Son of God/God the Son

Son of God/God the Son takes it's inspiration from John ch.1 and is my attempt to sum up the wonder and the mystery of the incarnation.

The music is minor key yet worshipful, acoustic yet aggressive.

Son of God, God the Son,
Eternal Uncreated One
You became what you were not
When you became a man.

Purest light, no stain of sin,
Glory cloaked in human skin
Flesh & bone your offering,
You lived & died a man.

And so all we long to do
Is grow more in love with you
Jesus Christ, with all our hearts
We worship you
To you be the loudest praise
Your name far above all names
Jesus Christ, Risen One
Son of God, God the Son
We worship you.

Emmanuel you dwell with us,
A diamond in the human dust,
To save the fallen ones you loved
You became a man.

Gave up your rights, not once but twice -
An outlaw's death, a servant's life
Now raised in honour, glorified,
You reign as God and Man.

Lk.1: 35, Lk.24: 39, Jn. 6:51, Isa.7: 13, Php. 2:3-9, 1 Cor 15:43

© Matt Blick 2008 Grace Church Nottingham.

Read the behind the song post
Download the mp3
Chord Sheet (pdf)
Lyrics (pdf)


Links to this song: Forty Eight -Hot off the press - Almost

Related Posts: Song Of The Redeemed
Behind the Song - More Than I Could Say

Yuri Lane

Here's Yuri Lane an incredible beat-boxer/performance artist. Check it out...

Serious Like Weird Al (pt.3)

In previous posts I've started to build a case for why I think Weird Al Yankovic is one of the greatest lyricists of the present day, pointing out the way he fashions a completely new song while sticking closely to the original rhyme scheme and meter. This is a very restrictive way to work. But that's not all. In some songs he does all of the above despite the lyrics being a complete summary of a film storyline.

Here's a few examples from his parody of American Pie - The Saga Begins (aka Star Wars: The Phantom Menace)

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.

A long, long time ago
In a galaxy far away
Naboo was under an attack

here's the chorus;

So bye-bye, Miss American Pie.
Drove my Chevy to the levee, But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin', "this'll be the day that I die."

Oh my, my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader someday later - now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi."

The last verse almost completely retains the original rhymes and concludes

And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

And the Jedi I admire most
Met up with Darth Maul and now he's toast
Well, I'm still here and he's a ghost
I guess I'll train this boy

Al performed the same feat with the first Spiderman film set to the tune of 'Piano Man' by Billy Joel

Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, were all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright

Sling us a web, you're the Spider-Man
Sling us a web tonight
'Cause we're all in the mood for a hero now
And there's evil doers to fight


Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And hes talkin' with Davy, who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life

Now Norman's a billionaire scientist
Who never had time for his son
But then something went screwy and before you knew he
Was trying to kill everyone

As well as the numerous echos (It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday/It's a pretty sad day at the funeral and Now John at the bar/ Now Harry the rich kid) he goes beyond merely relaying the plot, adding wry commentary on the film itself...

And he's ridin' around on that glider thing
And he's throwin' that weird pumpkin bomb
Yes, he's wearin' that dumb Power Rangers mask
But he's scarier without it on.




The Saga Begins is on Running With Scissors and Ultimate Collection DVD AND Weird Al Live DVD. Ode To A Superhero is on Poodle Hat.

Related Posts: Serious Like Weird Al

Part 1 (White & Nerdy & rewriting)
Part 2 (Jerry Springer/One Week)
Part 4 (Bob & palindromes)

John, John & John

When I first started reading my first few John Piper books (I'm up to around 25 now) I was completely blown away by his ability to get so much out of one verse. So much so, that I asked the leader of the theological course I was doing if this Piper guy was really 'kosher' - I couldn't believe that there was so much that I was missing.

Well I've decide to track with with the people at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minnesota as he preaches through John's gospel for the next 30 years or so (slight exaggeration). In a sermon on John the Baptist John makes a massive point just out of the word 'not'. I kid you...not.

-

I have rocked you

The reason I've not been blogging this week is that aside from the normal teaching I've been doing a school's production of 'We Will Rock You'. So a good 20 hours of my life this week has been spent in these luxurious surroundings...

...there's a reason why it's called 'The Pit'!

One of the real blessings of the week has been the chance to be part of a band almost entirely made of people I have taught (or teach)  

My Boys!

(L to R) Danny (keys), Ozzy (keys), Tom (drms), Tucker (gtr), Jono (bs), Westy (gtr), Me (gtr), (+Sam the sound guy lurking in the background)  

We seem to angling for an Ibanez endorsement...

New Skeptic

Here's a free song to download from The Fold - New Skeptic from the album, "Secrets Keep You Sick" (Tooth & Nail Records) courtesy of TheFreeChristianMusicBlog.com.

It's a nice tune from a band that falls into the category of 'band of Christians' rather than 'Christian band'. I was all geared up for a genre debate (and we can still have one in the comments if you want) Hard Rock? Pop-Punk? Emo? New-Emo (Nemo?!#+) but then I just watched the video and the singer is wearing a black shirt and a red tie. Yup - He's got that Emo-Overalls thing going on. Tre Chic!

