Song of the Week: Julie Miller's "Letters to Emily"

In former Austinite Julie Miller’s song, “Letters to Emily,” a mother writes letters to a child she had given up for adoption. The letters are stored in a box, since the adopted child will never be seen again. The childless mother is filled with regrets at the circumstances surrounding the child’s conception and the necessity of giving up her child for adoption, and yet she’s amazed at what God has done. What a great line about how God "causes all things"--even our failures--"to work together for good" (Romans 8:28):

Down in the ashes of mistakes and dreams
I see the outline of a heart
Well I've gone wrong
But still I know sometimes
God serves the best wine up
Right from a paper cup
Miller's Christian convictions inform her writing, but in a way that's natural and not in-your-face. The Austin Chronicle recognized this in a 2001 article: "There's none of the pushiness of the keen-on-Jesus types. . . . Instead, her spirituality comes out in the context of someone who's content and comfortable in their own beliefs."

Her most popular song is "All My Tears," covered by the likes of Emmy Lou Harris and Jars of Clay, among others. I'm sure that selection will be featured in "Song of the Week" eventually, but my favorite Miller song remains "Letters to Emily," from her 1997 project, Blue Pony--

The second hand counts out my thoughts of you
And every heartbeat says your name
But you don't know me and the way I feel
But still the truth remains
My blood runs through your veins

How can I hold you close when you're so far away
How long will we still be apart
How will you ever hear these words I want to say
How will you ever know my heart
How will you ever know my heart

I'm writing letters to you every day
Then I mail them to myself
And here inside a box they wait for you
And every day is postmarked
I've held you here in my heart

How can I hold you close when you're so far away
How long will we still be apart
How will you ever hear these words I want to say
How will you ever know my heart
How will you ever know my heart
How will you know my know my heart

Down in the ashes of mistakes and dreams
I see the outline of a heart
Well I've gone wrong
But still I know sometimes
God serves the best wine up
Right from a paper cup

How can I hold you close when you're so far away
How long will we still be apart
How will you ever hear these words I want to say
Someday you're gonna know my heart
Someday you're gonna know my heart
Someday you're gonna know my heart

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