Where Can I Go?

This is the first song Jonathon and I have written together by collaborating throughout the process–tossing music and lyrics back and forth from start to finish–so the song took many forms before it arrived at what you hear it today. I was drawn to this psalm because it dealt with images of darkness and light, and because it is the story of someone who is running from God. In the psalm the writer speaks of trying to hide in darkness, but that it is impossible because “even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”

The first version of this song attempted to include all the beautiful imagery from the psalm, but it didn’t seem to work. After playing with the music, Jonathon and I settled into a feel that reflected the theme of “running from”–music that evoked a journey. From there I threw out most of the original lyric, and explored the themes from the feel of the music. Things began to fall into place.

This psalm is not just about a journey away from, but also a journey to discover. In the end the psalmist wishes to be caught.

-Emily Clare Zempel