Enjoy!

More Than I Could Say

More Than I Could Say (2008) Worship Song
You have called me your friend, when I was happy to be your servant.
Aminor key worship song with a big chorus. My most popular song at my home church.

mp3     Chord Sheet     Lyrics      Behind The Song

Leave a comment about More Than I Could Say

You have called me your friend
When I was happy to be your servant forever,
Set a crown on my head
When all I wanted to be was loosed from my chains.
You have made me your child
When all I wanted to do was follow your Son.
You poured out your love
When it was enough that you held back your anger.


More than I could say, more than I could ask
More than I could dream, everything you made me
More than I could hope, more than I could know
More than I could hold - everything you gave me
I love you because you first loved me, my God


You have called me a saint
When I just wanted to change things I was ashamed of.
Made me shine like a star
When all I wanted to do was flee from the dark.
Gave me good news to preach
When I was glad just to be one who believed,
You gave me a song
When it was enough that you ended my weeping.


More than I could say...


I love you because you first loved me,
Called & chosen before the stars came to be
Predestined in love to love you freely.


How great is the love that you lavish on us,
That we should be called the children of God
And that is what we are!


More than I could say...

Jn 15:15; Lk 15:19; Eph 3:20; 1 Jn 3:1; Php 2:15-16; Ps126:6.

Download Great High Priest - for free

Other free songs by Matt Blick

Serious Like Weird Al (pt.2)

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In my first post I made the outrageous claim that not only is Weird Al Yankovic one of the greatest lyricists of his generation, but that writers of worship songs would do well to emulate his example of diligent rewriting.

Time to bring forth some evidence.

Exhibit One. One of my all time favourite Al lyrics from 'Jerry Springer', a parody of Bare Naked Ladies song 'One Week'.

Once you start watchin', there's just no stoppin'
Your brain shuts down, then your IQ's droppin'
Jerry's the king of confrontation, He's a sensation
He puts the 'sin' in syndication.
It's totally worthless, like a bad cheque, it's like a train wreck
Don't wanna stare but you can't look away
Like Sally Jesse he does talk shows, but with more weirdos
The ratings jumpin' higher everyday

Jerry Springer (by Al Yankovic)

As a song in it's own right the lyrics are brilliant, from the flow of ideas (bad cheques to train wrecks) and the play on words ('sin in syndication') to the flawless rhyming (confrontation/sensation/syndication). But when you consider this has been done within the constricting form of a parody of an existing song the skill involved is breathtaking. Here are the original lyrics...

Chickity China the Chinese chicken
You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin'
Watchin' X-Files with no lights on, we're dans la maison
I hope the Smoking Man's in this one.
Like Harrison Ford I'm getting frantic, like Sting I'm tantric
Like Snickers, guaranteed to satisfy
Like Kurasawa I make mad films. (O)kay, I don't make films
But if I did they'd have a Samurai

One Week (by Bare Naked Ladies)

The rhyme scheme is a very clever A, A, BB, B, CC, D, EE, D.

Yankovic mirrors this exactly and even improves on it in the 7th line where he rhymes 'talk shows' with 'weirdos' where the BNL's repeat the word 'films'.

The number of syllables in each line is as follows
BNL - 10, 11, 13, 9, 15, 10, 14, 10
Al - 10, 10, 14, 9, 15, 10, 14, 10

exactly the same in 6 lines and never more than 1 syllable difference!

Both of these elements ensure a strong resonance with the original song. But as if this wasn't enough, Al often manages to incorporate original phrases into the new lyrics. "your brain stops tickin" is reworked as "Your brain shuts down" and "Like Kurosawa" is replaced by "Like Sally Jesse".

There's a lot more where that came from, but for now go buy the song on Al's Live DVD or the classic CD 'Running with Scissors'



Related Posts: Serious Like Weird Al

Part 1 (White & Nerdy & rewriting)
Part 3 (The Saga Begins/American Pie & Ode To A Superhero/Piano Man)
Part 4 (Bob & palindromes)

Get Serious...Like Weird Al

In my humble opinion, one of the greatest lyricists of today is "Weird Al" Yankovic.

No, seriously.

As well as being an accomplished singer, accordionist (still being serious!), composer, arranger, video editor & director in his own right, what makes him stand out is the incredible level of artistry he brings to his parodies. His commitment to rewriting would put most worship songwriters to shame, especially when you reflect that we are writing for 'God's glory' rather than just entertainment (thought there is nothing wrong with entertainment in itself).

In an article in Wired magazine, Brian Rafferty writes of receiving a zip folder from Al

It contained hundreds of pages of lyrics, notes, and various working drafts of the songs on his latest album, Straight Outta Lynwood. In the final version of "White & Nerdy," Yankovic sings that he's

"Got people beggin' for my top eight spaces / I know pi to a thousand places."

Earlier versions include:

"Got people killin' for my top eight spaces,"

"Gotta lotta Hobbits in my top eight spaces,"

"Got Stephen Hawking in my top eight spaces."

