Jacob and 2 Women

I first heard this song on the Rich Mullins tribute album in 1998. It was the first time I ever heard Carolyn sing.

I just got the first verse in this song a few weeks ago. Now, I feel totally lame.

Jacob he loved Rachel/And Rachel she loved him/And Leah was just there for dramatic effect/
Well, it's right there in the Bible/So it must not be a sin/But it sure does seem like an awful dirty trick/
And her sky is just a petal/Pressed in the book of memories/Of the time he thought he loved her/And they kissed
And her friends say, "He's a devil."/She says, "No, he is a dream."/And this is the world as best as I can remember it

I do not know why, but I always assumed the first verse was about Rachel. Of course, the song is "Jacob and 2 Women," but I always took the assertion that Leah was just there for dramatic effect as rather leaving her out of the song. Then, all of a sudden -- epiphany! The first verse is Leah's take on the famous Biblical triangle. Surely, in the tent after their wedding, before Jacob was disabused of his notion that he had married his true love, Rachel, he must have kissed Leah ("the time he thought he loved her and they kissed"). Of course Leah, always the despised (though very fruitful) wife would have treasured up this brief moment when she had received passion from her husband (though it was meant for her sister) in her internal book of memories.

The song makes much more sense now.