"TAKE ME" (AS YOU FOUND ME) [Live From Williamsburg] by Anberlin, Friday, March 5, 2021

Before their hiatus in 2014, Anberlin had two summer acoustic tours. From the first tour, this live version was recorded in Brooklyn. Stephen Christian's live vocals have not always been on-point; however, slowing songs down didn't defeat the intensity of Anberlin, instead, the songs focus on ambiance and Stephen's vocals. This song, which got some time in the band's setlist when Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place was released never got the love the band expected. I remember hearing an interview with Stephen in which he said he thought that this song would put them on the map. My criticism of that was the lyrics of this song were not clear. Who or what is it about? Anberlin from Never Take Friendship Personal to New Surrender lyrically may have been cryptic, however, listeners could figure it out.

Criticism aside, listeners can get lost in Stephen's vocals in this concert and this track starts us out right. Stephen doesn’t shy away from the raspy, and he uses a vocal technique he said in the Cities livestream More to Living Than Being Alive, that it's a vocal technique he learned from the lead singer of The Juliana Theory.

What Does This Song Mean To Me?: Authenticity is everything. The Christianity of my young adult life was all about "keeping your nose clean," as my music teacher once instructed me. It caused a lot of anxiety as it made me think that I had to be "all things to all people." The damage that this did was that I lost myself in this ultraconservative alter-ego. As I get older, I feel I shed more and more of the weight of expectations put onto me. It's truly the blessing of getting older caring less and less about what other people think about you. What I come to find is the need for people who "take me as [they] find me." 

https://genius.com/Anberlin-take-me-as-you-found-me-lyrics