Perhaps the aGretchen Peters' lyrics have some biblical assimilations, but as far as direct quotes, not from any version of the Bible I've ever read. They're not direct quotes from the Bible. Do they have an affiliation? Perhaps ...
The mother could have died in the fire, accidentally or deliberately, or she could have been taken away by the authorities. The songwriter, Gretchen Peters, deliberately left that question unanswered. But the point of the song is to illustrate what can happen when a woman finds herself in a desperate situation as a result of domestic violence and feels she has to take desperate action. Martina wanted to record the song to warn women in abusive or violent relationships to get help or get out before they find themselves in a tragedy like the woman in the song. Martina says her interpretation is that the mother does NOT die and that she couldn't have recorded the song if she felt that the mother dies.
So obviously, the song is depicts her as a young child watching her father, who was a drunken sot, continually engage in domestic abuse directed toward her mother. Eventually, since "mama was proud and she stood her ground", her mother couldn't handle it any more. Her mother didn't want her daughter to grow up like this, and she had her own solution: Burn the house down.
Was the mother left inside the house and killed as well? This is my opinion, although obviously (as stated above) Martina said "no". I love her music and lyrics, but I don't agree with her here.
"Let weak be strong" -- well, her mother was the weak one always being abused. Let her be strong, if just for today!
"Let the right be wrong" -- Hey, although Martina says in the song, that she doesn't "know if it's right or it's wrong (but maybe it's the only way)", she knows it's wrong. She doesn't want her mother to be judged by God for this. Let freedom ring! Let the right be wrong, if just for today.
"Roll that stone away" -- release my mother from the evilness of my father -- let my mother into heaven, and don't punish her for burning the house down and killing him. Roll that stone away.
"Let the guilty pay" -- obvious. Her mother shouldn't be punished; her father should. Let the guilty pay, and he's the guilty one.
The author cleverly used Biblical assimilations to mock a real life situation, and it fit Martina perfectly. She's a wonderful artist and seemingly wonderful person.
@ivyleaguer Let's take a look at things. As I've written before, Martina McBride (perhaps to her credit, perhaps not) has claimed, in public, in an interview, that the mother didn't die in the fire. How does she know that? She didn't write the song. Maybe she felt that she had spent enough time with the songwriter (Gretchen Peters, in this case) in an attempt to speak for Peters. Interestingly enough, it was McBride who uploaded a video of her interviewing Peters about the song, and when she asked Peters about the background (how the song originated), Peters answered: "Out of...
@ivyleaguer Let's take a look at things. As I've written before, Martina McBride (perhaps to her credit, perhaps not) has claimed, in public, in an interview, that the mother didn't die in the fire. How does she know that? She didn't write the song. Maybe she felt that she had spent enough time with the songwriter (Gretchen Peters, in this case) in an attempt to speak for Peters. Interestingly enough, it was McBride who uploaded a video of her interviewing Peters about the song, and when she asked Peters about the background (how the song originated), Peters answered: "Out of the blue". So, part of it could have been an autobiographical account, but I have never read where Gretchen Peters ever said it was autobiographical.
Interesting: "Let the right be wrong, if just for today"? So, what are we talking about? Situational ethics? Some sort of ethics that justify what arguably was a murder? After all, women in actual, real-life situations in American history, have served serious time for killing their husbands, apparently out of street justice.
What, then? Should we argue for street justice? After all, it wasn't the Revolutionary War with this wife and her husband. -- But maybe some listeners might say, "Yes, it was indeed a Revolutionary War!" I see. How so? In 2023, that kind of activity is often referred to as "street justice". Why the heck didn't the mother run away from her daughter, huh? Why? The song does say, "Everybody looked the other way", and that would seem to include the local authorities -- but why in the world didn't the wife just run away to a nearby town, instead of killing one and maybe killing herself?
Here's another piece of info sort of related to the song. Martina McBride has claimed that she has received letters from abused women. Really? So let's assume she's telling the truth. How in the heck did that song help all of those mothers? Would they be willing to kill their husbands? Aha! Are you suggesting that somehow, some of those mothers should get together and plan on going out and murdering their husbands? So let's say you think it was not murder. Would you accept that it was manslaughter? Think about it: If you were a woman, and you were abused, would it be righteous to commit street justice? But again, I'm assuming some women would answer, "It's not street justice" or "Sometimes, street justice is ethical". Why haven't we seen Martina McBride paying the full defense/healthcare fees of women who have been prosecuted and found guilty of manslaughter and/or murder of their husbands or boyfriends? Has Martina McBride come to the aid of women who have killed their husbands or their boyfriends out of some sort of belief that it was for the greater good? And if so, isn't "for the greater good" a utilitarian argument?
