"17. Evangeline--Randy Stonehill"
One strum of a guitar and it was clear that the mood had changed. Where there had been anger and alarm, she now heard pain. The sad frustration that had begun to manifest in "Mixed Emotions" here reached an excruciating pitch in raw, wobbly vocals. No longer was she looking at a mere laceration. This represented a broken bone.
I can touch you, but I can't reach you / I can love you, but I can't save you / Crushed beneath some unseen weight / Locked behind some prison gate / I pound on these walls with my bleeding hands / And long to pull you from sinking sand
Evangeline, come back to me / Come back to me, come back to me / Evangeline, the sky is blue / Your eyes are too / But they don't see
Link by link grows the chain of fears / A necklace of thorns watered by your tears / Even now, one hope remains / One holy fire to quench the rain / I pray that your heart will be warmed by the dawn / And these shadows will be gone
...
A devil has entered your house / He devours your days / But his spell will be broken / If you turn from his gaze
Ohhh...Evangeline / Evangeline
Is my voice growing faint / In the gathering haze? / Has your path been obscured / In this dark, twisting maze? / We all bear the crimson scar / But that's not all of who you are / I wish I could turn this terrible tide / And call the angels to your side...
The pain, the frustration, the powerlessness... There was no avoiding them. The air was heavy with them when the song finished. This had been the one thing he dreaded most; that much was clear. The very thought of it was ripping him apart. Judging by the song, old Lazarus was near the very end of his strength here. Even here, though, he still clung to hope, even if only a little. A question came to her: what did that line about the "crimson scar" mean? Was he saying that her pain didn't have to define her, that she could be something greater than a victim?