Flamy Grant - Esther, Ruth, and Rahab

In the church where I was raised, all the women hid their hair
With what can only be called doilies made of lace
They sat beside their husbands and they never spoke a word
Cause public prayer was not a woman’s place
But literally any man was welcome to stand up
For an hour we would listen to them talk
And I guess the lesson there was God would only hear a prayer
If it came from a person with a cock
As a kid those Sunday mornings made me restless, bored, and numb
And my Bible was the one way to pass time
So I spent the hour in search of stories brimming with suspense
And I found Esther, Ruth, and Rahab were sublime

Castaways who outwitted and outplayed
An immigrant ancestor to the incarnate divine
Everyone has a star that lights their way
We see our paths by someone else’s shine
Esther, Ruth, and Rahab, they were mine

Every Sunday I would find a brand new story with a girl
Who made some patriarch meet his match
They were painted as conniving but it wasn’t hard to see
That secretly most men just fear the snatch
Deborah’s military mind brought peace for forty years
The Witch of Endor, she saw right through Saul’s charade
Of course Eve said “Fuck this system, I am chasing after wisdom”
And Rachel wouldn’t let herself be played
Jezebel sure gave ‘em hell, but she wasn’t scared to die
If you’re with Jael, think twice when you recline
The only reason we have Moses is ‘cause Miriam was there
To keep his petty ass in line
Castaways who outlasted and outplayed
An immigrant ancestor to the incarnate divine
Everyone has a star that lights their way
We see our paths by someone else’s shine
Esther, Ruth, and Rahab, they were mine

When they talk about the heroes of the faith
They always mean Elijah, Abraham, or Dave
But Esther, Ruth, and Rahab, for me were just as big
I wanted to be like them, so I bought myself this wig

My church insisted women all be small, submissive, and unseen
But their own holy book betrayed that lie
‘Cause in those pages you’ll find badass, rebel warriors and queens
Prophetesses, witches, whores and wives all causing scenes
Every woman in the Scriptures smashed the norms to smithereens
So it’s a good thing when a girl learns how to fly
And that’s the one truth from the Bible I’ll hold onto ‘til I die