Faith Healer

Album: Little Oblivions (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • Julien Baker admits to having an addictive personality, and after six years of sobriety, she fell off the wagon in the late 2010s. Here, she reflects on that relapse as she parallels the escapism of substance abuse with other means of placating discomfort, such as a faith healer or a snake-oil dealer.
  • Asked by Uncut magazine who the faith healer is in the song, Julian Baker replied: "It's whatever it is that people choose to make God, an imagined deity, a substance, or a romantic partner, a cause or a fixation. The song is about how our vices intersect with our worship in ways we don't always recognize, and how we learn to prize and accept whatever gives us comfort."
  • After taking a break from touring to finish college at Middle Tennessee State University, Baker graduated in December 2019. She then headed straight to Young Avenue Sound Studio in her hometown of Memphis to record Little Oblivions.
  • Baker released "Faith Healer" as the first single from Little Oblivions on October 21, 2020. The song climbed to #14 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay listing, becoming the Tennessee native's first charted title.
  • Baker played nearly all the instruments on Little Oblivions and recorded the album with her producer, engineer, and longtime friend, Calvin Lauber.
  • Baker recorded a version in Simlish, the Sims' bespoke language, for The Sims 4 Cottage Living expansion pack.

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