I first heard Pierce Pettis perform Miriam around 1992 and was stunned by the song’s poignant beauty and unabashed tenderness. Years later, I could still sing much of the song to myself, and the parts I couldn’t remember demanded recollection. So naturally, Miriam was at the top of my list when I decided to make this record.
You must hear Pierce’s haunting performance of this song, produced masterfully by David Miner. It’s on Pierce’s CD, Making Light of It, on Compass Records.
In case you were wondering, Miriam is the Hebrew form of Mary.
No banners were unfurled, when God stepped into the world,
Held in the arms of a little girl named Miriam.
Who would ever believe, the fiancée, the family,
The teenage pregnancy of Miriam?
But laws of nature were suspended, death sentences rescinded,
Throughout all the world, all because of a little girl named Miriam.
Medieval paintings glaring down, stony figures judge and frown,
Wearing a halo like a crown. Could that be Miriam?
Gentile temples’ stained glass swirls, cherubim with golden curls.
Oh! How unlike your Hebrew world, Miriam.
I don’t know if you ascended. I don’t care what’s been amended.
There was one sure miracle: the faith of a little girl named Miriam.
Oh, you are blessed indeed! Blessed is the fruit of your tree,
Yeshua, king of kings, and son of Miriam.
No banners were unfurled when God stepped into the world,
Held in the arms of a little girl named Miriam.
Words and music by Pierce Pettis, 1996.
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