From the recording What I Heard, What I Saw
"What I Heard, What I Saw" was born from nearly a decade of wrestling with, and re-discovering, some of the stories which fed Kristen’s youth. Pulled from the pages of the gospel of Mark, these songs render flesh and bone, ache and longing to the outcasts, prophets and would-be followers that inhabit those ancient stories. More than that, the album is a confessional: a candid retelling of Kristen’s own journey stumbling through hard questions towards faith, finding meaning in the grit and dust of roads unknown. Collaborating with award-winning producer/guitarist Murray Pulver (The Bros. Landreth, Steve Bell, Red Moon Road), Kristen offers a folk meditation on these challenging narratives which have informed deep conviction and creativity among the religious and non-religious alike for generations.
Lyrics
Oh I could see
It was more than it seemed
The light on your face
Was it something you heard
Coming over the river
Calling your name?
“Oh my son, oh my beloved
Come up to the mountain
Carrying your weight
The wood and the fire
All else is in place
And all the world awaits”
It was something like kissing
The way that it landed
The dove on your skin
And though it started so tender
It seemed to command you away
“Oh my son, oh my beloved
Come up from the river
And go into the wild
To places unknown
Where enemies will find you
Let beasts and angels guide you”
I’ve been ready for years
By the waves of the river
For some kind of change
Then I watched you step out
From the edge of the water
You carried your sandals and you walked like a king
Oh please be the one, some of us will see you
Come running from the desert
To call your people home
And bring us back the fire
That burns beneath our bones
That opens up the seeds to grow
For most of my life
I’ve lived out on the edges
On nothing but honey and sand
So take a word of advice
From a pilgriming brother
Acquainted with wilderness
Oh my son, know you’re beloved
Come back to the river
In all that is ahead
The wood and the fire
Remember what was said
And how the light came down
And crowned your upturned head