Forgiveness the single is available everywhere, here you go: joeylandreth.lnk.to/forgiveness

Video produced by Mike Latschislaw!
Camera 2: David Warrenchuk

Band includes:
Joey Landreth (guitar and vocals)
Kevin Waters (drums)
Joe Curtis (guitar and vocals)
Todd Martin (vocals)
David Landreth (bass)

I started this tune with the chorus. I was toying around with the idea of forgiveness and what it meant to me. It kinda hit me one day that forgiveness is such a hard state of mind to achieve because we spend so much time being hung up on their own ideas of who’s right and who’s wrong.

I was talking to someone, can’t remember who now, but they said something that stuck with me. Forgiveness is not something that you decided to give away, or something that you do to someone else, ie.: “I forgive you for doing this.” but rather an act that exists almost completely as an internal dialogue. In forgiving someone, you are not granting them freedom from your judgement but rather freeing yourself from your own judgement.

The verses are just two small snippets of stories of people trying to forgive themselves. One is someone who can’t face the truth of a situation. Can’t let go of your hand, though. They need to forgive themselves for making a mistake or bad judgment in order to move forward but are finding that it’s really hard. Verse two is more of the same but from the lens of substance abuse. They are trying to hid a hard truth from themselves by keeping busy and getting fucked up. It leaves them vulnerable (Don’t let go of my hand, though.) and scared and they are turning to forgiveness to release them from that.

The bridge is introducing the idea that forgiveness might be more internal than external.

- Joe

Forgiveness Lyrics

It feels so hard to tell the truth
I keep it locked away
Up against the wall
Up against the night
It’s not fair
It’s not right

Can’t let go of your hand though
Can’t let go of your hand...

Forgiveness, I need this
I wish I was strong enough to hold it
Forgiveness, I confess
Can’t bring myself to turn to the light

Burning the candle at either end
It’s all that I can do
If I stop moving
Then questions loom
Drinks and pills
To clear the room

Don’t let go of my hand, though
Don’t let go of my hand

Forgiveness, I need this
I wish I was strong enough to hold it
Forgiveness, I confess
Can’t bring myself to turn to the light

Is it
For me or for you or for them
I can’t tell

Forgiveness, I need this
I wish I was strong enough to hold it
Forgiveness, I confess
Can’t bring myself to turn to the light