November 14, 2025 — Mountain Home Music Company’s Eighteen Mile is making a strong showing with their debut single, “Above The Clouds” — already it’s topped the Bluegrass Today Gospel chart more than once since its September release — but the youthful quintet is already back with a follow-up.
“I’ve always been intrigued by the mental picture of Moses climbing up Mount Sinai to meet God in Exodus 34,” says multi-instrumentalist Carson Aaron, who wrote and sings lead on “What Mercy Means.”
“The Bible paints a picture that the mountain was dark and terrifying,” he continues, “and it even describes earthquakes and thunder, all because the Holy presence of God was there. I wrote this song to capture the divine tension of a Powerful, Holy God meeting an unholy man. The song then relates the Bible story to my personal story — that even though I deserve the punishment that comes from being a sinner before a Holy God, He surprises me with overflowing mercy every morning instead.”
Punctuated by an appropriately contemplative melodic theme from fiddler Savannah Aaron — sometimes alone, sometimes doubled by Jack Ritter’s subdued banjo — “What Mercy Means” features pristine harmonies from Ritter and Emily Guy that give gentle support to the song’s finely crafted, deeply felt chorus:
He said, I am merciful and gracious, and full of love for thee
The Giver of all good things to those who call on Me
I am still the God of justice and the guilty won’t go free
But watch and I will show you just what mercy means
Produced, like its predecessor, by renowned fiddle and mandolin player Andy Leftwich, “What Mercy Means” offers its timeless lesson in a musical form that listeners are already finding fits within a long-lived and deeply beloved bluegrass gospel lineage.
“What Mercy Means” is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.