Christian Summer Camp

from Start Over EP by John Mark Nelson

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about

I knew someone who, in response to good news and bad news would say “everything belongs”. I have no idea if this is actually true, but it is remarkable when something from your past can suddenly have a certain clarity to it, almost as if it happened so that you could understand something about yourself or the world around you. Maybe these types of experiences have meaning, or maybe we simply put meaning into them. Some of the most visceral joys and sorrows in my life felt in the moment like they would define me forever, and then in the strange passage of time, I realized that they were only small fragments of a much larger story.

lyrics

I went to Christian summer camp
When I was just a kid
It took work but I finally repressed
Half the crazy shit we did

We learned about everything
From creation to the end of time
Learned to hate our bodies, brains
And other places where the devil hides

It makes me feel crazy now
But it reminds me how
I just wanted to fit in

I didn’t want to be left out
So I ditched my doubts
And became a believer, born again

It felt real back then, crying in that dusty chapel
What I assume was God, cutting through me like a scalpel
I’d give anything to feel that right now

A few years after summer camp
I accidentally fell in love
And started racing to the fiery end
That happens when you’re too damn young

Cold nights and northern stars
Talking through the life we’d live
Making plans just real enough
To forget that we were still just kids

It makes me feel lucky now
Cause it reminds me how
I finally fit in

And I never sit around and doubt
The way it all played out
Was different than the way it should have been

It felt real back then, crying in my parent's chevy
After I drove you home, knowing that you’d live without me
And wondering who to turn to now

The summer after we grew apart, I drove to the place we met
Then just like Christian summer camp, I never went back again

credits

from Start Over EP, released October 2, 2020
Aaron Fabbrini - Pedal Steel

Huntley Miller - Mastering

Sarah Nelson - Artwork

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about

John Mark Nelson Los Angeles, California

John Mark Nelson is a producer + songwriter from Saint Paul, MN. At a young age, he received national attention for his self- produced works, which were followed by extensive national and international touring. In recent years, Nelson moved to Los Angeles, where he has continued to generate a high volume of recorded works, and produce and write for many acclaimed artists. ... more

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