If you grew up Christian I don’t think it’s possible to hear the line, “God loves you, but not enough to save you,” without tearing up. Her songwriting is just unreal.

The pain I feel listening to this song is indescribable. I’m not welcome in church because of factors I have no control over. Being trans and being faithful simply deem me unworthy of Gods love or respect from the church. Every time my mom makes me go to church, I sit there praising god and then it always hits me she brings me to try to fix me. That everyone sees me as a confused girl, at the most a homosexual woman. But if I’d been born cis, I would have kept singing on that podium. I could have been a pastor. I could have married my childhood love and raised our kids in the church. Strange how things always turn out. I knew God wouldn’t save me from the hell I’ve always been put through, but he was all I ever had. Now I have my freedom, and with time it’s going to make up for it. I am an orphan, navigating the world on my own where I am still miserable, but I’m miserable as ME. As the man I’ve always been, no longer rotting under a cupboard. If it’s meant to be then it will be

I once read a quote from someone that said this: “God made me trans for the same reason he made wheat but not bread, and grapes but not wine; so that we too can share in the joys of creation”. I cling to that quote because it’s the only thing that makes any sense in this poisoned jewel of a world. We may have been abandoned by the likes of humanity, but we are special because at the very least we have god

fell to my knees in walgreens buying cough medicine because of this song

im getting "god loves you, but not enough to save you" tattooed someday

"I forgive it as it all comes back to me"... I'm gutted. I feel like that's the line we know for sure she has finally found true peace, where the weight of her trauma no longer bothers her.

i just saw someone fall to their knees in a Walgreens with cough drops in their hands bc of this song

god loves you but not enough to save you

y’all talking about the god loves you line while i’m crying over the “what i wouldn’t give to be in church this sunday” 😭 it’s so beautiful in multiple ways and can be interpreted however you want it to

i hope "i forgive it all as it comes back to me" is a line i can live up to someday. i want to move on

the part where she sings about the house in Nebraska. that fucking broke me. i broke down crying. snots and bubbles.

As a former devoted Christian whose faith was slowly challenged by the people of the church, this album felt like a warm hug. It's like someone who can't seem to escape from their religious trauma comforting you as they say, "I get you... I've been there... We'll be alright..." The lyric "God loves you, but not enough to save you" perfectly captured the feeling of growing out of church or religion for that matter. Thank you, Ethel. This is truly something encaptivating.

"we all know how it goes, the more it hurts the less it shows. but i still feel like they all know" im sobbing

We all have that "house in Nebraska." A time and a place with someone we'd give anything to relive again. When Ethel sings about hers, I'm always sent back to mine too. If things had just been different, but it's just not how life goes.

Grew up Catholic and I eat up this entire album. No matter how much I’d like to hate the church, I feel a sense of nostalgia and familiarity whenever I’m reminded of it. There are some things we can’t change about ourselves and that includes how we were raised. I grieve the years where I suppressed who I was, but all you can do is accept how that was a part of you and move on.

I think something a lot of people don’t understand about growing up in the church but choosing to leave is that, it’s not that we don’t want to be a part of the church, the church doesn’t want us to be a part of it. At least, not the way we truly are. That feeling of longing, the need to be accepted and loved by “nice people” who, if you were born the “right” way, you could’ve been just like all the other kids growing up in that church. When all you wanted was for them to see you and love you as you are, because that’s what they told you church was about, only to find out that you would never be able to exist in the church as you are, truly. Thank you Ethel Cain for giving us your beautiful music ❤

im not a member of lgbt+. however it is one reason i am no longer christian. walking away from the church in a state where 80% attend once a month is the hardest, and most wildly misunderstood thing by those around me. the christians tell me that the pain i feel from stepping away is god calling me back. the atheists/agnostics tell me that it was a cult. neither will understand the pain, and appreciation i feel from having been raised in the church. its the reason i play guitar, love to sing, love to write, love to read. and yet its part of the reason i hated myself as a young man. ethel cain's expression for her gratefulness of the church, and simultaneous criticism is the first artform ive seen express such a contradictory experience. i would love to thank her one day for her unique music.

