Guest
Soaring down the road at sunset in Joshua Tree, California, Adaline visually underlines the song lyrics, addressing particular religious communities and families that insert themselves as backseat drivers in the lives of LGBTQ people and others they are trying to “save“. These performance shots are interjected with religious iconography. The video explores the tension in the central lyric of the song: “No one's winning in this holy war. What are we even fighting for? Our only law 'to love' now missing“, calling upon Jesus' ultimate commandment to love your neighbour as yourself. From Adaline: “Knowing your religious community and family are praying for you to change for fear of your salvation can be exhausting. Constantly having to justify who you are to deaf ears can be exhausting. Having to hold space for prejudice and ignorance masquerading as unconditional love and acceptance can be exhausting. That's what “Running On Empty“ speaks to. I
