The Book of Bieber

""The Story of God" is, simply put, the pop star's Paradise Lost. It's a nearly eight-minute me-and-my-wife-in-the-Garden-of-Eden spoken-word tale where Justin and Hailey as Adam and Eve betray God after a serpent makes them jealous of His powers. What was once horny abundance - "It's a feast, right? / Everywhere you look, taste the explosion in your mouth," Bieber narrates - devolves into chasmic heavenly heartache:"

"Starting with "The Story of God" offered a strangely fitting approach to Swag II. The album actually is sort of like the black-and-pink-houses meme Bieber posted to tease his second album of the summer. July's rebuffed months of speculation about the artist's mental well-being with admissions of imperfections and odes to romantic seclusion. Faith and fidelity will fix any nebulous behind-the-scenes turmoil, Swag suggests, before leaving listeners with a church-service benediction in "Forgiveness.""

Swag II opens with "The Story of God," an almost eight-minute spoken-word Genesis-inspired tale casting Justin and Hailey as Adam and Eve. The track depicts temptation by a serpent that breeds jealousy and leads to humanity's fall, turning sensual abundance into cosmic heartbreak. Gooey ambient synths lean toward New Age rather than gospel. The album moves from confessional admissions and romantic seclusion toward faith, fidelity, and family devotion, culminating in a prolonged devotional closing that praises Hailey, their son, and their dogs while pursuing a long redemptive arc.

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