Get Right with God

"Get Right with God" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released in 2001 as the second single from her sixth album, Essence (2001).

"Get Right with God"
Single by Lucinda Williams
from the album Essence
Released2001
Genre
Length4:16
LabelLost Highway
Songwriter(s)Lucinda Williams
Producer(s)
Lucinda Williams singles chronology
"Essence"
(2001)		 "Get Right with God"
(2001)		 "Righteously"
(2003)

The song earned Williams the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 2002.[1]

Content

A review of the song from AllMusic stated: "Lucinda Williams, an expert conjurer of Southern imagery, sees the light with the shuffling backwoods, revivalist stomp of 'Get Right With God'. Williams proclaims her need for a good soul cleansing, 'Cause I want to get right with God/Yes, you know you got to get right with God'. The last verse hints that this seemingly all-consuming search for redemption may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, Williams simply mining the colorful history and rich cultural imagery of the American South as she queries, 'I asked God about his plan/To save us all from Satan's slaughter/If I give up one of my lambs/Will you take me as one of your daughters?"[2]

Reception

Spin referred to "Get Right with God" as an "odd mock-gospel worksong",[3] while Salon wrote "By contrast, "Get Right With God" burns as hot as "Essence," though the hellfire here is spiritual rather than sexual. Even Williams attempts to distance herself as she instructs the musicians to "Get da-own!" (in a caricature of a cracker accent), yet the intensity of the plain-spoken, guitar-driven prayer transcends parody. Sin and salvation aren't conceptual abstracts but palpably physical, and one is as likely to burn from the former as yearn for the latter."[4]

Country music website The Boot ranked the song No. 10 on their list of the best Lucinda Williams songs, describing it as a "deceptively low-key, country-flecked number", writing that it "seems like a rather self-explanatory song. The protagonist is willing to make sacrifices to 'get right with God' and go to heaven. The underlying message, however, is that this faith is less about deep-seated belief and more about surface action — which means the song can be read as a subtle criticism of modern religion."[5] NPR wrote that the song "inspired one of her most astounding vocal performances", and observed "Gospel music is a central, if under-discussed, inspiration for Williams. Here she makes the connection clear in a driving account of faith's relationship to audacity and risk."[6]

Track listing
CD single - US[7]
  • Radio Remix - 3:38
  • Radio Edit Without Intro - 3:00
  • Album Version - 4:16
CD single - Europe[8]
  • Radio Remix - 3:35
  • Album Version - 4:16

Awards
Year Award Category Work Recipient Result Ref.
2002 Grammy Award Best Female Rock Vocal Performance "Get Right with God" Lucinda Williams Won [1]

References
  1. "Artist: Lucinda Williams". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  2. Maginnis, Tom. "Get Right with God – Song Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 16, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  3. Weisbard, Eric (July 2001). "Lucinda Williams: Essence". Spin. 17 (7): 125. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  4. McLeese, Don (May 31, 2001). "Lucinda Williams' psychosexual murk". salon.com. Salon Media Group. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  5. Zaleski, Annie (January 26, 2022). "Top 10 Lucinda Williams Songs". The Boot. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  6. Powers, Ann (April 24, 2020). "Lucinda Williams: A Guide To Her Best Songs". NPR. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  7. Discogs. "Lucinda Williams – Get Right with God - US single". Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  8. Discogs. "Lucinda Williams – Get Right with God - Europe single". Retrieved 29 July 2022.
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