Art and Argument

“Any authentic work of art must start an argument between the artist and his audience.”

- Rebecca West

This sentiment is one to which I want to pay close attention as I write a second book. Since the author provides one half of the conversation and the reader provides the second half, I would do well to create an interesting exchange.

Big Picture

Song-writers can be keen social commentators that help us see the bigger picture of issues in our world. They may comment in cryptic and sometimes crude ways, but it is worthwhile hearing what they say. The Eagles wrote and performed a song for the 2007 album, Long Road Out of Eden. The lyrics of "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture" speak of reacting in the moment, being driven by emotions and desires, but failing to grasp the “big picture” of what is happening in the world. The bridge of the song is particularly telling as it speaks of how we may be tempted to treat God. Do we only pray to him with our own provincial interests in mind? Do we ask him to help us and then turn away from his will for our lives?

Nearly ten years after these words were released, they still ask us to consider important questions. They still speak to the small views we have of current events.

“And we pray to our Lord

Who we know is American

He reigns from on high

He speaks to us through middlemen

And He shepherds His flock

We sing out and we praise His name

He supports us in war

He presides over football games

And the right will prevail

All our troubles shall be resolved

We have faith in the Lord

Unless there's money or sex involved

Frail grasp on the big picture”

Written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey

Published by © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Don Henly/Glenn Frey/Eagles

Fairyland

 

“There is such a place as fairyland - but only children can find the way to it. And they do not know that it is fairyland until they have grown so old that they forget the way. One bitter day, when they seek it and cannot find it, they realize what they have lost; and that is the tragedy of life. On that day the gates of Eden are shut behind them and the age of gold is over. Henceforth they must dwell in the common light of common day. Only a few, who remain children at heart, can ever find that fair, lost path again; and blessed are they above mortals. They, and only they, can bring us tidings from that dear country where we once sojourned and from which we must evermore be exiles. The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and story-tellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland.”
― L.M. Montgomery, The Story Girl

Fortress Around Your Heart

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner is an English singer songwriter who has written hundreds of songs and has 16 Grammy awards. Most of us know him by the name, Sting. One of my favourite songs written by Sumner is this one, “Fortress Around Your Heart.” (Listen as you read these lyrics.)

Fortress Around Your Heart

Under the ruins of a walled city
Crumbling towers in beams of yellow light
No flags of truce, no cries of pity
The siege guns had been pounding through the night

It took a day to build the city
We walked through it's streets in the afternoon
As I returned across the fields I'd known
I recognised the walls that I once made

I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I'd laid

And if I've built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fire

Then I went off to fight some battle
That I'd invented inside my head
Away so long for years and years
You probably thought, or even wished that I was dead

While the armies all are sleeping
Beneath the tattered flag we'd made
I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I'd laid

And if I've built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fire

This prison has now become your home
A sentence you seem prepared to pay
It took a day to build the city
We walked through it's streets in the afternoon

As I returned across the lands I'd known
I recognised the fields where I'd once played

I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I'd laid

And if I've built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fire

Words and Music by Gordon Matthew Sumner; Published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

The song tells the story of a love relationship that flourished and was built to withstand the temptations and destructive forces of the world. It uses the metaphor of building castle walls, barbed wire, and land mines around the loved one to protect them and keep the world from harming them. But the song is now sung from the perspective of some time after the relationship has failed. Now, the battlements still stand and obstruct the lover from getting close to the woman he loved. There is a longing to once again approach her and pain in not being able to draw next to her. He must withdraw for fear of the danger of getting too close. Yet, there is still hope. The singer believes he will be able to build a bridge and once again draw near. He will set fire to the battlements that keep him away. Enjoy the rich poetry of this song as you listen to its melodic tone.

Broken From the Start

Jon Foreman (lead singer, guitarist, main songwriter for Switchfoot) has new solo music out. He released an EP to NoiseTrade called Old Seasons, New Day and one of the songs on that EP is called “Broken From the Start.”

In this song he is wrestling with his mortality with words like, “When our cords are cut that’s when we start to die” and “Lately every breath feels like I’m kissing death.” In the last verse he recognizes that as an artist he may never be truly respected until he is dead: “they still won't pay respect until you die.”

