Not the Saddest Song Ever Heard:"Mercy Now" By Mary Gauthier
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matthew 5: 6-7). Every single one of us could us Mary Gauthier is a Catholic who was born in Lousiana. She's had troubles with alcohol and been sober since her late 20s. She founded and cooked for a restaurant in Boston called the Dixie Kitchen. She wrote her first song at age 35. Speaking of those songs-some say she's written the saddest one of all time- a song called "Mercy Now". Maybe it's because I don't mind what is usually considered sad music, but I don't think "Mercy Now" is the harbinger of doom and gloom. Yes, there are broad brushstrokes of painful introspection, but ultimately, "Mercy Now" has a tender heart. Here, Gauthier reflects on her family and friends before zooming out and surveying the funk, pain, and name of the human condition as a whole. We cou...