If it Weren't For God

Well if it weren't for God
I'd still be in love..

and I'd still be a child
sweet as the rain,
bold and unafraid-

If it weren't for God

I would be alive
not a sin, nor a vice
just and freed, a Wild Heart,
the dance on summer's light

And if it weren't for God

My old friends would be here
my family would love me
the lovers of my youth would hold me
and we would live without fear

but it's because of God
that the lovers of my past
shook their heads
my father raged and he prayed
that his daughter would obey,
that she wouldn't go astray

But I am a Wild Heart
strike me down with your hate
beat me and bruise me
hurt me and use me
bury me in welts
when you shake your cane
bow your head
and give false praise

for it's because of God

that all my sisters die
that my mother heaved
and then cried
when her mother spat
and then said,
"I wish you weren't mine"

It's because of God

That my soul still bleeds
and I would sooner burn
than see church doors...

Oh I wish it would all just burn
because when you sigh, I yearn
to wipe God's memory...

Take your face in my hands
help you see, help you unlearn
the faults that were never yours

The battles of our youth
may be over
but our minds...

They're still at war