The Great Gospel Tour is like a musical in my head. There are scenes, dialogue and songs. I think of it as Paul and Silas traveling through the Old West. What an event that would have been.
This song is sung my a woman who hears Paul preach. As she is listening, God reveals to her that He wants to change her, not condemn her.
At least that’s how it plays out in my head.
I was stuck in the middle of Alaska when I wrote this song. It was coldest winter they had seen for ages. Day time temperatures were 50-below, and that’s without wind chill.
Every felt trapped?
Singing praises to God seems to help me. So I wrote this simple chorus, which became fairly widely used as a praise song.
This is the first recording of the song, as far as I know. It also features my daughter Heather.
I grew up on Southern Gospel quartet music. This was my attempt to sing all parts. I’ve never been a quartet before.
It was great fun to do, though I do think the group needed more practice.
The song was written before the American Civil War. The author’s identity long lost. People confined by slavery have few options. There is no one to go to but God and nothing you can do but pray.
When we are confined by circumstances, we can follow the lead of author. Every time we feel the Spirit moving in our hearts, we can pray.
This version of I’ll Fly Away began with jazz pianist Mark Davidson’s tribute to his Mother. Mark did an album of songs his Mom would have liked.
I loved it so much, I asked if I could do a sing-along version. He kindly consented.
The song was written by a white boy in the South while out picking cotton. Albert Brumley wrote it in 1929, published it in 1932. It became a standard in many hymnals and has been wide recorded.
I’ve never picked cotton but I know the feeling of wanting to leaving my trouble and fly away. On some days, heaven sounds like the only place I want to be.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic is best know for its opening line “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory.” The music was appropriated from an older song (John Brown’s Body) but the lyrics were written by Julia Ward Howe in 1951.
Published first in the Atlantic Monthly, the song is a rousing hymn. It links the American Civil War with the judgment of God, blurring the line between patriotism and theology.
My version was an attempt to put the song in the context of the Salvation Army street bands of the 1800s. A little tinny but with lots of gusto, this anthem was widely used. It marks an important use of Gospel music as patriotic rhetoric.
Sometime I Feel Like a Motherless Child is a sentiment we can all understand. Life isn’t always going our way. Sometimes we feel abandoned and alone.
Although the score was written down by William Barton in 1899, this song was born in the slavery of the American south. It was a traditional tune and a common experience for children and their parents who were separated and sold.
Things can and do go well in life. But sometimes, I feel like a motherless child.
The lyrics to Adeste Fideles (Oh Come, All Ye Faithful) were first published in 1751. Although it isn’t clear which of several people wrote the words, the English translation was by an English Catholic priest (Frederick Oakeley) in 1841. The tune is similarly difficult to pin down. I’ll pick John Francis Wade but you’re welcome to choose your own.
This version is a great juxtaposition of pure country picking and my more Pavarottian vocals. Enjoy.
