Hope and Change: Beautiful Change

The Innocence Mission: Beautiful Change

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The Innocence Mission are one of the most hopeful bands I could think of. Their music, tinged by their faith but not overwhelmed by it (because that is a major turn-off to me), is simple, beautiful, hopeful, yet melancholy. It captures the vulnerability and innocence of childhood wonder, as well as a sense of adulthood humbleness in the face of life's splendor.

This song in particular is not necessarily about some grand sense of change, but a change nonetheless. I imagine that the song is more about a personal growth, as well as the beautiful changes that appear as life unfolds, like watching children grow and learn. Whatever the change, the sense of serenity and joy in this song is overwhelming, as it is in most of their music and even in their persona as a band.

The band is mostly the songwriting and singing of Karen Peris, with contributions from her husband Don Peris. The concerts of theirs I have been to have been some of the best of my life. And the love between Karen and Don is eminent on stage and within their music. Most of all, the band means something special to me because they're from my hometown of Lancaster, PA, and they often talk about Pennsylvania in their songs and it makes the music all the more real for me.