And guess who is one of the most famous Utilitarians in history:
John Stuart Mill.
And John Stuart Mill was an atheist.
Can you be Utilitarian, and still be a Christian? Shouldn't we at least have that discussion?
And, as another listener pointed out, I know of no direct clear Biblical references in the song. Perhaps the songwriter (Gretchen Peters) was "thinking about" her supposed knowledge of the Bible, but I know of no direct reference. In fact, it could be argued that she's actually going against the Bible when she says, "Let the right be wrong".
Isaiah, Chapter 5, in the Bible, says: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil!" But this song arguably says the opposite: "Let the right (good) be wrong (evil)." But listeners will shout at me and say that the song is holy, that the lyrics are righteous." What is their proof? Where's the proof?
@ivyleaguer You claimed that it was (or is) a real-life situation. Are you trying to say that the song was (or is) autobiographical in the case of Gretchen Peters (she wrote the song)? If not, are you saying that the song simply refers to something that, in general, could happen in America? If so, should we be emptying the prisons of all the people who have ever acted out what has been referred to as "street justice"? Is it ever ethical to kill in the situation of street justice? In these United States, there's something called Manslaughter. Women have been...
@ivyleaguer You claimed that it was (or is) a real-life situation. Are you trying to say that the song was (or is) autobiographical in the case of Gretchen Peters (she wrote the song)? If not, are you saying that the song simply refers to something that, in general, could happen in America? If so, should we be emptying the prisons of all the people who have ever acted out what has been referred to as "street justice"? Is it ever ethical to kill in the situation of street justice? In these United States, there's something called Manslaughter. Women have been put away for serious time for killing their husbands. Are you suggesting that such laws, in America are unjust, and therefore evil? And Martina McBride has claimed that she's received letters (supposedly of thanks) from women who were abused by their husbands? Why have they supposedly thanked McBride? What good did she do for anyone?
Perhaps the aGretchen Peters' lyrics have some biblical assimilations, but as far as direct quotes, not from any version of the Bible I've ever read. They're not direct quotes from the Bible. Do they have an affiliation? Perhaps ...
The mother could have died in the fire, accidentally or deliberately, or she could have been taken away by the authorities. The songwriter, Gretchen Peters, deliberately left that question unanswered. But the point of the song is to illustrate what can happen when a woman finds herself in a desperate situation as a result of domestic violence and feels she has to take desperate action. Martina wanted to record the song to warn women in abusive or violent relationships to get help or get out before they find themselves in a tragedy like the woman in the song. Martina says her interpretation is that the mother does NOT die and that she couldn't have recorded the song if she felt that the mother dies.
So obviously, the song is depicts her as a young child watching her father, who was a drunken sot, continually engage in domestic abuse directed toward her mother. Eventually, since "mama was proud and she stood her ground", her mother couldn't handle it any more. Her mother didn't want her daughter to grow up like this, and she had her own solution: Burn the house down.
Was the mother left inside the house and killed as well? This is my opinion, although obviously (as stated above) Martina said "no". I love her music and lyrics, but I don't agree with her here.
"Let weak be strong" -- well, her mother was the weak one always being abused. Let her be strong, if just for today!
"Let the right be wrong" -- Hey, although Martina says in the song, that she doesn't "know if it's right or it's wrong (but maybe it's the only way)", she knows it's wrong. She doesn't want her mother to be judged by God for this. Let freedom ring! Let the right be wrong, if just for today.
"Roll that stone away" -- release my mother from the evilness of my father -- let my mother into heaven, and don't punish her for burning the house down and killing him. Roll that stone away.
"Let the guilty pay" -- obvious. Her mother shouldn't be punished; her father should. Let the guilty pay, and he's the guilty one.
The author cleverly used Biblical assimilations to mock a real life situation, and it fit Martina perfectly. She's a wonderful artist and seemingly wonderful person.
