a result some fans may have falsely claimed to do so. Here, the band is calling them out for these lies. It could also be a comment on the way that fans were seen by others- even though many thought that they engaged in self-destructive behavior, that may not have been the case.
The narrator scolds the members of this culture for claiming to do things just to fit in. He compares them to a church, and tells them that if they told such lies about their faith, they would end up in Hell.
