I’ve known Stephanie Ford Jessup nearly all of her life; her parents, Tom and Diane are two of the finest people I know and her family is one of the best ever to be called friends.

I accidentally came across her video last week.

Stephanie is an American Sign Language Teacher at Medina High School.

You can easily tell that American Sign Language (ASL) is a very visual language…I’ve come to learn over the past week that with Signing, the brain processes this linguistic information through our eyes…what I love about this language is what Stephanie does so awesomely:

THE SHAPE, PLACEMENT, AND MOVEMENT OF THE HANDS, AS WELL AS THE FACIAL AND BODY MOVEMENTS, ALL PLAY IMPORTANT PARTS IN NOT ONLY CONVEYING INFORMATION, BUT ACTUALLY EXPRESSING AND MAKING IT UNDERSTOOD.

Heavy stuff, huh…but WHAT WE JUST SAW is feather light and more, inspires you to float about the what is said or heard, but begs to be experienced.

SO. . .what about the song that was being signed?

Uh-Ohhhhhhhh. . .tricky stuff no matter how we communicate or are communicated.

The Lyrics:

MY LOVER’S GOT HUMOUR
SHE’S THE GIGGLE AT A FUNERAL
KNOWS EVERYBODY’S DISAPPROVAL
I SHOULD’VE WORSHIPPED HER SOONER

IF THE HEAVENS EVER DID SPEAK
SHE’S THE LAST TRUE MOUTHPIECE
EVERY SUNDAY’S GETTING MORE BLEAK
A FRESH POISON EACH WEEK

“WE WERE BORN SICK” YOU HEARD THEM SAY IT

MY CHURCH OFFERS NO ABSOLUTES
SHE TELLS ME ‘WORSHIP IN THE BEDROOM’
THE ONLY HEAVEN I’LL BE SENT TO
IS WHEN I’M ALONE WITH YOU

I WAS BORN SICK
BUT I LOVE IT
COMMAND ME TO BE WELL
AAAY, AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.

TAKE ME TO CHURCH
I’LL WORSIP LIKE A DOG AT THE SHRINE OF YOUR LIES
I’LL TELL YOU MY SINS SO YOU CAN SHARPEN IN YOUR KNIFE
OFFER ME THAT DEATHLESS DEATH
GOOD GOD, LET ME GIVE YOU MY LIFE

IF I’M A PAGAN OF THE GOOD TIMES
MY LOVER’S THE SUNLIGHT
TO KEEP THE GODDESS ON MY SIDE
SHE DEMANDS A SACRIFICE

DRAIN THE WHOLE SEA
GET SOMETHING SHINY
SOMETHING MEATY FOR THE MAIN COURSE
THAT’S A FINE-LOOKING HIGH HORSE
WHAT YOU GOT IN THE STABLE
WE’VE A LOT OF STARVING FAITHFUL

THAT LOOKS TASTY
THAT LOOKS PLENTY
THIS IS HUNGRY WORK

TAKE ME TO CHURCH
I’LL WORSHIP LIKE A DOG AT THE SHRINE OF YOUR LIES
I’LL TELL YOU MY SINS SO YOU CAN SHARPEN YOUR KNIFE
OFFER ME MY DEATHLESS DEATH
GOOD GOD, LET ME GIVE YOU MY LIFE

NO MASTERS OR KINGS
WHEN THE RITUAL BEGINS
THERE IS NO SWEETER INNOCENCE THAN OUR GENTLE SIN

IN THE MADNESS AND SOIL OF THAT SAD EARTHLY SCENE
ONLY THEN I AM HUMAN
ONLY THEN I AM CLEAN
OOOH OH. AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.

TAKE ME TO CHURCH
I’LL WORSHIP LIKE A DOG AT THE SHRINE OF YOUR LIES
I’LL TELL YOU MY SINS SO YOU CAN SHARPEN YOUR KNIFE
OFFER ME THAT DEATHLESS DEATH
GOOD GOD, LET ME GIVE YOU MY LIFE.

Your interpretation?

When I asked Stephanie for permission to use this, she warned me that one of the interpretations of this song is related to gay people who go to church seeking to worship God but instead are told they won’t go to Heaven unless they’re Straight and about the countless frustrations of having a partner and others looking down and condemning them.

True enough, look at the original YouTube video of the song.

Some say it slams the Church for trying to be the Church.

The author, Hozier himself said that the song is not really about either:

“THE SONG IS ABOUT ASSERTING YOURSELF AND RECLAIMING YOUR HUMANITY THROUGH AN ACT OF LOVE. TURNING YOUR BACK ON THE THEORETICAL THING, SOMETHING THAT’S NOT TANGIBLE, AND CHOOSING TO WORSHIP OR LOVE SOMETHING THAT IS TANGIBLE AND REAL”

Pssssssst. . .all of that means nothing, not even what the writer of the song/lyrics, does it?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?

Not just this song or any other. . .but what’s

C O M M U N I C A T E D

what’s actually Said
what’s actually Heard

Really. . .

It’s one thing to hear the lyrics
It’s one thing to see the Signs
It’s one thing to watch the facial expressions
It’s one thing to observe the body movements
It’s one thing to KNOW the Person Signing
It’s one thing to interpret it through your filter and experiences. . .

Just when you think you’ve GOT IT
when it comes to Communication
Uhhhhhhhhhhh. . .
YOU DON’T

Is there such a thing as a Universal Language?

UNSPOKEN
but
HEARD,
UNDERSTOOD?

Maybe not. . .

Maybe not if it doesn’t Universally includes us ALL

Hear That
Speak That
Experience That

SHARE THAT. . .anyway it needs to be heard, spoken, experienced, Understood

Always

ALL-WAYS!

It’s so much more than just The Sign of the Times.