"Temporary Home" is a well structured piece of writing, with the two verses of social awareness culminating in the religious message of the final verse. Although a leading reviewer called Carrie's social commentary in this song and "Change" heavy handed and sentimental - I disagree. I think the message is woven in quite skilfully - for example, the reference to "someday we'll find a place here in this world" is the central highlight of the song, balancing the other-world journey of the final death scene. This song marks, for me, an important stage in the growth of Carrie's songwriting, and says quite a lot about her philosophy.
Nevertheless, the overall effect of "Temporary Home" is mixed for me. Carrie's pure vocal has to bear nearly all the impact of the song - and although this is handled beautifully, and suits the mood well - the downside is that the music seems comparatively lacking in interest. For me this rather weakens the staying power and overall memorable quality of the song.
It is in fact a close call between these two songs. I'm reluctant to vote against either of them - but, for reasons I mentioned in the last round, I'm giving my vote again to "What Can I Say", as overall the more successful song in terms of musical and vocal variety.