New, But Hardly Improved

The first time I ever heard this song was in this video, and I was instantly captivated. The almost fairy-tale imagery, brought down to earth by the confessional, terrifyingly grown-up third verse -- this was astounding songwriting, I thought.

The Church Sisters have made this song a fixture in their sets ever since this 2013 performance, and several YouTube folks have captured different performances of it on video. So, why would I choose this clip, mistakes and all?

Because, ultimately, the song is about honesty, and the girls have since started singing this in the third verse:

So, what are we doing on the seventh floor
Of a high-rise apartment, dreaming of more?

It's a surprising change, given that these girls, their parents, and their producer/mentor, Grammy-winning bluegrass artist, Carl Jackson -- are evangelical conservatives. Given that they don't mind driving loyal supporters to unfollow them on social media, just to escape their hateful rhetoric.

So, what are the original lyrics?

So, what are we doing on the seventh floor
Of a high-rise apartment, praying for more?

It's a small change, but it means everything in terms of declaring who you are. I mean, I'm a climate change-affirming, LGBTQ-loving, Black Lives Matter-supporting, ministering-to-poor-folks liberal, but I'm also a Christian, and nobody makes me do or say otherwise just to calm folks' nerves.

Here's to authenticity ... folks.

In the meantime, here are The Church Sisters with "Love Will Be Enough" -- 'cause that's not ironic, or anything.