Why all of this pointing to death? The chorus gives us some insight.

If you hide yourself deep inside
Deep inside
In time you've got nothing left to hide
There's nothing left inside
Tonight, honey
I'm gonna break your heart
Mine was broken from the start
Broken from the start

Despite the fact that we are “born to die,” we cannot lock ourselves up deep inside. Our hearts need to be broken. We need to open ourselves to others and to someone greater than ourselves. There must be hope beyond the mortality of this life.

Broken From the Start
(words and music by Jon Foreman)
(Listen while you read the lyrics)

(Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh)
Life is a gift like fresh cut roses
Cut from the branch and brought inside
It's a slow contradiction, it's beauty in a vase
When our cords are cut that's when we start to die

(Oh)
Lately death and life get so confusing
I can't tell the difference here tonight
Lately every breath feels like I'm kissing death
And when time is dead I cease to be alive

If you hide yourself deep inside
Deep inside
In time you've got nothing left to hide
There's nothing left inside
Tonight, honey
I'm gonna break your heart
Mine was broken from the start
Broken from the start

(Oh)
Choice is the only thing we're given
For one to live another dies
One road says, "Hello"
The other says, "Goodbye"
And the rose that you don't choose begin to die
(Oh, oh)

If you hide yourself deep inside
Deep inside
In time you've got nothing left to hide
It dries up inside
Tonight, honey
I'm gonna break your heart
Mine was broken from the start
Broken from the start
Broken from the start
Broken from the start

They won't pay a cent to hear you laughing
They might pay a little to hear you cry
If you do it long enough
They might even pay attention
But they still won't pay respect until you die, die

If you hide yourself deep inside
Deep inside
In time you've got nothing left to hide
It's all dead inside
Tonight, honey
I'm gonna break your heart
Mine was broken from the start
Broken from the start

Dead Ringer

Marc Martel has just released a new album and is presently on tour with music from the album entitled, wait for it, Impersonator. Yes, the former Freddie Mercury impersonator has something to say and he says it well. Using just his surname for this new band, he has given us twelve songs about being an Impersonator, a Dead Ringer, a Ringo Starr and several more themes. His wife thinks that he may have too many identity crisis songs on the album but he assures reporters that this is a good portion of what is happening right now.1 Some would say he has something to prove; that he is just another Freddie Mercury sound alike; that he is only a cover band king; that he doesn’t have his own sound; that Freddie’s memory should be left alone.

Those of us who know Martel’s music from his previous days as the lead singer and creative genius behind the band downhere have a different story. He has already proved who he is, what he sounds like, and that he is so much more than a really good “Wedding Singer.” Albums like Ending is Beginning and songs like “How Many Kings” and “Coming Back Home” were played to church youth groups and on radio stations across Canada and the USA long before he became a singer for one of the most famous bands in the world. Downhere received five Juno Awards over a ten year span and attracted a solid following of fans.

In “Dead Ringer,” Martel sings about “the face he was given when he was born” and “the sound he makes when he opens his mouth.” With great irony, “Dead Ringer” argues that he just happens to sound and look like Freddie Mercury and that he is just trying to be himself. This is the argument he sings even as he crafts and performs a song designed to mimic the lead vocals and style of Queen to a tee. Here are the lyrics and a link to the audio.

Dead Ringer (listen to it here)

Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer, dead
I know you’ve seen this face before
It’s just the one they gave me when I was born
I’m not puttin’ it on make no mistake
When I open my mouth that’s the sound I make

It’s on the tip of your tongue
Gives you chills just to think about it
Though you say nothing new would get that sound
But let me tell you that that I beat you to it

Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer, dead
I just try to be myself
Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer, dead
Cause I can’t be no one else
Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer, dead
I've got to be myself
Lord let me be myself

Bought yourself a ticket to the County Zoo
Be careful what you say cause it could happen to you
Finger in a socket and a double take
Pick your jaw off the floor; give your heads a shake

I’m on the tip of your tongue
Gives you chills just to think about it
Oh you say nothing new under the sun
Let me show you that there’s nothin’ to it

Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer, dead
I try to be myself
Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer, dead
Cause I can’t be no one else
Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer, dead
I got to be myself
Lord let me be myself

Just like that

Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer
Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer
Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer
Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer

Anyone ever tell you you’re a

Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer, dead
I just try to be myself
Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer, dead
Cause I can’t be no one else
Dead ringer, dead ringer, dead ringer, dead
I got to be myself
Lord let me be myself

“Dead Ringer” is the quintessential personal identity song that works so well for Marc Martel. There are other songs on the album that are less personal and just as good. Take for example “Paradise.” It is a bluesy, rocky, electronic anthem about a world that “chews us up, spits us out, and leaves us locked up in paradise.” A song worthy of many accolades but perhaps it is enough to simply say, poetic and operatic.

The recording closes with a song that sounds more downhere than Queen; and more Marc than Freddie. “The Remake” is about how we can have “high hope” in the way in which God will do his remake and make all things new. The metaphor calls us to something higher and reminds us that there is more to life than just what we see.

So is the new Martel music deserving of a wide audience? Check it out for yourself. I would suggest buying the recording and singing along. Perhaps you too can find your own voice.
 

1 http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/09/03/marc-martel-paradise-premiere/14996237/

The Last Time I Saw Richard

Joni Mitchell has a gift for creating pictures of sad personalities. Here as she writes of Richard, she also paints a picture of the person speaking to Richard. This is one of my favourite Joni Mitchell songs.

The Last Time I Saw Richard(Words and music by Joni Mitchell; from the album Blue)
(Listen to the song here.) 

The last time I saw Richard was Detroit in '68,
And he told me all romantics meet the same fate someday
Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe
You laugh, he said you think you're immune, go look at your eyes
They're full of moon
You like roses and kisses and pretty men to tell you
All those pretty lies, pretty lies
When you gonna realize they're only pretty lies
Only pretty lies, just pretty lies 

He put a quarter in the Wurlitzer, and he pushed
Three buttons and the thing began to whirr
And a bar maid came by in fishnet stockings and a bow tie
And she said drink up now it's gettin' on time to close
Richard, you haven't really changed, I said
It's just that now you're romanticizing some pain that's in your head
You got tombs in your eyes, but the songs
You punched are dreaming
Listen, they sing of love so sweet, love so sweet
When you gonna get yourself back on your feet?
Oh and love can be so sweet, love so sweet 

Richard got married to a figure skater
And he bought her a dishwasher and a Coffee percolator
And he drinks at home now most nights with the TV on
And all the house lights left up bright
I'm gonna blow this damn candle out
I don't want Nobody comin' over to my table
I got nothing to talk to anybody about
All good dreamers pass this way some day
Hidin' behind bottles in dark cafes
Dark cafes
Only a dark cocoon before I get my gorgeous wings
And fly away
Only a phase, these dark cafe days 

Songwriter: Joni Mitchell; Published by Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Joni Mitchell/Crazy Crow Music/Siquomb Music

Woodstock

One of Joni Mitchell's more spiritual songs.

Woodstock("Woodstock" is track #8 on the album Shadows And Light (Live). It was written by Joni Mitchell.) 

(Listen to a great performance of this song here.) 

I came upon a child of God
He was walkin' along the road
And I asked him, I said "Where're you going?"
This he told me 

He said I'm goin' down to Yasgur's farm
I'm gonna join in a Rock 'n' Roll band
I'm gonna camp out on the land
I'm gonna try and get my soul free, yea 

We are stardust
We are golden
And we got to get ourselves
Back to the garden 

Well and can I walk beside you?
I've come here to lose the smog
And I feel as if I'm a cog
In somethin' turnin' round and round and round, hmm 

Maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe it's the time of man
I don't know, who I am
But you know, life is for learnin' 

We are stardust
We are golden
And we got to get ourselves
Back to the garden 

By the time when we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere you looked
There was a song and a celebration
Everybody was singin' and dancin' and sharin' and havin' fun 

And I dreamed and I saw the bombers
They're ridin' shotgun in the sky
And they were turnin' into butterflies
Above our nation 

We are stardust, we are billion year old carbon
We are golden, caught up in the Devil's bargain
And we got to get ourselves
Back to the garden 

We've got to get ourselves
Back to some semblance of a garden 

Songwriters MITCHELL, JONI; Published by Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Joni Mitchell/Crazy Crow Music/Siquomb Music

Locked In A Cage

A friend of mine wrote a story that is a helpful discussion starter and I asked him to guest blog today. The story is a metaphor of life and the followers of Jesus. I share it with you here. Let me know how this story affects you.

