Lesbians Teach Me To Pray

I know; I am ridiculously late to this party.

Where have Indigo Girls been all my musical life?

Of course, I had heard of them; heard rumors they were God-haunted; knew they were lesbian; one a pastor/seminary professor's daughter(I even have one of his books), etc. It wasn't any of that that kept me from finding them out..it may have been the folk label.

But I repent; and will make up for lost time.

Tower Records going out of business (as tragic a day it was; and read a great piece by Mile Osequeda here about it's historical marker) was great for my business...tapes and Cds at huge discount...so a cassette (remember those) of the Indigo Girls was an easy choice.

Already two songs, "Prince of Darkness" and "Blood and Fire" nail me.

And this is only their first record; I have a lot of make-up work to do!

I am intense, I am in need, I am in pain, I am in love

And blood and fire
Are too much for these restless arms to hold
And my nights of desire they’re calling me
Back to your fold
And I am calling you, calling you
From 10,000 miles away
..

That the next line is "Babe," and not "Lord"is partly okay with me...I know the song is partly/mostly/completely about Jesus, at heart.

U2's brilliant "Ultraviolet" always irked me because of the throwaway "Baby, baby, baby, light my way." I knew the song was about Jesus, (hello,like eleven out of ten U2 songs..
and later discovered it was from a unique angle: Satan addressing Jesus. Sigh of relief; that's not CCM fodder). So I knew they had a flat out worship song in them..

And I need to remember the anticipation and fear years later when it was announced that U2 was releasing a song called "Yahweh"...would it be(wost fear and best hope) " almost like something by Michael W. Smith.".... When it kind was, I wanted to go back to the "baby" era. Bordered on being to...well, CCM. Sorry, that's another story..and it's here..

At the close of Indigo Girls' "Blood and Fire", when Amy Saliers belts out the "And I'm calling you (You) from then thousand miles away, it not only made up for the 'babe" but chilled me like few vocal moments have .

It was an answer to prayer.

It taught me to pray.

It is passionately and hoarsely belted out,prayed out, cast out...I have no verbs...except if feels like the reversal/"elevated" version of Ann Wilson's famous sex-charged line "kick it out" that ever male my age remembers making them feel...well, nevermind...

It's prayer.

Even if it is about a girl.

I need to read "God and breasts on the beach" again.