Gretchen Peters (born November 14, 1957 in Bronxville, New York) is an Amer… Read Full Bio ↴Gretchen Peters (born November 14, 1957 in Bronxville, New York) is an American singer-songwriter in the folk/country genre. An accomplished song-writer, she won the Country Music Association Song Of The Year award in 1994 for "Independence Day", a hit at the time for Martina McBride. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.

Though born in New York, Peter's was raised in Boulder, Colorado, and then moved to Nashville in the late 1980s. There, she found work as a songwriter, composing hits for Martina McBride, Etta James, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Anne Murray, as well as for Neil Diamond and co-writing songs with Bryan Adams. She has twice been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song, in 1995 and 1996, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song in 2003.

Peters has released a string of studio albums of her own. The title track of her 1996 debut album The Secret of Life was later recorded by Faith Hill in 1999.

In the case of her new album, 'Blackbirds,' "juice" is certainly understatement. Recorded in Nashville, the album features a who's who of modern American roots music: Jerry Douglas, Jason Isbell, Jimmy LaFave, Will Kimbrough, Kim Richey, Suzy Bogguss and more. But it's not the guests that make 'Blackbirds' the most poignant and moving album of Peters' storied career; it’s the impeccable craftsmanship, her ability to capture the kind of complex, conflicting, and overwhelming emotional moments we might otherwise try to hide and instead shine a light of truth and understanding onto them.

'Blackbirds' is, in many ways, an album that is unafraid to face down mortality. But rather than dwell on the pain of loss, the music finds a new appreciation for the life we're given.

If anyone can open up that conversation, it's Peters. Inducted into the prestigious Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014, she has long been one of Music City's most beloved and respected artists, known never to shy away from darkness and struggle in her writing. Martina McBride's recording of her stirring "Independence Day," a song that deals with domestic abuse, was nominated for a Grammy and took home Song of the Year honors at the CMAs, and her work has been performed by everyone from Etta James and Neil Diamond to George Strait and Trisha Yearwood. "If Peters never delivers another tune as achingly beautiful as 'On A Bus To St. Cloud,'" People Magazine wrote, "she has already earned herself a spot among country's upper echelon of contemporary composers."

'Blackbirds' follows Peters' 2012 album 'Hello Cruel World,' which NPR called "the album of her career" and Uncut said "establishes her as the natural successor to Lucinda Williams." If anything, though, 'Blackbirds' truly establishes Peters as a one-of-a-kind singer and songwriter, one in possession of a fearless and endlessly creative voice.

Waitin' On Mary
Gretchen Peters Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Joseph walked to Bethlehem
Found no room there at the inn
And knowing not what was to be
He lay beside her patiently
Waitin' on Mary

The shepherds watched, the stars grew bright
The angels said, "It's gonna be alright

Just have some faith, just wait and see
A miracle will come to be"
Waitin' on Mary

And after all these centuries
The world still has its refugees
The losers in the human race
But with the most amazing grace
They're waitin' on Mary

Faraway on some dark hill
There are faithful waiting still
Who have no hope but still believe

Maybe tonight is Christmas eve
And they're waitin' on Mary

Overall Meaning

The opening verse of Gretchen Peters's song "Waitin' on Mary" refers to the biblical story of the birth of Jesus Christ as a metaphor for people's ability to patiently endure difficult circumstances. Joseph, Jesus's earthly father, walked to Bethlehem but found no room at the inn. Despite not knowing what was going to happen, he lay patiently beside Mary, his wife, who was about to give birth to their son. This reminds us that even in our darkest moments, we must have faith and keep waiting for things to improve.

The following verse expresses the hope that regeneration and miracles (as represented by Christ's birth) can still come to those who believe despite life's hardships. Shepherds saw the bright stars that foretold Jesus's birth, and angels promised that things would get better. This is a message of hope that speaks to the needs of the human heart, where we all want to believe in something better and warmer than what we experience in our present circumstances.

The last few lines of the song speak to the present reality of the human condition, where there are still "losers in the human race" who find themselves waiting on Mary's grace. Mary is now a symbol of grace and hope beyond just the birth of Jesus. Many people around the world still suffer persecution, poverty, and injustice, and they wait for someone or something to bring them out of their difficult situations. Waitin' on Mary gives them hope that miracles can still happen. This song is ultimately about the intrinsic human desire to believe that things can get better even in our darkest moments.

Line by Line Meaning

Joseph walked to Bethlehem
Joseph walked to Bethlehem.

Found no room there at the inn
Joseph found no room at the inn in Bethlehem.

And knowing not what was to be
Joseph didn't know what would happen next.

He lay beside her patiently
Joseph lay beside Mary patiently.

Waitin' on Mary
Joseph was waiting on Mary.

The shepherds watched, the stars grew bright
The shepherds watched their flocks and the stars grew brighter.

The angels said, "It's gonna be alright
The angels told the shepherds everything was going to be okay.

Just have some faith, just wait and see
The angels told the shepherds to have faith and wait.

A miracle will come to be"
The angels promised a miracle was going to happen.

Waitin' on Mary
The shepherds were waiting on Mary.

And after all these centuries
Even after hundreds of years have passed,