Picture us as a group of people locked in a cage. Our daily needs of food and water are met through a hole in the side of the cage. The edges of that hole are razor sharp, but we need food, and so I reach through to pick up what I need, but I cut my arm in the process. Day after day, no matter how many ways I try it, I can’t pick up the food without getting cut.

People often mock me, tell me daily how wrong I’m doing it, and offer their advice of the right way to grab the food. But I can see the cuts on their arms, as fresh as mine. Others offer food for sale, I bought it once, but the soured portions were too small. They didn’t satisfy, and the seller insisted on more payment before he would part with any more food. If I want to eat, the cuts from the cage will be the price I have to pay. 

One day somebody new arrives, they don’t offer advice, they visit with me. When they see me cut myself reaching for the food, they quietly reach into their bag and retrieve bandages. Carefully, they take hold of my arm; they look at the wound and make sure it’s not too deep. They bind it with gentle hands.

The next day they show up again. They ask me how my wounds are doing, and when I cut myself again getting today’s food, they retrieve the same bandages and tenderly wrap my arm again. Every day the same: I cut myself reaching for food, they treat the wounds. They clean them and check to make sure the old cuts are healing well. On days I can’t bear to reach through the hole, they share their own food with me. They talk with me as I lament the way things are. We become close friends. 

Then one day, while they’re cleaning a fresh cut, I notice their arms, they have scars, but they’re long since healed. “Your arms,” I ask, “why don’t you have any cuts?” They reply, telling me they have a friend who gives them food for free. I’m skeptical, I’ve never heard of such a thing in this cage. They continue, “My friend has been giving me food for a while now, and you can see my cuts are all healed, in fact it was my friend who healed them, and that same friend has given me the bandages I’ve been using to treat your wounds.” “That’s not the way it works around here,” I insist. “What’s the catch?" “No catch,” the response. “Doesn’t sound right to me,” I say. “You should be careful”. 

We continue like this for days. Weeks even. My friend doesn’t push the conversation about his friend, but he’s present every day; talking with me, caring for me, sharing his food. Always my friend has fresh food and bandages, but never does he reach through the hole in the cage. Never are there fresh cuts on his arms.

One day I slip while reaching through the hole, and cut myself badly; worse than I have in a long time. I break down while my friend cleans the wound. “I can’t do this anymore! It shouldn’t be this hard. Yet, you’re healthy, and you always have food and supplies – even this friend of yours has got to be better than this! Do you think you can introduce us?” “Absolutely,” he says. “Come walk with me.”
- Tyler Williams 2015

Raise Me

As we approach Easter, our church is reading slowly through the Gospel of John. Today’s reading was from John chapter 8 which contains the story of the woman caught in adultery (read it here). This reading reminded me of a song Mike Charko and I wrote a few years ago and so I share it with you here. It tells the story from the perspective of the woman.

Raise Me
(Words and Music by Mike Charko and Keith Shields; copyright 2011 SOCAN)
(Click here to listen while you read.)

My life is now in the hands of those who know my crime
They stare at me with their hungry eyes
Pious words from their lips hide a bitter rage
We share a crime that’s now all mine

Please let me live 
This just isn't fair
You are guilty like me
My life has been laid bare

Who is this one they take me to, a judge, or just a man
He looks at me with sorrow in his eyes
At my feet he kneels to write words I cannot read
He sees right through all of their lies

Please let me live 
This just isn't fair
You are guilty like me
My life has been laid bare

I can't escape, a lifetime of mistakes  
I want to run; I'm so alone 

Please let me live 
This just isn't fair
You are guilty like me
My life has been laid bare

Suddenly, we are alone; are they really gone?
Only one can tell me now my fate
He looks at me with purest love I truly understand
And says to me go, sin no more

Where are my accusers
I have been released
The one who stooped down with me
Has raised me up again

Reckless Forgiver

The band Jars of Clay sings about a “Reckless Forgiver” (listen to the song here) on their album Inland. I leave it to your imagination as to who it is that truly forgives recklessly. I may not be fully capable of reckless forgiveness but I certainly could be more generous with my forgiveness.

