8th song of the 20/20 project…
Hi Folks,
This week’s song is based on some musings around the opening of the Lord’s prayer. The line ‘Our father in heaven hallowed be your name’ got me thinking about how the various names of God are embodied in the name of Jesus (His name is, after all, the name above all names).
It’s actually an old set of lyrics that I wrote for a series of prayer concerts that I was involved in a number of years ago around Ireland. I had a sense at the time that the Lord was saying that ‘you’ll overcome the Goliath of your land with the 5 ’smooth stones’ of the Lord’s prayer’. You may remember how David, when he faced down Goliath, chose 5 smooth stones from a stream (1Sam 17:40) for his sling.
At that time I had been studying the Lord’s prayer and was aware that there were 5 main themes woven into it and that’s where the 5 smooth stones analogy came in. Anyway I wrote some songs based on these themes of which this was one.
If the video isn’t visible below click this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Cap525fbY
As before, let me have your comments.
Cheers - Andy
P.S. Please excuse the delay it was a busier week than anticipated playing bass in Kathryn Scott’s band at the New Wine conference in Sligo on the beautiful west coast of Ireland.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.
July 16th, 2007 at 02:06 am
dont know if my last comment went through.i like this song the most of all so far.great lyrics
July 16th, 2007 at 02:23 am
Great song. I really admire your tenacity in what you are doing. I pray God will give you more as you give what you have.
I would be interested in hearing the other songs related to the Lord’s Prayer that you mention in the text.
July 16th, 2007 at 08:24 pm
My comments tend to be less general and more in the crafting of each song, so I hope that’s the feedback you’re looking for. (Drop me a line if not!) First, I find this song to be reminiscent of the melody and phrasing of the early chorus writers of the late 70’s and early 80’s. Lyrically this song is packed with truth, so that’s great. I think what would make the song more current and memorable would be
(1) adding a pre-chorus that speaks more specifically about the “name” theme….it needs to ascend in another chord direction: try this:
C#m A
Your name defines me
C#m A
Your name unblinds me
E/Ab A
To see my identity
E/Ab A2
My life in You, and Yours in me
and needs to interrupt the consistent strumming with another kind of beat and add rests as I’ve done here. You can see I’ve incorporated repetition lyrically, ie “Your name_____, Your name _____.” and I repeat the C#m rests on 2 lines. Use of repetition is all over a well written song.
(2) Then what would really help (in my opinion) is if the chorus became more memorable musically. Ways to do that could be to change the melody to be higher and more intense. Sing the last line, “And given us your name, You’ve given us your name” every time. This song is about our being given God’s name and what that means for the believer, so the title should reflect this as well. I would title this: You’ve Given Us Your Name.
Thanks for inviting these comments. Blessings and may you hear His voice clearly!
-Faye Smith
July 16th, 2007 at 08:27 pm
The word processing of this message didn’t allow for the rests I put under the C#m’s in both lines of the pre-chorus suggestion. But that’s how I heard it in my head.
-Faye
July 16th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Hi Andy,
Someone mentioned that they admire your tenacity. I agree. And also your humble transparency. Lovely qualities - even if you weren’t writing songs. But those qualities show up (of course) in your lyrics. Quite a poignant thought that God has shared His NAME with us . . .
This song is one of my favourites.
Thank you for sharing with all of us . . .
July 17th, 2007 at 01:00 am
The song is great…I am not a strong musician but I like to worship and love when a song sounds so unique and strong.
The message continues to be refreshing and clear. Praying you can keep it up, you must be getting hoarse by now. In His strength alone!
Just like David with the little sheep herd!
Blessing from GUAM!
Hadassah and family
July 17th, 2007 at 06:17 am
Great song. I like it very much as is. I really like the melody. I agree that this song is full of truth. Thanks for sharing.
July 17th, 2007 at 07:33 pm
Thanks for another good song Andy. I agree with Faye in all she has suggested. The lyrics as they stand are good, but need a little more. The melody is at present, dare I say, a little bit like a nursery rhyme. I feel this song is good, but with a change in melody, a la Faye’s ideas, this could be a great worship song. I am just thinking of foundations that are given us by The Lord, this song has a good foundation, I look forward to hearing it great! I look forward to your e-mails coming through each week now. It’s not just another e-mail, it makes me stop, listen, think and pray.God bless you Andy.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
I definately love the message. I flows good but It isn’t a song that churches would probably sing on Sunday morning. A great concert or album song. A great song to stop and reflect on Christ the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. I also as you were playing imagined some irish flutes playing with you. Ben
July 18th, 2007 at 05:28 pm
Best song so far..!!
July 31st, 2007 at 12:46 am
A good melody, however, I’m confused by this song. You are talking about the new covenant that God has made with us through the Cross. I’m not a theologian, so could be wrong, but I feel that God gave us more than His name when he died. I know you’re trying to explain that in the verse sections but I feel the message is being swallowed up in complicated ‘christian religious speak’.
For example: Lamb, covenant, sanctifies, righteousness, banner, shedding. All these words are not immediately accessible to many, especially if they are new to church (does Jesus put something in the shed?)
Sorry to be a bit of a downer on this one - too complicated.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
I liked the chorus - it’s like a mission statement or something. However, I must agree with Matt - I felt lyrically the song was too busy - you were bringing in a lot of different concepts and themes. Perhaps the verses could be reworked in some ways? But I really think the chorus works well.
Incidentally, what’s it with all the hats? It’s the middle of summer, man, and Coleraine ain’t that cold.