Juniper Tree from Speak Boldly by Spencer LaJoye

"Juniper Tree" was inspired by 1 Kings 19:3-8, 16.
The story of Elijah the prophet is totally compelling to me. It's about risking everything - losing it all - for the sake of telling the prophetic truth. When I first sat down to write this song, I read the passage over slowly and was immediately struck by how much resonance it had with my own recent journey of coming out as nonbinary. I felt like my coming out was such an inconvenience to everyone. I felt like I was risking the loss of some of my personal relationships because I demanding people hear the truth. And I *did* lose some of those relationships. I certainly lost some constructs that had kept me comfortable for a long time...but in my telling the truth, I felt like I could finally breathe.
The Juniper tree is not always an easy place to be...it makes us reckon with ourselves, our relationships, the world, and the Divine. And sometimes we lose everything on our way to its shade.
But the truth is always worth it.
Fill your lungs with something holy.

Tracklist

1.	Juniper Tree	3:46

Lyrics

I caused you trouble
I went too far
These off-white shoes don't have their soles, anymore

I crossed a desert
then crossed a line
unchecked the boxes, then I sent them up in fire

And I lost it all
on my way to the Juniper tree
And I filled my lungs with something holy

I hid my head
between my knees
I climbed a mountain, and I mourned myself in peace

I took communion
I took some rest
then heard a faint, familiar whisper in my chest

And I found my soul
at the foot of the Juniper tree
And I filled my lungs with something holy

Fill your lungs with something whole
Fill your lungs with something whole
Fill your lungs with something whole

I walked the desert
back to my home
and spoke aloud the words I needed you to know

I found my soul
in the shade of the Juniper tree
Come fill your lungs with something holy

Credits

from Speak Boldly, released July 24, 2020

License