lifeblood: songs: backgrounds: rise up

2015-10-17: e.s. 2004, official indigo girls "a year a month blog" on tumblr:

i love all the we let in, and getting to tour with brady, clare, and carol and play all those songs was sweet. the songs reflected the disturbances of the time, particularly the u.s. invasion of iraq, in "tether" and the title song. i was depressed by the war and bush's administration and i felt anxiety about the upcoming presidential election. i tried to make sense of the big and the small, the events of now and the huge, sweeping hand of history in "all that we let in" ("one day those toughies will be withered up and spent, the fathers, sons the holy warriors, and our president...").

i still think that "come on home" is one of my best songs, or i should say, one of the very few that i almost feel "proud" of because i was able to capture just what i wanted to say. obviously the song is rife with war imagery, suffering, and betrayal.

but my personal arc bends more towards hope and resurrection than complete despair. "free in you" was inspired by a great visit and writing session in nashville with my friend, annie roboff, and "rise up" was all positive vibe. joan osborne slayed her vocals on that one ("move your body to the music and rise up!"). incidentally, i played the lead on "rise up" with amy's high-strung guitar and, although we rarely played the song live that year and never do now, it is my favorite lead of mine.