Meadow [Story Board]
Of all the songs on this record, this is the one I feel most “at home” in. Melodically, lyrically, and instrumentally I simply feel like myself. It is harder than it sounds to write a song that I can be completely at ease in! What I mean is, I feel like 17 year old Jillian could sing this, and I also feel like 75 year old Jillian could. Bits of the first verse and chorus spilled out one quiet afternoon at home (during that cherished baby-is-napping hour of the day) but the song didn’t grow into itself fully until it was met with exactly what it needed…my friend David Leonard! I had never written with David before we wrote Meadow together, and it was one of the most natural and refreshing writes I had been a part of in a while. I am a fan of David’s musical sensibility and I’m so grateful he was willing to lend it to this song.
A few days after we wrote Meadow I came back to David’s studio in downtown Franklin and recorded the vocal on a beautiful demo track he had created, and that was that! I loved how he had built the song out sonically, and singing the vocal felt a lot like singing a song I had been singing for years. For that reason, Meadow quickly rose to the top of a large pile of songs I had been writing for my next record. It became the all encompassing theme of the album - a deep rest and assurance in the kindness and faithfulness of God that holds you up when things get dark. It’s the name of the record as a whole because “meadow” is the name I have given that secret place of abundance within me that is the life of Christ. Life circumstances certainly don’t always look like a peaceful meadow - but the truth is, as a beloved child of God surrendered to his love - we always have a place of peace to run to within the presence of God.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. Ps. 23:1-2
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Ps. 23:6