Sun-bleached flies sitting in the windowsill Waiting for the day they'll escape They talk all about their money and how their babies are always changing While they're breathing in the poison of the pain What I wouldn't give to be in church this Sunday Listening to the choir so heartfelt, all singing "God loves you, but not enough to save you "So, baby girl, good luck taking care of yourself" So I said fine, 'cause that's how my daddy raised me If they strike once, then you just hit 'em twice as hard But in the end, the fire bent under the weight that they gave me And his heart would break and fall as twice as far We all know how it goes The more it hurts, the less it shows But I still feel like they all know And that's why I could never go back home And I spent my life Watching it go by from the sidelines And God, I've tried But I think it's about time I put up a fight But I don't mind 'cause that's how my daddy raised me If they strike once, then you just hit 'em twice as hard (hit 'em twice as hard) But I always knew that, in the end, no one was coming to save me So I just prayed, and I keep praying and praying and praying If it's meant to be, then it will be (oh-oh, oh-oh) So I met him there and told him I believe (oh-oh, oh-oh) Singing if it's meant to be, then it'll be (it'll be) I forgive it all as it comes back to me (back to me, oh) If it's meant to be, then it will be (oh, it will be, yeah) So I met him there and told him I believe (I believe, yeah) Singing, "If it's meant to be, then it will be" I forgive it all as it comes back to me (it all comes back to me) If it's meant to be, then it'll be (it'll be, it'll be, it'll be) So I met him there and told him I believe (I believe, yeah) Singing, "If it's meant to be, then it will be" And I forgive it all as it comes back to me I'm still praying for that house in Nebraska By the highway, out on the edge of town Dancing with the windows open I can't let go when something's broken It's all I know and it's all I wanna know

"god loves you, but not enough to save you" NAH CUZ THAT LINE FUCKED ME UPPPPP

This song is the final stage of grief for me

jesus christ i’m miserable lmao

I'm Muslim so I can't say my religion had given me any trauma but instead the patriarchal system that dogmatized our religion did. In fact, I healed significantly from the mysogynist ways of religion I've learned growing up by simply learning about Islam myself and through the actual Quran. God is merciful.

This song carried me away like a leaf set gently into a stream by a child on their summer break

Ethel you’ve managed to speak to such a large group of disenfranchised people across the rural United States with your art in a way that nobody else has. Thank you.

this is one of the best songs of all time like i cannot physically handle the excellence of this song

Who else is ugly crying to this song while processing their religious trauma?

Ethel has easily become my favorite artist in a matter of months. The aesthetic, the music, lyrics, her photography... Absolutely talented and a huge inspiration for my art.

I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and this is just it. It’s so shame based I barely escaped with my life. “God loves you but not enough to save you”

"God loves you but not enough to save you." Is the most fucking relatable line I've ever heard this album is truly beautiful.

This song takes me to church in a way I ain’t never been before.

Just broke down crying in the bathroom to this song, the only place I can express my feelings safely, I live in a religious family/country where I could get k word for being part of the lgbtq community, I used to be religious and find comfort in praying until It hit me the moment I discovered my sexuality and saw the horrible ways my religion thinks of me, since then I’ve been suffocating in silence not being able to live my true self.. I wish one day I make out of here alive and finally start living.

I grew up Christian, but slowly left religion over the course of ten years. Everyone around me used to always tell me about how God speaks to you, but I felt so ignored. I also grew up with horrendously abusive parents, including a father who would hurt you physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Of course, I realize now the man was insane and probably shouldn't be allowed in society. But I was told the whole time I was in that man's care that God loved me. So why didn't he save me? Why did I deserve to grow up the way I did? And I prayed _a lot_ for something - _anything_ to change. And I listened a lot. I was an _enthusiastic_ Christian for a long time. But he never spoke. And so I quit praying. And I quit attending services. And I quit religion altogether. No hate if you're religious. Do you. Whatever makes your life on this stupid blue rock better. Whatever makes you more connected to those around you. Life is hard enough without people telling you're wrong all the time. Power to you if being spiritual helps you carry on another day. Just sharing my perspective.

“I forgive it all as it comes back to me” she’s no longer violent. In strangers, she isn’t a vengeful ghost. She just watches herself get eaten, romanticizes it.

