Tag Archives: lyrics

Lyrically Inspired – Little Drummer Boy

December is one of my two favorite months of the year.  The other is October. . . but I digress.

I love Christmas music.  I mean I would listen to it all year if people weren’t so prone to being cranky about it.  But December means all restrictions are off and I can blast Christmas music to my heart’s content!

So I thought I’d take a few minutes to share with you some of my most favorite songs as well as the reasons why.  Lyrics can be every bit as thought-provoking as a good book, a powerful sermon, or a deep philosophical discussion.

This first song wasn’t a favorite when I was younger.  Frankly, I found it annoying for a time.  Somewhere during middle school I was able to get past the “nonsense lyrics” and really hear what was being said and my opinion was radically changed.  Let me show you what I mean –

I have no gift to bring
That’s fit to give our king
Shall I play for you
On my drum
Mary nodded
The ox and lamb kept time
I played my drum for him
I played my best for him
Then he smiled at me
Me and my drum
I took out the “pa rum pum pum pum” lyrics because this is the phrase that first captured my attention and I wanted you to see the words clearly.
All the drummer boy had to offer was his ability to play.  When he did so, the infant smiled at him.  As simple as that – the drummer gave the very best that he had and it pleased the Messiah.
There is a sad tendency in some churches to allow for shoddy musicianship in services because the thinking is “We’re doing it for Jesus so it’s the thought that counts.”  I doubt most churches would feel that way about the sermon.  We expect the Pastor to put in time preparing the sermon.  Reading scripture, praying, consulting the original language when needed . . . none of us would be happy with a pastor who got into the pulpit on Sunday morning and said, “I haven’t really prepared anything.  I’m just gonna kinda wing it today.”
But church musicians?  People have actually been known to get angry that they rehearse; that they come to the Sunday morning service well-prepared.  But this song gets it – “I played my best for him”.
Wouldn’t be a bad epitaph, now that I think about it – She played her best for him.

Fear Not – The Story Behind the Song

Christmas is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday.  I think I’ve even started to like it more than my own birthday!  I love the decorations, the music, the gift-buying, the television specials . . . I love the whole crazy, busy, chaotic experience!

But I do have one small frustration – Christmas Eve Services.  I didn’t grow up going to them even though I was a Pastor’s kid.  Dad felt that Christmas Eve was for family so he never held one and if we were ever members of a church that held them, we never went.  For much of my married life, we’ve been in churches that did, indeed, ask members to come out on Christmas Eve for a service.  I’m still not a big fan of such things but I think a large part of it is due to the fact that every Christmas Eve service I’ve ever been in feels like a funeral.  But we’re celebrating a birth, right?!

I guess you could say that “Fear Not” is the type of music I’d program into a Christmas Eve service if I was ever given free reign!  A birth – especially the birth of the Messiah! – is a happy occasion, a reason to celebrate.  No long faces or somber expressions at a baby shower!  The story of the cross started in that little stable in Bethlehem, true.  But I believe that all of heaven was excited that the process had begun and that God’s relationship with man was about to radically change forever.

”Fear not, I bring to you great
A message of hope to every
Man and woman girl and boy.
For unto you this day,
Over in King David’s town,
A Savior, Christ the Lord, is born
Heaven’s gift of love come down.”

Luke 2:10-11

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good new of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you:  you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

 

Only In You – The Story Behind the Song

I would like to tell you that recurring themes show up in my songs because I’m really good at focusing on concepts until I perfect them.  I would LIKE to tell you that but I’d rather be honest.  The existence of recurring themes in my songs is due to the simple fact that I can be a little hard-headed when it comes to learning lessons.

“Only in You” is a reminder that joy comes from exactly one source – my relationship with my Heavenly Father.  Period.  When that relationship is being nurtured, inner joy is palpable.  When I am setting aside time to be with my Abba my sense of purpose is well-defined and the next step is crystal clear.  It’s when I start worrying about what others think, when I allow my focus to be misdirected, that I find myself struggling.  I start to doubt my calling and purpose.  I start to second guess what I’m supposed to do next.

So this song draws my focus back to the ONLY source of joy and the only being able to confirm my sense of purpose.  It’s that simple and that difficult.

I find my greatest sense of worth
In the presence of my King on bended knee.

You will make known to me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.  ~Psalm 16:11

Lyrical Inspiration

Come meet this motley crew of misfits
These liars and these thieves
There’s no one unwelcome here, no
So that sin and shame that you brought with you
You can leave it at the door
And let mercy draw you near

I absolutely love the song “Come to The Table” by Sidewalk Prophets.  Especially the lyrics above.  There is absolute unqualified love and mercy for those who would follow Christ.  Enjoy

 

Unchanging – Part II

I promised you some song details so here they are!

