| Julien Baker – Rejoice Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| This song takes me back to that transitional stage where you are trying to figure out your own identity after high school. When you grow up going to church, there's always going to be a lot of doubt once you go out on your own, especially at a public university. There's a number of directions each lyric could go, but "over the fence, veins are black", obviously we are not talking weed here. Typically black veins means black tar heroin, but the black could just be a metaphor for a negative substance. Regardless, the scenario seems like she passed on the park bench after likely taking heroin, and then the blue lights that "caught" her are the police. The majority refers to her battle with drugs and reaching out to a higher being, assuming God. Smoking and then not being able to quit due to the shakes, referring to withdrawal. The confusing part of this though is that before she mentions veins, injections, but here mentions smoke. It could just mean weed or cigarettes, but could also be referring to crack-cocaine. "asking why did you let them leave and then make me stay?" could mean a couple things. It could be referring to her friends going away to college while she stayed pretty close to home for school. More likely, it is referring to her friends that have overdosed. She has said many times she has a hard time writing songs that are not about death, and this is obviously one that is. In the end she says "know my name and all my hideous mistakes" referring to confessing her "mistakes"/sins to God and then rejoicing in the end. "He hears me either way" adds to this, God hears her even though she may see herself as less than. | |
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