Reckless Forgiver
(Composed and performed by "Jars of Clay;" 2013)
Writers: Charles Daniel Lowell, Daniel Paul Haseltine, Matthew Thomas Odmark, Stephen Daniel Mason; Copyright: Middle Space Publishing (BMI), Grow Your Own Music O.B.O. Middle Space Publishing.

Loneliness, loneliness, it won't last forever
Happiness, happiness, wait in line

Every time I look in the mirror
I'm in the shadow of doubt
Maybe I'm as lost as the next guy
Who just has to find, just have to find out

All I want is peace like a river
Long life of sanity, love that won't leave too soon
Someone to pull out the splinters
A reckless forgiver
You know I'm talking to you

I made a mess, made a mess
Of the heart I borrowed
So get undressed, get undressed
Laugh tomorrow

Every time I look in the mirror
I'm in the shadow of doubt
Maybe I'm as lost as the next guy
Just have to find

All I want is peace like a river
Long life of sanity, love that won't leave too soon
Someone to pull out the splinters
A reckless forgiver
You know I'm talking to you
I leave it all for you

All I want is peace like a river
Long life of sanity, love that won't leave too soon
Someone to pull out the splinters
A reckless forgiver
You know I'm talking to you

I want peace like a river
Long life of sanity, love that won't leave too soon
Someone to pull out the splinters
A reckless forgiver
You know I'm talking to you

I leave it all for you
You know I'm talking to you

I leave it all for you
All for you
Yeah, Yeah
I leave it all for you

Sisters Brothers

I listened to the new "Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors" album, Medicine today. Drew Holcomb is an American singer song-writer who just happens to be married to Ellie Holcomb (nee Elizabeth Bannister), the daughter of singer, song-writer, producer extraordinaire, Brown Bannister. I like the recording a lot and there are some really good songs on it. "American Beauty" may be my personal favourite. The album is certainly better produced than the previous album Passenger Seat; but, in my humble opinion, Passenger Seat has the better songs. "Hallelujah," on the Passenger Seat recording, is a great story of rock and roll worship bands (yes, in this case, "rock and roll" and "worship" can be put together) and asks interesting questions about the motives of contemporary worship music leaders (see it performed here).

However, the song on Medicine which caught my attention the most, caught it for all the wrong reasons. "Sisters Brothers" seems to me to be simply a mellow reworking of Serena Rider's song "Stompa." Take a listen to the two here (starts at approximately 20:35) and here. The similarity probably falls short of copyright infringement, but "Sisters Brothers" is similar enough to make one think that Drew has been listening to Serena.

If there is any redemption in all of this, it is that Drew Holcomb has improved on the meaning of Serena Rider's song. There is truth in the bridge Holcomb has written.

Life's not a joke
Not a cloud of smoke
It's not to be mocked
It's a tickin clock
Countin down the days
Livin on borrowed time

Below are the rest of the lyrics to "Sisters Brothers."

Sisters Brothers 

(Words and music by Drew Holcomb)

It happened to me on the balcony
I heard someone singing in the key of C
Goodbyes and love and freedom and tragedy
It got me singing like a carousel
I had to take a vacation to the wishing well
To pound all the drums and ring all the bells 

Sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers
We've got to stand up for each other
Sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers
We've got to fight for one another 

Now promises made and debts were paid
We tell ourselves we are not afraid
Fear only goes where its invited to stay
An eclectic electric hopeless romantic
Telling tall-tales to keep your interest
Trying to understand the lonely heart of man 

Sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers
We've got to stand up for each other
Sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers
We've got to fight for one another 

Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh yeah 

Life's not a joke
Not a cloud of smoke
It's not to be mocked
It's a tickin clock
Countin down the days
Livin on borrowed time 

Sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers
We've got to stand up for each other
Sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers
We've got to fight for one another 

By Drew Holcomb. © Hancy
Music, 2014. BMI. Music Admin.

