Parker Millsap’s anthem Heaven Sent resonates with LGBTQ audiences

By Greg White
Staff Writer

Fans of Parker Millsap know him for his roaring, throaty vocals, his blues-infused guitar playing and particularly for the poetic stories and characters he creates with his songs.

One story that may be painfully recognizable for many LGBTQ listeners, particularly in the South, is one Millsap tells in his heart-rending song, Heaven Sent, about a gay man facing rejection from his fundamentalist, God-fearing father.

While it would be easy to imagine the song as a biographical account because of its deeply personal nature, that’s not actually the case.

“It started as a musical idea and I sort of mumbled around until I had the preacher/creature/double feature line. Then I tried to expand that idea, and eventually it turned into a sort of letter from a gay son to his father,” said Millsap. “I felt like it was a story that hadn't really been told in a song. I wrote the character in the song as fictional. I know folks who have maybe been through some of what the song suggests, but I wasn't trying to tell any of their stories specifically.”
 
However, the song has resonated with many LGBTQ fans who see their own stories reflected in Millsap’s words.
 
“So far people have responded in a really positive way,” Millsap said. “I have a lot of interactions at the merch booth with folks who relate to the story, and those encounters always leave me humbled and grateful.”

Asked how important it is to be an ally to the LGBTQ community, Millsap responded, “I think it's important to stand and support your fellow human beings when they are being mistreated, regardless of any of the statistics they find themselves to be attached to.”

He continued on to explain his references to God or a higher being, saying, “I believe in music. I believe in compassion. I believe there is something going on that is much richer and more complex than I am capable of understanding. I'm okay with that.”
 
When asked what he would say to LGBTQ people facing family rejection, Millsap said, “You ain't alone.”

“Heaven Sent”

Raise me straight and raise me true

Spent my days becoming you

Sunday morning, evening too

Sitting in your second pew

Torn apart, my spirits spent

I fell in love on accident

Wondered just what Jesus meant

When he said all love was Heaven sent

Papa I don't need a preacher

I ain't some kind of creature

From some old double feature

I just want to make you proud

Of the kind of love I've found

But you say it ain’t allowed

Say that it’s a sin

It's how I've always been

Did you love me when he was just my friend?

I tried my hardest not to be

I locked the door and I broke the key

Jesus died upon that tree

Daddy do you think it covered me?

Red and yellow black and white

We are precious in his sight

So why can't I sleep through the night?

Daddy do you think I’ve turned out right?

Papa you're the one that taught me

By his stripe he sought me

And with his blood he bought me

Daddy you're the one that claimed

That he loved me through the flame

Now why can't you do the same

Well I've been born again

But I first was born in sin

Did you love me then?

Did you love me then?

The Gayly - 5/21/2016 @ 8:01 a.m. CDT