The long-time music project of a North Carolina songwriter finally came to fruition this past week with the release of his newest acoustic single, “Florence Bonfire.”
Kyle Caudle is an ordained Baptist minister who serves as associate pastor for youth, missions and adults at First on Fifth Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C. Having studied at Wake Forest University School of Divinity, he also sings and writes songs for his alt-country band Timberline, alongside guitarist Nicholas Bullins and bassist Lee Estes.
Inspired by the real-life Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497 Italy, his new song’s lyrics document the story of music’s power to “rise higher” and transcend the fire of intolerance, with the singer reflecting on discovering God’s power through new music. The song tells how the memory of a fictional Church of Christ youth group pastor’s bonfire to destroy sinful rock and roll records becomes more distant in his mind.
To quote the lyrics:
We followed Brother Donnie to a parking lot outside
There was a barrel in the middle and the flames did rise
Oh one by one, we threw our albums in
Watched the plastic melt away and it smelled like sin
We were just kids, dazed and confused
Was God not in rock and roll or that rhythm and blues?
Cause I felt something within me, felt my spirit lift
Every kick drum kick, every guitar riff
Speaking with BNG, Caudle described the song as a “timely” and hopeful Americana ballad against the destructive tendencies of authoritarian dogma. He doesn’t necessarily consider the single a protest song but sees it as a song about the power of music to uplift the human spirit, told through his band’s “ethereal” and “soulful” style.
“It was inspired by my personal life experience and theological education,” he said. “I don’t know if anybody else could’ve written that song. It comes from my own experience growing up in SBC fundamentalist youth groups in South Carolina, where I experienced similar things. I never burned albums, but I knew kids who did; they smashed them. It’s from that shared experience.
“Creativity is harder to control than certainty.”
“It kind of made sense that there’s this new setting for this sort of perennial controlling religious thing that pops up. You see it in things like book bans to controlling religious behavior, such as critiquing movies or music that doesn’t fit their narrative. It’s all about purity and casting out what it can’t imagine. If I had to sum up the message, it’s that creativity is harder to control than certainty.”
The project has been a long time coming. Caudle tinkered with the song for a few years but had the opportunity to perform it in a recording session earlier this year at Flytrap Studios in Winston-Salem. Sensing the song had potential, he worked with producer Doug Davis to work it into a full song and subsequently recorded the vocals, bringing in his fellow First Baptist colleagues Emily Hull McGee and Olena Withrow to sing the backing tracks.
The version released Nov. 24 is only one of a few he’s worked on. The song’s overall inspiration has been drawn from the works of Tom Petty’s Wildflowers, Bruce Springsteen’s Atlantic City, and the alt-country works of Jason Price and Margo Price. Another version of the song exists with a more upbeat rock influence.
Caudle says he sees himself in the business of truth-seeking and truth-telling and believes that work calls for protesting things that limit human flourishing. He wants to protest religious authorities who limit artistic expression in an uplifting and honest way.
“You could say it’s a protest song, but I think it’s a bit more subtle than that. I don’t think there’s a lot of bitterness there,” he said. “It’s offering a story. It starts with this horrific thing, but it moves to this place where we can find our own way. It’s permission giving to find your own story and community, and people.
“You see authoritarian structures at home, in churches and in politics, and they’re all mutually reinforcing and received. For example, kids in the song didn’t choose their culture. They’re just trying to figure their way out. Freedom is the undercurrent in the song, longing for it, and music is a way to give opportunity for that. Music cannot be controlled. That’s the power of it.”
He wrote in a separate statement, “This song is for anyone who may have experienced personal or religious trauma, and my hope for listeners is to find healing and freedom on the other side of that.”
“Florence Bonfire” is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.