@ivyleaguer Let's take a look at things. As I've written before, Martina McBride (perhaps to her credit, perhaps not) has claimed, in public, in an interview, that the mother didn't die in the fire. How does she know that? She didn't write the song. Maybe she felt that she had spent enough time with the songwriter (Gretchen Peters, in this case) in an attempt to speak for Peters. Interestingly enough, it was McBride who uploaded a video of her interviewing Peters about the song, and when she asked Peters about the background (how the song originated), Peters answered: "Out of...
@ivyleaguer Let's take a look at things. As I've written before, Martina McBride (perhaps to her credit, perhaps not) has claimed, in public, in an interview, that the mother didn't die in the fire. How does she know that? She didn't write the song. Maybe she felt that she had spent enough time with the songwriter (Gretchen Peters, in this case) in an attempt to speak for Peters. Interestingly enough, it was McBride who uploaded a video of her interviewing Peters about the song, and when she asked Peters about the background (how the song originated), Peters answered: "Out of the blue". So, part of it could have been an autobiographical account, but I have never read where Gretchen Peters ever said it was autobiographical.
Interesting: "Let the right be wrong, if just for today"? So, what are we talking about? Situational ethics? Some sort of ethics that justify what arguably was a murder? After all, women in actual, real-life situations in American history, have served serious time for killing their husbands, apparently out of street justice.
What, then? Should we argue for street justice? After all, it wasn't the Revolutionary War with this wife and her husband. -- But maybe some listeners might say, "Yes, it was indeed a Revolutionary War!" I see. How so? In 2023, that kind of activity is often referred to as "street justice". Why the heck didn't the mother run away from her daughter, huh? Why? The song does say, "Everybody looked the other way", and that would seem to include the local authorities -- but why in the world didn't the wife just run away to a nearby town, instead of killing one and maybe killing herself?
Here's another piece of info sort of related to the song. Martina McBride has claimed that she has received letters from abused women. Really? So let's assume she's telling the truth. How in the heck did that song help all of those mothers? Would they be willing to kill their husbands? Aha! Are you suggesting that somehow, some of those mothers should get together and plan on going out and murdering their husbands? So let's say you think it was not murder. Would you accept that it was manslaughter? Think about it: If you were a woman, and you were abused, would it be righteous to commit street justice? But again, I'm assuming some women would answer, "It's not street justice" or "Sometimes, street justice is ethical". Why haven't we seen Martina McBride paying the full defense/healthcare fees of women who have been prosecuted and found guilty of manslaughter and/or murder of their husbands or boyfriends? Has Martina McBride come to the aid of women who have killed their husbands or their boyfriends out of some sort of belief that it was for the greater good? And if so, isn't "for the greater good" a utilitarian argument?
And guess who is one of the most famous Utilitarians in history:
John Stuart Mill. And John Stuart Mill was an atheist. Can you be Utilitarian, and still be a Christian? Shouldn't we at least have that discussion?
And, as another listener pointed out, I know of no direct clear Biblical references in the song. Perhaps the songwriter (Gretchen Peters) was "thinking about" her supposed knowledge of the Bible, but I know of no direct reference. In fact, it could be argued that she's actually going against the Bible when she says, "Let the right be wrong".
Isaiah, Chapter 5, in the Bible, says: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil!" But this song arguably says the opposite: "Let the right (good) be wrong (evil)." But listeners will shout at me and say that the song is holy, that the lyrics are righteous." What is their proof? Where's the proof?
@ivyleaguer You claimed that it was (or is) a real-life situation. Are you trying to say that the song was (or is) autobiographical in the case of Gretchen Peters (she wrote the song)? If not, are you saying that the song simply refers to something that, in general, could happen in America? If so, should we be emptying the prisons of all the people who have ever acted out what has been referred to as "street justice"? Is it ever ethical to kill in the situation of street justice? In these United States, there's something called Manslaughter. Women have been...
@ivyleaguer You claimed that it was (or is) a real-life situation. Are you trying to say that the song was (or is) autobiographical in the case of Gretchen Peters (she wrote the song)? If not, are you saying that the song simply refers to something that, in general, could happen in America? If so, should we be emptying the prisons of all the people who have ever acted out what has been referred to as "street justice"? Is it ever ethical to kill in the situation of street justice? In these United States, there's something called Manslaughter. Women have been put away for serious time for killing their husbands. Are you suggesting that such laws, in America are unjust, and therefore evil? And Martina McBride has claimed that she's received letters (supposedly of thanks) from women who were abused by their husbands? Why have they supposedly thanked McBride? What good did she do for anyone?