It all started during a conversation with a friend.  We were discussing the wide variety of names and descriptors applied to the Trinity in Scripture.  The more we talked, the more we focused on the meanings of those names and what they revealed about God’s character.

The conversation with my friend ended, but the topic continued to occupy my thoughts for the next few days.  Somewhere, somehow, my thoughts shifted from simply thinking about the names or titles and their meanings to dwelling on one simple yet startling realization – all of those names?  All of the roles they describe?

God is ALL of those things simultaneously.  He FUNCTIONS in all those roles simultaneously.  Effortlessly, perfectly, eternally.

Let me explain this another way – I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, and a grandmother (just four weeks ago!).  While I’m always each of those things, I cannot simultaneously function in those roles.  I may be able to shift quickly from texting with my daughter to chatting with my husband and back again.  But I cannot successfully do both at the exact same time.  I miss pieces of conversation or lose my train of thought.

But with God, nothing ever gets missed or lost.  No one is ever neglected.  He can be everything He is to everyone all the time.  Redeemer, Healer, Comforter, Lion of Judah, Lamb of God . . . every facet of his character functioning perfectly at the exact same time.  Whichever part of his character you need to be touched by, he is that for you while being whatever every other believer needs at the exact same time.

But my thought process did not stop there.  As I began writing the lyrics for “Unchanging”, my focus shifted from this “simultaneous functioning” concept to the most overwhelming thought yet – this God, who is everything that anyone could need all the time, this Creator, Redeemer, and Savior . . . loves me.  Lyrically, I expressed it this way –

Beyond the names and titles

One truth rings out so clear

I was always known,

Always loved

You are always standing near.

As He is wrapping me in the peace I need, He is providing comfort for another, healing someone else, and gently correcting one more.  And it doesn’t stop there.  It doesn’t stop ever.  He’s always touching, reaching, enveloping, and redeeming.  Because of love.  We do nothing to earn it and will never be able to repay any of it.  It’s all because He CHOOSES to love.

It’s that simple and the profoundly beautiful.

Unchanging – Part I

I finished a new song.  That always feels big to me.  I rarely ever – almost never – sit down and say “Today, I will write a song.”  Usually, I experience something or come across a thought-provoking piece of scripture or devotional writing.  This causes me to mentally devote a stretch of time to a thought, a concept, an idea, a phrase . . . you get the idea.  When I have a line or two of lyric stuck in my head, I jot them down in a notebook specifically designated to hold all my “songs in progress.”

Then the actual writing process begins.  I revisit the lyric snippet, seek out relevant Scripture to ponder, start crafting possible melodies, play around with chords and their progressions . . . you get the idea.  Eventually, a song comes together.

Sometimes, I get all the lyrics in one breathtaking creative burst.  I’m almost grateful that doesn’t happen often because it’s emotionally draining!  There was even one time (ONLY one time, thank heavens!) when I got the whole song – lyrics, melody, and accompaniment – in less than 30 minutes.  Talk about an overwhelming experience!  Intense and exhausting.

I tell you all of this in the hope that you’ll understand something. I have a personal connection to each of them.  Each one reminds of specific moments or lessons learned.  Each song is a reflection of some part of my personal journey.  When they are finally complete, there is usually a huge piece of head space that gets cleared out and the next moment of inspiration can move in and take up residence for awhile.

So when I tell you that this new song I just finished won’t move out . . . this is new.  Different.  Uncharted territory.  It wants more time; it wants to occupy my thoughts a bit longer and I have no clue why.  I’ve gone back to see if, subconsciously, I wasn’t completely satisfied with the song.  Was I maybe, subtly, telling myself it needed to be re-worked?  Were there lyrics I wasn’t happy with?  Maybe a piece of the melody I think could be better?

Nope.

Every time I sit down and play/sing through it, I’m impacted even more.

Based on past experiences, I should be freed up to move on to another one of the “songs in progress” waiting in my notebook.  But I keep dwelling on the concept that first inspired the song.  It just keeps spinning through my head, refusing to be ignored or pushed aside.  So I thought I’d share it here and see if maybe that helps me to move on to another creative project!

What is this thought-dominating concept you ask?  That’s what Part 2 is for.  But I’ll leave you with this hint (pay special attention to the bold-faced type!) –

Every good thing is given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ~James 1:17