PatchMusic - Dispatch, Braddigan, Pete Francis, Chadwick Stokes and State Radio Fansite

Lyrics & Tabs

Elias

Elias is a man from Zimbabwe, where Chad had lived after High School in 1994. He lived there with elias and his family in a city divided into 25 sections; they lived in section number 17 which had the best soccer team in the whole city untill but they lost against section 5.
Chad started writing this song in Zimbabwe but after he returned to the USA he wasn't able to send letter to Elias because Zimbabwe refused mail coming from the USA (and other countries) so Chad completed writing Elias in the USA and the song made it on the first Dispatch record called "Silent Steeples".

This song became a staple at dispatch concerts, too. it was always played with percussions and accoustic guitar, Chad would play the notes A-E-D-F#m-E low and Pete woul play the same note higher, while Brad played the percussion. this song was always played the same way but they left room for improvisation, fro example they integrated different songs before the last chorus. (e.g. Madonna with 'Like A Prayer') the live version on under on the DVD 'Under The Radar' is very nice. and the version on all points bulletin' in front of 110.000 people is amazing! This song is magic for the crowd and all the Dispatch fans around the globe.

The first part of the song is written in Shona which is the language of Zmbabwe. These words should give hope in times of desperation. Chad explained this part on the 'Under The Radar' DVD saying: "It means, 'if you are strong, then I am strong'."