This songs makes me think of The Lovely Bones.

if it's meant to be then it will beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

''and i spend my life watching it go by from the sidelines and god, i've tried, but i think it's about time i put up a fight'' she really wrote that verse for me and i cry every time i listen her sing it...thank you for creating this song

"If it's meant to be then it will be..." I keep listening to this chorus. .. My brother n law passed away last week. This chorus brings me much sorrow and solace at the same time.

I forgive it all as it comes back to me

I went for a walk today. I walked to the corner of my suburbia where my first boyfriend lived when I was fourteen. The one who took the last piece of my childhood and shattered it. I’m almost twenty-five now. It’s been just over ten years. And I walked down that street for the first time in so long. It looked exactly how I left it, but I could tell time had passed. Trees and bushes and grass were overgrown. Fences that didn’t use to be around houses were in place and already worn from time. Children just four years old played with their dad. The sun shone through the trees just like it did when my heart was broken and my spirit beaten, still too young to understand that what happened to me didn’t make me any less who I always was. I had my earbuds in and this song played. I was imagining my young self that walked those streets a decade ago. And I wondered what I would tell her if I saw her. And then Ethel said “God loves you, but not enough to save you. So baby girl, good luck taking care of yourself.” And I realized I was truly on the other side of that trauma now. Because I now give myself full credit for being strong enough to get myself out of that deep, dark pit of nothingness and rising to where I stand now. “But I always knew that in the end, no one was coming to save me. So I just prayed and I keep praying. And praying. And praying.” I didn’t know back then that it was true; that nobody was coming to save me. Not friends. Not family. And not God. But I do now. And I’m also beginning to forgive as it comes back to me. If it’s meant to be, then it will be. And I was meant to survive. So I did. Love you, Ethel ❤

The best song on the entire album, along with "Family Tree"

What I would give to hear Ajay II's reaction to this😢

"We all know how it goes The more it hurts, the less it shows But I still feel like they all know And that's why I could never go back home" as a lesbian whos still a minor living in texas and whose entire family is so baptist christian theyre basically cult members this hits so hard. the first time i heard it i was completely floored. ethel thank you so much for this absolutely stunning and unfortunately very relatable album. finding someone whose music expresses things ive never been able to put into words is so amazing and i can tell this will still be a staple album ill look back on when im years past 16.

i hardly ever comment on videos but i feel the need to say something, because ethel's music has such an impact on me, especially this song. the lines "but i always knew that in the end no one was coming to save me, so i kept praying, and praying, and praying" makes me sob so much. i've lived sheltered and only ever had my parents as some form of influence on me, even now. i've always watched people's lives before me and never had the chance to experience what they did. so when i had my worst depressive episode hit at age twelve, all i could do was pray until i lost my belief in religion, because god didn't save me when i needed him the most. my parents were so disappointed and i think that still sticks even after i realized that i still believe. but i knew that no one else helped me through my 4 year depression, even throughout their knowledge of it. no one helped but me, and i still haven't finished a life worth living. but listening to this song makes me feel like i'm not alone in this feeling, even if that's not the case. thank you ethel for creating such beautiful music with so much meaning and emotion behind them.

every time I get to this song in the album I just burst into tears and it won’t stop for the whole song

This brings up so many memories of growing up in rural South Carolina. Feel like this song was a slice of my life.

her outros hit like truck 🤧

First time ever hearing this. In my kitchen rn threw my hands up like I’m worshipping

what conservative could've predicted the best Christain-based faith song of the 21st century would be written by a trans woman?

The fact that I’ve passed this exact church so many times

*if its meant to be, then it will be.*

[Verse 1] Sun bleached flies sitting in the windowsill Waiting for the day they escape They talk all about that money and how their babies are always changing while they're breathing in the poison of the paint What I wouldn't give to be in Church this Sunday Listening to the choir, so heartfelt, all singing God loves you, but not enough to save you So, baby girl, good luck taking care of yourself [Chorus] So I said fine, 'cause that's how my daddy raised me If they strike once then you just hit 'em twice as hard But in the end, if I bend under the weight that they gave me Then this heart would break and fall as twice as far [Verse 2] We all know how it goes The more it hurts, the less it shows But I still feel like they all know, and that's why I can never go back home And I spend my life watching it go by from the sidelines And God, I've tried, but I think it's about time I put up a fight [Chorus] But I don't mind 'cause that's how my daddy raised me (How my daddy raised me) If they strike once then you just hit 'em twice as hard But I always knew that in the end no one was coming to save me So I just prayed and I keep praying and praying and praying [Bridge] If it's meant to be then it will be So I met him there and told him I believe Singing if it's meant to be then it'll be I forgive it all as it comes back to me (Back to me) If it's meant to be then it will be So I met him there and told him I believe (I believe, yeah) Singing if it's meant to be then it will be (Oh, oh) I forgive it all as it comes back to me (It comes back to me) If it's meant to be then it'll be (It'll be, it'll be, it'll be) So I met him there and told him I believe (Yeah) Singing if it's meant to be then it will be I forgive it all as it comes back to me (Oh) [Outro] I'm still praying for that house in Nebraska By the highway, out on the edge of town Dancing with the windows open I can't let go when something's broken It's all I know and it's all I want now