Coming Back Home

One of my favourite bands is Downhere. They write great songs with smart lyrics and always challenge their listeners to think about relationships with God and with others. "Coming Back Home" from the Ending is Beginning album is a song about repentance. Here are the lyrics.

"Coming Back Home"
(Performed by Downhere) (Listen while you read.) 

After the longest exile
Trying to make it on my own
Aching for my home
I've been astray for much too long
Knowing I've done you so much wrong
Just makes me feel that much more alone
But in my sadness I hear you calling 

So I'm coming back home to build what I tore down
Left my world in shambles
Only this time I'll let you wear the crown
Woah Oh
Coming back home to build what I tore down
If you will forgive me
You won't fail me
You won't let me down
Woah Oh Woah Oh Woah Oh 

I've been afraid of what I'll find
I open the door to what's inside
I'm back but all's not right
'Cause there is still a mess to clean up
There are wars to fight and be freed up
But if you're there with me I will have no reason to fear
'Cause in this madness You are my solace 

So I'm coming back home to build what I tore down
left my world in shambles
Only this time I'll let you wear the crown
Oh Woah
Coming back home to build what I tore down
If you will forgive me
You won't fail me
You won't let me down
You won't let me down
Coming back home to build
Coming back home to build 

Into Your arms this wayward son is 

Coming back home to build what I tore down
Left my world in shambles
Only this time I'll let you wear the crown
Woah Oh
Coming back home to build what I tore down
If you will forgive me
You won't fail me
You won't let me down
Woah Oh Woah Oh Woah Oh
Coming back home to build
Coming back home to build 

Written by Marc A. Martel, Jason Ronald William Germaine; Published by © Music Services, Inc.

I love the part of the chorus that says, "I'm coming back home to build what I tore down, left my world in shambles. Only this time I'll let you wear the crown." That is a great description of repentance. It is turning around and repairing what has been broken. It is turning around and saying, "I have messed this up; and so, God, I need you to be the King of my life. I need you to take control."

Where Can I Go?

The band Petra released an album in 1977 called Come and Join Us which contained the song, "Where Can I Go" written by Bob Hartman. It is another creative meditation on Psalm 139:7-12.

Where Can I Go
(Words and music by Hartman Robert M; Published by Word Music, LLC)
(Listen while you read)

I could take a plane to New York City
I could hitchhike all the way to L.A.
I could follow the sunrise tomorrow
But be as close to You as today
I'm beginning to see what You mean to me
I just can't get away from Your love

Where can I go without Your love there to haunt me
I do believe You're playing to win
I can't understand what makes You really want me
But I'm feelin' like it's time to give in

I could climb the golden stairway to heaven
I could catch the crowded highway to hell
If I could find a place nobody has ever been
I bet You'd probably be there as well
I don't know why I've waited so long

Where can I go without Your love there to haunt me
I do believe You're playing to win
I can't understand what makes You really want me
But I'm feelin' like it's time to give in

Darkness is the same as the light to You
Daytime is the same as the night
When You put Your chains of love around my soul
I know it won't be long before I let You take control

I could take a submarine to Atlantis
I could take a flying saucer to Mars
I could ride on the Milky Way someday
But You've already numbered the stars
I'm beginning to hear Your voice is so near
Tellin' me You love me again

Where can I go without Your love there to haunt me
I do believe You're playing to win
I can't understand what makes You really want me
But I'm feelin' like it's time to give in

Psalm 139:7-12 (New International Version):
Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

Follow-Up To Itching Ears

Yesterday I included the lyrics to a song that addressed the concept of itching ears, as described in 2 Timothy 3:4. This idea of people being told what they want to hear and being attracted to churches by fine words is not limited to churches that have been converted to discos. Those of us who preach and teach must be alert and constantly test what we say. We need to watch for the influence of Satan in every context. Keith Green creatively quoted the devil in one of his songs when he said, "I put some truth in every lie to tickle itching ears; you know I'm drawing people just like flies 'cause they like what they hear."1

