"Me to You" by Tim Be Told, Thursday, May 27, 2021

 

Tim Be Told was an indie CCM band made up of mostly Asian Americans. The band toured, released singles, and got some acclaim. Founded by keyboardist and singer Timothy Ouyang, the band now is a solo act with Tim being the only remaining member. After the other musicians split in 2015, Ouyang came out as gay and Ouyang uses his project, Tim Be Told, to write songs about faith, love, and telling his stories about discovering his sexuality. Last year, Tim released his most authentic, autobiographical album under the Tim Be Told moniker, Love & Happiness and he told his story on Matthias Roberts' podcast, Queerology. 

YOU NEED KNOW IF I BELIEVE IN ME AND YOU. "Me to You" starts out feeling like a praise & worship song. It seems like the formula I heard on CCM stations when I listened to that genre, and of course, Ouyang is well versed in that writing style. However, when says "Felt a little rush / Then our fingers touched," that line hit me. This song is about falling in love in all of its innocence. That human moment about falling in love, gay or straight or anywhere on the spectrum, is so relatable: when you realize that your feelings are reciprocated. Many will have this happen in their teenage years, the subtle moments leading up to an awkward laugh or maybe a kiss, when you're not quite sure logically what is happening, but you let yourself fall into it. Some of us it happens much, much later. Some of us it's a Tinder match or a message on a dating site. 

I TRIED TO FOLLOW EVERY RULE. I certainly didn't want to end up chopped up in the back of someone's car and that was one of the reasons I would make profile and quickly delete it. I would make a profile and say I lived in another part of the country and then set search parameters for closer to home. Once I even made an OKCupid account and said I was an American ex-pat living in Spain. But then I'd get worried about being a victim of serial killer or freak out that someone might recognize me or I'd start to feel guilty about it because of my relationship with God. Then I thought about the places I could drive to. Teens and young adults are supposed to rebel and take the car, staying out all night. The places I could have meet interesting strangers. The places good Christian boys don't go. Then there was the cold that ran through my body when I thought about what it might if I saw my fantasy to completion.  I called it the Holy Spirit. Softly and tenderly it called all the sinners home to a cold shower and off to bed. But the nights were lonely drowning in the blueness of the screen. I was the hypocrite and my sins would certainly find me out. "Me to You" offers a much less lonely path to love.

Read “Me To You” by Tim Be Told on Genius.