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Listened to @derekwebb& #39;s "She Must and Shall Go Free" tonight for the first time in years. This album was instrumental to me in my twenties and, like much of Derek& #39;s music, seemed to be the soundtrack to my inner spiritual (and eventually political) struggles.
I haven& #39;t listened to it in years because Webb& #39;s own views on his beliefs have changed, and I find it hard to reconcile that album with his current songwriting (which often, but not always, still captures many of my own struggles and thoughts).
It& #39;s not Derek& #39;s fault I haven& #39;t listened to it; it& #39;s mine. It& #39;s a fear that I will listen to it and find it hollow, devoid of the meaning and power I once found in it.
B/c it so deeply syncs with so many of my core beliefs (although the more Reformed sides have left), I didn& #39;t want to listen and have it come up empty. I didn& #39;t want to listen to "Lover" and find I no longer found Jesus beautiful or hear "Wedding Dress" and be unconvicted.
And yet, I was able to listen and still see the beauty and still feel resonance. Baggage may have shifted over time, but the core is still there and it& #39;s beautiful to me.
And regardless of whether Derek still believes the words, the songs are still the songs. He wrote them then, but it still moves me now. And that& #39;s the crazy thing about art that makes it a form of magic.
So, thank you, Derek, for an album that changed my life back in 2004 and is just as beautiful today. I needed to hear those words today and find that I can still find meaning in them.
