“With powerful singing and a compelling narrative, Angela Josephine’s “Got to Believe” demonstrates why she’s such a long-lasting force in Michigan’s music scene.” – Atwood Magazine
“Got to Believe,” a standout track off Josephine’s upcoming full-length record, explores this spiritual theme in considerable depth. The song is brimming with professionalism throughout its four-minute runtime — textured production, confident vocals, and thoughtful lyricism. Given its author’s background and experience, that should come as little surprise.
there’s dust in your pockets
change in your shoes
a hole in your soul
you’ve got nothing to lose
no one to have you
and no one to hold
just a prayer and a bible
and what you’ve been told
thoughts in your stomach and
hunger in your head
it’s the only thing keeping
you alive when you’re dead
Listen: “Got to Believe” – Angela Josephine
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Got to Believe,” the lead single off Angela Josephine’s forthcoming album Daylight (independently out May 4, 2018). Angela Josephine has been active in Michigan’s indie folk scene for the past fifteen-plus years, ever since the release of her debut album, 2002’s A Restless Sense of Urgency. She has stuck to her roots with her latest project, recording in Detroit and Ann Arbor with her fellow Michigan artist and previous collaborator, producer Chris Bathgate. Daylight is structured as the arc of experiences of a certain female protagonist. “Got to Believe,” the first song on the tracklist after a short introlude, marks the opening chapter in this woman’s life journey.
Daylight – Angela Josephine
The intent of this track, according to Josephine, is “to reveal a more inclusive world,” to the point where listeners start “brushing off the vestiges of tired beliefs.” Religious allusions have been a common theme for the Christian folk singer, and she keeps the tradition afloat with this track.
fall on your hands
dig with your knees
anything, anything
I’m begging you please
won’t you fall on your hands
dig with your knees
you’ve just got to believe
As the song begins, the woman in the lyrics is trapped in a bleak state, with “nothing to lose, no one to have [her] and no one to hold, just a prayer and a Bible and what [she’s] been told.” Similarly, the chorus suggests that faith would be her escape: “Fall on your hands, dig with your knees, anything, anything, I’m begging you please.”