Justin James Sinclair, better known as Brother James, gets down on one knee with his new single “Every Day With You”.
It is not easy to be vulnerable, but Sinclair fastens his heart to his sleeve and picks up a guitar. The bare-bones composition – built by both gentle guitar and voice – mirrors delicate words. The vocal sounds almost restrained at times, as if he’s trying to be quiet so he doesn’t wake somebody up.
“Every Day With You” has a very stripped down kind of beauty, like a nearly empty room decorated only with the colored light of a stained glass window. The words are so close you could reach out and touch them, just as a proposition of love should be.
I’ll be honest: at the start of the song I thought it would be about a breakup. However, it soon became clear that Sinclair’s intention is the opposite: a proposal of marriage.
Try as we might
the timing was never right
divine conception knew better
we’ve been led here and it’s so clear
that it’s time to say it now.
Many of Justin’s songs are about God; he himself is an ever-questioning child of faith. While the relationship described in “Every Day With You” is one of marriage, it also seems to apply to God. The commitment is made and the connection seems to weave in and out, with the final message being that timing will never be right, and if you love someone you don’t have to wait for the stars to align.
At the end of the day, emotions will lay bare and heads will be bowed. This is perfectly reflected in the sparse guitar picking and the vulnerable simplicity of the song.
It’s a foolish thing to ask at all
cause love is blind and life is long
but I promise I won’t let you go
as our worries change and we grow old
would you let me spend every day with you?
As a listener, I mean, okay, fine, Brother James, I will spend every day with you. But only because you asked so nicely.
Sinclair’s new single is accompanied by a separate piano instrumental. This version sounds like something you would hear an old friend playing at the sleepy end of a party. Lilts of jazz dance in the melody, and pedals thump with faint echoes being drawn in and out. It is just so saturated with contented, peaceful happiness. It’s a reassuring sound, and it’s completely full of love.
And that’s my overall diagnosis of this song: loving and complete. As I hear these raw, unfettered lyrics, what I don’t hear is insecurity, or fear. Brother James trusts this relationship because of these moments of vulnerability, and he is not afraid of them. If only we could all greet love with the same fearlessness as in “Every Day With You”.
Sinclair takes his fragility and turns it into strength.
Listen to “Every Day With You” below and follow Brother James around the internet here.
