I Know You Will

This song is so beautiful. I believe it's about an old friend or lover whom she had a falling out with at some point. It starts out with her reaching out to this person through a letter, asking for forgiveness. But it seems the blame is not all hers, though. The lines "You didn't want to be the right hand to any man / And I can't say you did the best you can" suggest that this person left her for someone else, betraying their principles in so doing.

The song as a concept is very touching, and a few of the lines especially get to me. "I read your letters in all capitals / Will you please pen me another one of those?" Looking through old letters from someone you used to be close with, even silly ones like those that might be written in all caps, is a very bittersweet experience - that Rachael can convey all that with these simple words is really impressive and moving. I also love the bit that goes "Please take my hand / We're going back to high school / To start again." Those lines ring with how much she wants things to be how they used to. The lines also demonstrate how fantastical this desire seems at the point in which this song is being sung; reaching out to someone who you've had a bad break with after a long time and from a faraway place is scary and has to carry with it some doubts as to how well the gesture will be received by the other person. But in this case, as the refrain suggests (and hopes), these doubts are nothing when she thinks of how much love there still is.

I've been listening to this song on a loop lately. I just sent off a letter of my own a few days ago. Awaiting a response...I hope she'll forgive me. No. I know she will. Because I know her well.