Bunnie has a few things to say to the people who stopped talking to her.

On her new single “Prodigal Son,” produced by Cody Fitzgerald, Bunnie writes about losing her religious community after coming out as queer. She told us that everyone who once claimed to love her suddenly stopped speaking to her. The experience initially broke her, and this song comes from the process of finding her voice again.

Of course, this isn’t the first song to borrow its title or inspiration from the biblical story of the prodigal son, and we covered another prodigal son before too. What caught my attention here is Bunnie’s alternative sound and that little bit of rock attitude. She has a way of sounding casual and confrontational at the same time. There’s something almost playful about how she delivers these rather painful experiences, and I love that she allows herself to be sarcastic.

Let’s get into some details. Someone has moved to Florida, joined a church and apparently built a new life in suburban Tampa. It’s oddly specific, and Bunnie tells the story almost like she’s gossiping about an old friend. Except there’s clearly some unfinished business here.

One part I particularly like comes when she suggests that this person probably still prays for her, despite no longer speaking to her. She follows it with a question about whether they want her forgiveness, too. It’s such a good line because she turns the whole situation around. Who exactly should be asking for forgiveness here?

In the biblical story, the prodigal son returns home and is welcomed by his father. Bunnie’s version comes from someone whose community has effectively shut her out. And judging by her lyrics, she’s got a few questions about the kind of love and tolerance that community was preaching.

Then comes my favorite line in the entire song: “Do I shatter the illusion of your tolerance, baby?”

I love the sarcasm in that little “baby.” This is also where her rock attitude makes so much sense to me. There’s anger here, obviously, and I imagine there’s still a lot of hurt underneath it. But Bunnie sounds like she’s having some fun calling these people out, too. She isn’t afraid to make the lyrics a little uncomfortable.

For a song about losing an entire community, “Prodigal Son” has a pretty satisfying sense of humor. I particularly enjoy how Bunnie brings that alternative-rock attitude into such personal songwriting. And sometimes, after spending so long worrying about what other people think of you, getting to say exactly what you think of them must be quite nice.