Confessional: A Medieval Folk Reckoning Where Faith, Memory, and Survival Converge
- Editorial Board
- Dec 15, 2025
- 2 min read
Moses transforms trauma into testimony, pairing brutal lyrics with the calm resolve of an ancient folk tradition.
“Confessional” is a song by Moses, striking a contradiction, almost done on purpose. The music is gentle, almost pastoral. An acoustic four note arpeggio carries the song forward while harp lines drift in like echoes from another century.
There is a medieval folk quality to the arrangement, restrained and ceremonial, with a kick that sounds like a stomp on wood, as if the song is being recited rather than performed. Nothing here rushes. Nothing raises its voice. And that calm is exactly what makes the lyrics hit harder.
Moses writes from the other side of trauma. Not inside it. Not trapped by it. He has already walked through faith, reflection, and healing, and now he is looking back with adult clarity.
That distance gives the song its quiet, almost prophetic power. Lines like “your filthy fingers and your holy water is sticky” are blunt and accusatory, but they are delivered without rage.
There is no screaming. No collapse. Just a man stating what happened and ever refusing to soften it.
The phrase “drank my decades away” lands as one of the song’s most devastating moments. It compresses years of avoidance, shame, and self erosion into a single confession.
Yet even here, the music does not darken. It carries the spirit of chansons de geste—“songs of action,” the medieval folk form used by minstrels to recount heroes’ defeats and victories, lending the song a timeless, narrative gravity rather than despair.
The progression remains steady, almost optimistic, creating a tension between sound and meaning. That contrast feels intentional, even slightly satirical. This is not the sound of a victim breaking down. It is the sound of someone who has already survived and now controls the narrative.
The harp adds a spiritual texture that reinforces the theme of faith without turning the song into worship. It feels ancient, ritualistic, and reflective, as if Moses is reclaiming spiritual language on his own terms after it was once used against him. The folk narration style makes the song feel timeless, less like a modern single and more like a testimony passed down quietly, listener to listener.
What makes “Confessional” stand out is its restraint. Many songs about abuse and healing lean into devastation. Moses does the opposite. He lets the lyrics carry the weight while the music offers light. That balance suggests forgiveness and chance for confession, without forgetting, belief without blindness, and healing without denial.
“Confessional” is not asking for sympathy. It is offering truth. Calmly. Clearly. And from a place of hard won peace