A House in Nebraska is my favourite song from Ethel and the fact that she sings about it again in this song is beautiful and so sad. Another reason why I love this album so much is the fact that all the songs are so beautifully woven into each other. This album is a masterpiece and Ethel should receive all the flowers for it!!

She has such a beautiful voice. I really like the background vocals and how they showcase her vocal range.

This song is truly a work of art. I can't explain it, but it just touches something inside you. The first time I heard this I was a blubbering mess. I still am, but now I'm on the millionth time listening to it 😭😭😭

This is some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard, and I've been listening since the late '50s. Ethel's music is inspired. (look up the roots of the word - inspired). God isn't hard to find, but impossible to avoid. But God is not what we think, and certainly not what many churches teach.

I think this is my most fav song by her. I don't have any personal problem with church (I'm asexual girl who identify herself as catholic but never go to church) but seeing the comment sections here really open your eyes about church's flaws.

I randomly thought of the phrase "God loves you but not enough to save you" and when looking it up it lead me here.

That Bridge evokes all the feels

In a week Ethel has become my #1 streamed artist this year

“god loves you, but not enough to save you” makes me cry every time i hear it. it hits me like a truck every time. thank you so much for your art; ive never felt so seen. you deserve all the great things in the world🤍

The prismizer harmonies on the lyrics “God loves you, but not enough to save you.” Man.

The way that church looks JUST like the one I was raised in.

Fuck me this girl can write! How have I just now found this?? I grew up a thousand miles away from you, but I listen to this song and I grew up next door. The picture you created mirrors many of my own memories. I could be totally wrong, maybe my past experiences are tainting your music, I’m unable to see past myself. I don’t know, I think that might be even more impressive, creating something so personal yet so accessible that even someone the opposite of you in nearly every way can slip it on like an old coat. Thank you for creating and sharing! And I just gotta say, is this the decade of the trans girls? Because y’all are killing it. Swear I’m not a creep or a chaser, yet here I am crushing on another of you. Extraordinary talent is just so attractive! Wishing you the best, and all the success you deserve (or at least as much as you want).

I love this song and it has been on repeat for over a week and its amazing how "But I always knew that in the end no one was coming to save me" can just randomly sucker punch you in the chest.

Absolutely one of the best songs that I’ve ever heard. Amazing.

ill never get over the fact that "it will be" sounds A LOT like Willoughby

This album is a transcendent experience

This. This is the best songwriting I've heard in a long time. The lyrics are pure poetry and the combination of that poetry with the music building up and up and up is mind blowingly emotional. Wow. New favorite song hands down!

How on earth is this not featured in a film???????? 💖

Im gay and went to a super Christian military school and this song makes me feel the same pain when I was there. The alienation, sadness, anger, and disillusionment I had with Christianity. Beautiful song though

“God loves you but not enough to save you” damn. never has a lyric hit to the core this hard. living with domestic and religious trauma and with that Catholic foundation, even in the moments of desperation we pray to something that we’re told condemns us and calls us an abomination. being cast out of the religion because of my sexuality, it hurts so much more. this whole album is way so f*cking cathartic to LGBTQ+ southern youth…

The church is a place that teaches morals, ability to understand God (or maker) and family / togetherness. When my aunt died, she told me she lived a life away from God but realized on her death bed that after all your vanity goes away, and all the people in life abandon you…all you have is God. She live atheist and nihilistic and died a Christian. I loved her and I’m glad I’ll see her in Heaven one day.