The message of the Gospel is vital and must not be compromised by our methods or by our words. There are plenty of high profile, celebrity preachers who preach prosperity and health to those who follow their words. Would it not be better to simply speak the words of the Bible and let those words transform the lives of the people? Isaiah 55:8-11 reads,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

God's word will not return empty. Even when we do not fully understand His word, we can speak it and trust that it will achieve the purposes for which He sent it. If we are honest with ourselves and others, we will recognize that there is still great mystery in the words of the Bible. For example, how do we reconcile these two statements:

"He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (Matthew 5:45) and
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

Who does God reward; the evil and the good; or those who earnestly seek Him? The truth is, my itching ears want to hear that it is only those who earnestly seek God that will be rewarded. I want to hear that if I go to church, read my Bible, and pray, I will be rewarded with health and wealth. I want to believe that. I don't want to believe that God will send His excellent rain upon the evil as well as the good. My ears are just as itchy as the next person; but, here is my commitment to myself and to others. I will seek to truly hear the word of God. I will trust that it is good and true and beneficial. Even as I struggle to understand the Bible, I will listen to the hard words as well as those that sound good to my ever itching ears.

Let us speak both of these words and trust that God will reconcile them in our lives and in this world. His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. His thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways. They operate on a higher plane than our own. In the higher plane, there is no apparent contradiction between Matthew 5 and Hebrews 11. Therefore, let us speak these words of truth and trust that they will accomplish the purposes of God.



1 See http://hungerandthirst4.blogspot.ca/2010/10/no-one-believes-in-me-anymore.html for all of the words to this song. You can even listen to the song while you read along: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt42MXX2CXg

Steve Taylor and the Perfect Foil

For those of you who loved Steve Taylor in the 80's, he's back; and back in style. The creator of such music as "Meltdown (At Madame Tussaud's)" (1984), "On The Fritz" (1985), "Lifeboat" (1985), and "This Disco (Used To Be A Cute Cathedral)" (1985) has released a new album. He used a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to record a studio album and plan a tour (the video for the Kickstarter is very funny). His new band, The Perfect Foil, includes Peter Furler, the former drummer and lead singer of Newsboys. Taylor and Furler have worked together for years and Taylor was behind many of the quirky lyrics of Newsboys songs. Remember these lyrics from the Newsboys song "Shine":

And try as you may, there isn't a way
To explain the kind of change
That would make an Eskimo renounce fur
That would make a vegetarian barbecue hamster

Pure Steve Taylor lyrics.

The new album is called "Goliath" and was released on November 18. Although Taylor is known for his satirical songs, he is equally adept at serious poetry. "A Life Preserved" is one example on the new album.

A Life Preserved
(Music and Lyrics by Steve Taylor on the album Goliath by Steve Taylor and the Perfect Foil)
(Listen while you read)

Bobbing for air, I'm back again
A perfect ten of a dive without a pool
A perfect fool too slow to know
His wind has been knocked out till I'm gasping

Bobbing for air, been up and down
The once renown, angling for another act
Another tactical advance to who knows where
You found me there, I heard you there

Calling me out of the shallows of my world
Called to something graceful, something true
Gratitude's too cheap a word for all you've reassembled
From a spirit broken and unnerved
A life preserved
A life preserved

Bobbing for air, I've been atoned
Creation groaned to lift me as I drowned
And set my feet up on the mound of rock you crushed for me
A place to stand, whisper a command

Calling me out of the shallows of my world
Called to something graceful, something true
Gratitude's too cheap a word for all you've reassembled
From a spirit broken and unnerved
A life preserved

Bobbing for air, I have been served
A life preserved after all I'd cast away
You tipped the grayscale till the scales fell back to earth
And I saw colors, I heard a shout
Bobbing for air

Calling me out of the shallows of my world
Called to something graceful, something true
Gratitude's too cheap a word for all you've reassembled
From a spirit broken and unnerved
A life preserved

Calling me out of the shallows of my world
Called to something graceful, something true
Gratitude's too cheap a word for all you've reassembled
From a spirit broken and unnerved
A life preserved

I am very glad Steve Taylor is producing new music and getting out on the road to do some touring. The need is so great that I was about to start my own Steve Taylor Tribute Band. "Hey . . . I can do tall skinny white guy pogo-ing on the stage. Get me an "On The Fritz" suit and I am ready to go!"