All told, there are more than 200 unused lines for "White & Nerdy." By the time he was finished, he'd reclaimed Chamillionaire's original so thoroughly, listeners didn't even need to know "Ridin'" to appreciate "Nerdy."

Read the whole article

Weird Al reminds me that great worship songs are not written, but rewritten and in honour of this master songwriter I've decide to do a short series of posts highlighting his work.

I'm not promising I'll post one a day, but it should be a lot shorter than the average John Piper series. Seriously.

Related Posts: Serious Like Weird Al

Part 2 (Jerry Springer/One Week)
Part 3 (The Saga Begins/American Pie & Ode To A Superhero/Piano Man)
Part 4 (Bob & palindromes)


In the meantime - do you have a favourite Al moment?

Forthcoming Attractions

Sovereign Grace are planning to work on three new albums this year.

A themed children’s CD on the fruit of the Spirit (planned released Jun).

A project on knowing God as Father - working title 'Sons and Daughters'. (Scheduled for release at the WorshipGod09 conference in Aug).

And a Black Gospel project in Nov.

Behind The Song: More Than I Could Say

You have called me your friend

When I was happy to be your servant forever

This song took 10 years to write from the initial inspiration to completion. It started with the idea that Jesus calling his disciples his friends in John 15:15 is in part an example of God being "able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think" (Eph. 3:20). I started to write a tune and more lyrics, filling out that thought with other examples but ended up shelving it. I finally picked it up again 7 years later, finishing the song on a piano whilst on holiday, in a house that poet Walter De La Mare had once lived in.

2 years = 2 chords & 1 word

Then came 2 years of rewrites! The chorus originally ended "How great is the love you lavish on us", the extended chorus repeated it a few more times before leading to the bridge which started "How great is the love..." Sometimes you have to sing things to someone else before you realise how dumb they are! Also the extended chorus didn't go into the bridge smoothly. It took me another year and a half to find the 2 words and 1 chord that solved the problem.

What have you done for ME lately?

Writing this song from the perspective of 'what God has done for ME' I was struck afresh by how little the bible says about the individual christian and how much the focus is on the people of God and how out of sync this is with the western culture I live in.

Dark keys & odd structures

The song starts in the minor key and uses a pedal tone in the bass (Dm, Bb/D, C/D, Bb/D) making it sound a little dark. This was a conscious response to the overuse of major keys in western worship music. It seems like the rule is 'If it's worship – it's major' even when handling themes of lament, the cross or the wrath of God. I guess I'd like to redress the balance a little. That said, the song shifts to the relative major (F) in the chorus and bridge but also uses chord 'borrowed' from the key of F minor. The tune at the end of the short chorus reappears in the bridge.

Finally the long chorus/short chorus idea was inspiried by the odd structures in Bacharach & David songs like 'Never fall in love again' and 'Do you know the way to San Jose'. But they are way better at that kind of stuff than I am.

download the FREE mp3

Chord Sheet (pdf)

Lyrics (pdf)

Download Great High Priest - for free

Other free songs by Matt Blick

Word and Spirit

As someone strongly committed to helping build a Word AND Spirit church I found this quote from R. Kent Hughes in 'Worship By The Book' instructive and encouraging...

Word and Spirit cannot be separated. In a 1995 article in honour of the British preacher R.C. Lucas, Australian Old Testament scholar and pastor John Woodhouse makes a compelling argument for biblical exposition based on the inseparableness of the word of God and the Spirit of God. He notes that the Hebrew ruah and the Greek pneuma can mean “wind” and “breath” as well as “spirit” and that in many biblical texts “the Spirit of God” can be well translated as “the breath of God.” Thus, “in biblical thought the Spirit of God is as closely connected to the word of God as breath is connected to speech.”

Woodhouse shows the connection of Word and Spirit begins in the opening of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit (ruah; read breath) of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen 1:1-3, italics added). Furthermore the dynamic connection between ruah (Spirit) and speech (“God said”) is often missed. But the psalmist made the connection:

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,

Their starry host by the breath [ruah] of his mouth

(Ps 33:6, italics added)

Again, Spirit and Word are as closely connected as breath and speech.

This inseparable connection between Word and Spirit flows right on into the New Testament. Jesus says: “For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit” (John 3:34, italics added). And again Jesus says, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life”(John 6:63, italics added). Indeed, there are many statements in the New Testament in which “Spirit” and “Word” are virtually interchangeable (e.g., James 1:18; cf. 1 Pet 1:23).

Thus, it follows that we have any desire for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our corporate worship services, those services must be radically Word-centred.

This means that our corporate worship must be Word-centred from beginning to end. We do not meet for “worship and the Word.” It is all a ministry of the Word. This means that the preaching must be wholly biblical - in a word, expositional.

But installing exposition as the main event is not enough. God’s Word must infuse everything. The careful reading of the word must be central. Hymns and songs must be Word-saturated. Prayers must be biblically informed, redolent with biblical reality—often reflecting the very language and structure of scripture.

R. Kent Hughes: Worship By The Book (p.157-159) (ed. D.A. Carson)