My house in Nebraska is my childhood home, on Mollie Drive in Selmer. Preachers daughter button here.

It saddens my heart to see how church (mosque, temple Kingdom Hall, etc) has done more to separate us than bring us closer to God. I always knew there were chapters missing from the bible. I knew this because we’re created in his image. I also knew that God was male/female because we bring forth life. I think the only chapter that truly truly matters to me is Luke. Something about Luke. The teaching of Jesus. To be kind. To never judge. To give with your heart in secret. To stand with the broken. To worry more about the log in your eyes so then you can help your brother remove the twig in his eyes❤🙏

SINGING IF ITS MEANT TO BE THEN IT WILL BEEEEEE I FORGIVE ALL AS IT COMES BACK TO MEEE

Such a tragically beautiful song…

I think Dolores O’Riordan would have immensely enjoyed your style, as do I. It would be a real treat, to hear some of your work accompanied by an extraordinarily gifted cellist... Unpunishable is a masterpiece that sends shivers up and down my spine. I would love to trip out with you and create music that makes people feel, not just listen... ❤️

Thank you for this absolute masterpiece of an album you've created. Honestly the best piece of work I've ever listened to in my whole life. I have never connected to music the way I did with yours. I've been trying to find music like this since I was like 9 years old and sometimes I think that the Southern part of the US looks no different than the rural side of Central Italy, an immense countryside where powerlines and abandoned houses reign. A place where the church unites everyone and makes (or should I say "made") us all feel part of a community. This album really feels like my life.

Nothing destroys my soul like this song, damn

Not a christian But the line of god loves you but not enough to save u made me sob because my mother is someone who prays and cries towards the god everyday after waking up and before going to sleep she is someone who doesnt hurt anyone (maybe me but its for my own good.) Her entire life has been nothing but cruel to her She prays for a better life yet has been always tested ruthlessly It hurts to see her this way putting faith on someone that does this to her

This song just hits so close…I wasn’t ready…

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve replayed this song

I absolutely love the layering of vocals.

10 years from now, maybe even 20, i’ll forgive it all as it comes back to me

I didnt know how much this song huts till i started to sing the part "and god, ive tried.." and my eyes just get crystalline and i cried a lot :/ and the end of the song just wow, "i forgive it all as it comes back to me" ugh

I wish you all the success you want to receive. This entire album is a masterpiece. ❤

One of the best songs ever written and produced… the middle/end has some sort of magical frequency to it i could feel it heal me and it made me cry

insanely unique, poetic and beautiful artist. recently been obsessed with this album and it's been on repeat.

I forgive it all as it comes back to me.

She understands me

This is the most powerful music I have ever heard

I can’t let go when something’s broken It’s all I know and all I wanna know

Best new artist AWARD goes to Ethel Caine , ppl are writing they're crying through this whole song, I have been crying through every song she's released. The lyrics constantly hit str8 to our hearts. She doesn't hold back anything, it's like hearing the words from the diary of someone whose finally found a way to release all the pain inflicted upon her for us to take away. She should start her own music festival w/ all the acts in a similar genre like Guardin and who she listens to and those who inspired her. Not Lillith Fair or Lallapallooza but something brand new, it is well needed I think. There's so many artists you won't ever hear until doing your own deep dive into KZfaq, bandcamp,songcloud, etc

this song makes me feel like i’m floating it’s a feeling i can’t explain, i feel so powerful listening to it but also so so calm and like i could die peacefully

"God loves you, but not enough to save you." I already love this line, but knowing the context it breaks my heart

Dear Ethel, I would love to hear a somber Gospel Choir backing your music in your next album release. That would be incredible. As an newly formed agnostic I miss the beautiful sounds of worship music that I can no longer enjoy them the same way. Your music feels like secular worship to me. Finding beauty in the empty spaces.

This felt like a gospel song

This song moves me to tears and I don’t even know why

I don't believe in a god anymore,but I really resonate with this song because of my awful Christian upbringing...

this album has been such a comfort for me as i move from my small hometown to a much bigger city. but this song just touches a nerve that i can’t describe, yet it details everything ive ever felt about leaving home. being outcast from your community due to things you can’t control. and when in general it’s time to move on to bigger and better things. i can’t help but feel bittersweet. thank you so much for creating such a beautiful album.