There's a song for everything. Have you ever noticed that? That's because people write songs for all occasions to express all feelings. That's one reason I love musicals so much. The characters are relatable, and they sing songs about feelings and situations that we all find ourselves in. Lots of people can't stand how "unrealistic" it is to sing about your problems, but people have been doing it for quite a long time. Even Psalms in the Bible are written to be laments and complaints to God. If it was okay for King David and the sons of Asaph, and, you know, Jesus Himself---("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?")---that's good enough for me!
So what I'm going to do is simply write out lyrics with little to no explanation at all. These are songs have been like friends to me. Songs are unique friends. They are always there for you. And while your relationship to them changes as you grow, they always remain steadfastly the same.
Some songs are good for a season. Like Taylor Swift songs. They're written for specific moments (usually sad or unhappy ones!) and as you go on with your life, you grow past that hurt. You change. The song may always remind you of that moment, but I have found that if you choose to trust God and keep doing what is right, the sting will eventually go out of old bitter memories. Other songs, the best songs, you never outgrow. They're always there for you, to cheer you and give you courage. I've always felt that those kinds of songs could be sung like spells of protection. Those have guarded me from temptation and given me strength to do what was right.
Here's a sampling of both kinds of songs:
"You needed space, well you got it now.
Are you doing okay?
I love you and I hate you the same.
And maybe that's the way it'll stay.
Can we stop pretending that the world is never-ending?
Will you try to find a way to believe?
But I don't think you're gonna change.
So you be the one who bends, I'll be the one who breaks."
("Bend or Break," by Allstar Weekend.)
"And when I think about that prodigal son
I've gotta smile when I see the old man run
And I know that You love us the same,
'Cause the sun came up today.
Just as if we deserved it!
Just as if any one of us fools was worth it!
The truth is I am anything but perfect,
But you love me just the same.
Now, isn't it love?
This rain that falls on the sinners and the saints?
Isn't it love?
This well that won't run dry?
Isn't it love?"
("Isn't It Love," by Andrew Peterson)
"I can see in the strip malls and the phone calls
The flaming swords of Eden
In the fast cash and the news flash
The horn blast of war
In the sin-front cities of the dying and the dead
Like steel-rod graveyards
Where the wicked never rest
To the high and lonely mountain
In the groaning wilderness
We ache for what is lost
As we wait for the Holy God.
Father Abraham
I was made to go there
Out of this far country
To my home
This is a far country
It's just a far country
Not my home."
("Far Country," by Andrew Peterson)
"Where has the starlight gone?
Dark is the day
How can I find my way home?
Home is an empty dream
Lost to the night
Father, I feel so alone.
You promised you'd be there
Whenever I needed you
Whenever I call your name
You're not anywhere.
I'm trying to hold on
Waiting to hear your voice
One word---just a word will do
To end this nightmare.
When will the dawning break?
Oh, endless night
Sleepless I dream of the day
When you were by my side
Guiding my path
Father, I can't find the way.
I know that the night must end
And that the sun will rise
I know that the clouds must clear
And that the sun will shine..."
("Endless Night," from The Lion King.)
"He lives in you!
He lives in me!
He watches over everything we see!
Into the water
Into the truth
In your reflection
He lives in you."
("He Lives In You," from The Lion King.)
"I will not resist You when you move Your hand to mold me.
I will not insist You show me all your plans today.
I will not despise the tools You're using now to shape me.
I will not require understanding to obey.
I refuse to fear when the future is unclear
Knowing You are here, close beside me.
And when I haven't got a clue
What it is that You're up to
Even then I know that You have not abandoned me.
Faith is believing in things that are yet unseen
Faith is believing God will intervene.
So I will not look only with my eyes
And I won't believe the lies that say I'm all alone.
I won't perceive only with my darkened mind
And I refuse to find a God who's cold like stone.
So when the heavens seem like brass,
And Your nearness a thing of the past:
I am not alone
But with the eyes of faith I see
That You are here with me."
("I Am Not Alone," by Todd Murray.)
"Close your eyes, breathe in the night
A softer bed I'll make you
The trial is done, all danger gone
Now let far dreaming take you
Away
Where the ocean is lapping
At a soft, pearly shore
And the swaying palms napping
As their swinging fronds soar
Now the dark night approaches
Yet so soft and so mild
Lullaby, sing lullaby,
Sleep, my child."
