SONG OVERVIEW
Title: Positively No Admittance Album Position: Track 5 Act: II - The Women Role: The secret room - the coercion
Caption: A room with a warning on the door. An oath sworn under penalty of death. “God has revealed that you are mine.”
Style: Dark folk, haunting, female vocals, sparse, minor key, acoustic guitar, cello, slow, intimate, devastating, emotional
Runtime Target: 3:00-3:30
FINAL LYRICS
[Sparse Intro]
. . . ! . .
[Verse 1]
A room beside the river
A warning on the door
They swore me into silence
With death if I should tell
[Verse 2]
He said God had revealed it
That I belonged to him
That David and Solomon
Had many wives before
[Pre-Chorus]
Positively no admittance
Positively no escape
[Chorus]
Thunder-struck
I fainted, I refused
He damned me if I turned away
I thought of all the miles
Everything I gave
And I whispered
God's will be done... not mine
[Melodic Interlude]
. . . . ! .
. . . ! . .
[Verse 3]
What remains when God himself
Is the weapon that they use?
When heaven's gate swings shut on you
No matter what you choose?
[Chorus]
Thunder-struck
I fainted, I refused
He damned me if I turned away
I thought of all the miles
Everything I gave
And I whispered
God's will be done... not mine
[Mournful Outro]
God's will be done...
(Not mine...)
Not mine...
[Fade to End]
SOURCE MATERIAL FROM THE NAUVOO EXPOSITOR
All lyrics are grounded in the Preamble of the Nauvoo Expositor, June 7, 1844.
The Secret Room
“meet brother Joseph… at some insulated point, or at some particularly described place on the bank of the Mississippi, or at some room, which wears upon its front—Positively NO Admittance”
The Death Oath
“sworn in one of the most solemn manners, to never divulge what is revealed to them, with a penalty of death attached”
The Proposition
“God Almighty has revealed it to him, that she should be his (Joseph’s) Spiritual wife; for it was right anciently, and God will tolerate it again”
The Biblical Justification
“David and Solomon had many wives, yet in this they sinned not save in the matter of Uriah”
The Response and Damnation
“She is thunder-struck, faints recovers, and refuses. The Prophet damns her if she rejects.”
The Impossible Calculus
“She thinks of the great sacrifice and of the many thousand miles she has traveled over sea and land, that she might save her soul from pending ruin”
The Surrender
“and replies, God’s will be done and not mine.”
LYRIC-TO-SOURCE MAPPING
| Lyric | Source |
|---|---|
| “A room beside the river” | “particularly described place on the bank of the Mississippi” |
| “A warning on the door” | “room, which wears upon its front—Positively NO Admittance” |
| “They swore me into silence / With death if I should tell” | “sworn in one of the most solemn manners, to never divulge… with a penalty of death attached” |
| “He said God had revealed it / That I belonged to him” | “God Almighty has revealed it to him, that she should be his Spiritual wife” |
| “David and Solomon / Had many wives before” | “David and Solomon had many wives, yet in this they sinned not” |
| “Thunder-struck / I fainted, I refused” | “She is thunder-struck, faints recovers, and refuses” |
| “He damned me if I turned away” | “The Prophet damns her if she rejects” |
| “I thought of all the miles / Everything I gave” | “She thinks of the great sacrifice and of the many thousand miles she has traveled” |
| “God’s will be done… not mine” | “and replies, God’s will be done and not mine” |
PRODUCER NOTES
What This Song Does
- Tells the story of ONE moment: the secret room, the impossible choice
- Ends on the surrender - does NOT show the aftermath
- Sets up “The Tender Tree” (Track 6) which carries the devastation forward
Key Production Decisions
- Cut the aftermath material - “sent away until the talk died down” belongs in “The Tender Tree”
- Kept it sparse - cello and acoustic guitar only, no full band
- The interlude provides breathing room before the theological gut-punch of verse 3
- No resolution - the song ends in surrender, the silence hangs
Why “Thunder-struck” Works
The Expositor used this exact word. We’re not embellishing - we’re amplifying primary source language. This is what makes the song historically unassailable.
The Theological Trap (Verse 3)
The bridge from the first draft was generic (“What choice did I have?”). The new verse 3 names the real horror: God himself weaponized against women. This is supported by Jane Law’s affidavit:
“those women who would not allow their husbands to have more wives than one should be under condemnation before God”
Damned if you submit, damned if you refuse. That’s the trap.
Connection to Other Tracks
- Track 4 “Ten Thousand Miles” - Sets up “I thought of all the miles” - the listener needs to feel those miles first
- Track 6 “The Tender Tree” - Carries the aftermath: sent away, dry sorrow, the withering
- Track 7 “Under Condemnation” - Expands on the theological trap introduced in verse 3
VERSION HISTORY
v1 (Cut)
- Too wordy, setup soup in verse 1
- Verse 3 covered aftermath material (belonged in different song)
- Bridge was generic (“What choice did I have?”)
v2 (Final)
- Gutted and tightened
- Removed aftermath material
- New verse 3 addresses theological weaponization
- Ends on surrender with no resolution
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Nauvoo Expositor was published June 7, 1844 by former high-ranking church members including William Law (Second Counselor in the First Presidency) and Austin Cowles (First Counselor to the Stake President).
Three days later, on June 10, 1844, Joseph Smith (as mayor) ordered the press destroyed. A marshal and approximately 100 men removed the press, scattered the type, and burned remaining copies.
This led directly to Joseph Smith’s arrest and murder at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844.
The women described in the Expositor’s preamble were real. Their names were largely not recorded - they were “sent away for a time, until all is well” and returned “as from a long visit.” This song gives voice to their silenced experience.