There’s Gonna Be a Homecomin’
There’s Gonna Be a Homecomin’
Voicing: SATB
Accompaniment: piano
Text: Kyle Pederson
There’s gonna be a homecomin’
Oh, I’m headin’ home
To the people and the places that I know
Gonna have me a homecomin’
It’s where I wanna be
Where the places and the people all know me
Somewhere that I can be fully free
No front and no façade, where I can just be me
Ain’t no jealousy, ain’t no judgin’ found
Just whole-hearted love, and hope to go around
This piece was inspired by an episode of the television show, Queer Eye (Season 2, Episode 1). In this episode, a young man had recently come out as gay, and was reluctant to return to his small hometown, understandably nervous that the people he grew up with (and others) would be less than welcoming and affirming. The show explores how an entire community came together to walk alongside this man (and his mother), surrounding them with love, grace, and acceptance. This was a homecoming in all the best ways—and when the credits began to roll I immediately went to the piano to start noodling. This piece affirms the power of any community (church, school, town) to surround its members with love and be a voice and force for wholeness, reconciliation, and hope.