Homes and Angels

My friend and fellow song-writer, Mike Charko, was in a store the other day when a song came over the system. He heard the melody of the hook and thought to himself, "That sounds a lot like one of our songs!" He didn't hear the name of the band and so after a bit of searching he realized that it was the new single from the band Train: "Angel in Blue Jeans." The hook of their song matches eight bars/ten notes in the heart of our song: "Home."

On the one hand, it is kind of flattering that we (Key of Zed) came up with a melody in 2013 that the authors of "Angel in Blue Jeans" came up with in 2014 and now it is playing on the radio. On the other hand, it kind of feels like copyright infringement. I will post links to both songs and let you be the judge. How similar are these two melodies? Do we have a case for conscious or unconscious copyright infringement? Should we contact the band? Should we just have fun knowing that our song is a lot like their big hit?

Home Angel in Blue Jeans

Home
(Lyrics and Music by Mike Charko and Keith Shields - SOCAN 2013)
Written March 16, 2013
Published on Thirst Website (http://hungerandthirst4.blogspot.ca/2013/04/home.html) on April 13, 2013.
Published on ReverbNation, Key of Zed (http://www.reverbnation.com/keyofzed) on April 13, 2013.
Performed at the Heritage Grill in New Westminster on June 3, 2013.
Performed at the Rusty Gull in North Vancouver on June 20, 2013.

Home
Home
Home
Home

Follow this lane to the clothes on the line
The garden, the trees, and the hills that we'd walk
The buzzing of summer, the ponds, and the hay
Blossom of thistle, and sweet evening stalks

Home
Home
Home
Home

Driving left hand roads to rivers and sheep

The heather, the wind, and the salt of the sea

Ruddy complexions and hair of light red

This lonely shore she is calling me

Home
Home
Home
Home

Turn up this way 'til I see your sweet face
Gardening gloves and your hair out of place
A smile, a kiss, I'm lost in your arms
Right here with you I have built this space.

Home
Home
Home
Home

(Click on thumbnail image for a larger picture.)

April Wine

April Wine is one of those under-rated bands of 70s rock.1 The Canadian band were regularly heard on Canadian pop stations in the 70s and a few American stations caught-on to their sound. They toured with such bands as Nazareth, Rush, and the Rolling Stones. They had a following of their own and at their peak sold out stadiums across North America. Lead singer Myles Goodwyn 2 gave the band its vocal sound and wrote most of the songs while Jerry Mercer was the power-house drummer. Bass and three rock guitars rounded-out the sound of the band taking it close to a heavy metal edge; but Goodwyn would often play piano on the band's strong ballads. They toured incessantly through the 70s, took a break in the early 80s, toured again from 1982 to 1985, broke up in 85, re-formed in 88 and until recently could be seen doing the casino circuit in Canada and the US.  "In May of 2014, Goodwyn announced he [would] retire from touring with April Wine. He [plans to] do studio recordings with the band."3

Fans of the music will have their favourites; and for me, one of the best will always be "Lady Run, Lady Hide." Whether or not it was intentional, it sounds like an environmental ode to our planet. You can listen to it here; but, really listen to it by listening several times focusing on a different instrument, voice, or section each time. Yes, it is over-produced by the standards of music today; but what an overproduction!

Lady Run, Lady Hide
(Myles Goodwyn/Jim Clench) Published by Summerlea Music, Ltd. – BMI

Lovely lady, silent lady
Will tomorrow be the last day in your life
I can't free you, only plea you
On the last days of your life

Lady run, lady hide
Lady run, lady hide
Lonely lady, lovely lady

Do you know, do you know you've lost the fight
Cause we'll use you, and abuse you
On the last days of your life
Our tomorrow is now today
And our last chance to find a way

You'd think we'd learn, you'd think we'd try
When tomorrow we all could die

Lady run, lady hide
Lady run, lady hide
Lady run, lady hide
Lady run, lady hide, lady hide


1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Wine
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myles_Goodwyn
3 "www.aprilwine.ca - April Wine, Myles Goodwyn - Biography". AprilWine.ca