("Three Nocturnes, no.3 'Lullaby,'" by Daniel Elder.)
"There's no way you can see it
You are too close
Everything looks backward when you're looking in a mirror.
The fire you wake up in I can't know
The rising of a phoenix is all I see from here.
So if you start to lose yourself walking in the dark
Let us remind you who you are.
The strength of a survivor
You surprised yourself
Always underestimated what you had to give.
You squared up like a fighter
To walk through hell
Showing us that giving up is not a way to live.
Now everyone who's broken down is drawn to who you are
And knows they can trust you with their heart.
There's a club that no one wants to be in
'Cause tears are what you have to pay
But you accept the terms and keep on keeping your head up
And you do it all with grace.
You're not afraid to hold the pain
That seems too much to bear.
Your strength is shining through you
Like a purple heart you wear
You are the brave one.
The unafraid one.
You look suffering in the eye and does not run.
Our true names arise when the time comes
And you are the brave one."
("The Brave One," by Andy Gullahorn.)
"A lone woman stands in the turning December
She's got ice on her lashes
White on her winter coat
The trees stand like soldiers around her
Dutiful wooden guards
And the heart she feared frozen still beating
Still marches on.
Oh, Annie
I still think of you each time I see the sun
Didn't want a life without you
But here I am
Living one."
("Ice On Her Lashes," by Brooke Fraser.)
"Mother said be good
Father said be nice
That was always their advice
So be nice, Cinderella!
Good, Cinderella!
Nice, good, good, nice!
What's the good of being good
When everyone is blind
And you're always left behind?
Never mind, Cinderella!
Kind, Cinderella!
Nice, good, kind, good, nice, NICE!!"
("Prologue," from "Into the Woods.")
"I want to stay like this forever
If only I could promise forever
Then we could just be we
Forever you and me
Forever and ever."
"I used to believe in forever
But forever's too good to be true
I've hung a wish on every star
It hasn't done much good so far
I don't know what else to do
Except to try to dream of you."
("Forever and Ever," and "Wherever You Are," from "Pooh's Grand Adventure.")
"No more memories, no more silent tears
No more gazing across the wasted years
Help me say goodbye."
("Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," from "Phantom of the Opera.")
"A new life
What I wouldn't give to have a new life.
One thing I have learned as I go through life:
Nothing is for free along the way.
A new start
That's the thing I need to give me new heart.
Half a chance in life to find a new part,
Just a simple role that I can play.
A new hope
Something to convince me to renew hope.
A new day
Bright enough to help me find my way
A new chance---
One that maybe has a touch of romance.
Where can it be?
A chance for me?
A new dream
I have one I know that very few dream.
I would like to see that overdue dream
Even though it never may come true.
A new love
Though I know there's no such thing as true love
Even so, although I never knew love
Still I feel that one dream is my due.
A new world!
This one thing I want to ask of you, world;
Once, before it's time to say adieu, world---
One sweet chance to prove the cynics wrong!
A new life
More and more I'm sure as I go through life
Just to play the game and to pursue life!
Just to share its pleasures and belong---
That's what I've been here for all along!
Each day's a brand new life!"
("A New Life," from "Jekyll and Hyde.")
"Picture a land that you never have seen
Where life is eternal and ever green
A future of happiness all in your hands
Here in this place of your dreams
Here inside Neverland...
Shooting stars, new shapes and sizes
Wakenings and new surprises
Opening my eyes to something happening
(Neverland)
Universe in constant spinning
Every end a new beginning
I begin to feel that something's happening
To me...
And by closing my eyes I'll be finding Neverland."
("Neverland" reprise, from "Finding Neverland.")
"I'm a silhouette, asking every now and then
Is it over yet?
Will I ever love again?
I'm a silhouette, chasing rainbows on my own
But the more I try to move on
The more I feel alone.
So I watch the summer stars to lead me home."
("Silhouette," by Owl City)
"We mustn't be afraid of letting go."
("Letting Go," from "Jekyll and Hyde.")
"Sometimes letting go feels like dying
With no one there to roll away the stone
But before you know it
You are flying
Resurrected to a life you've never known."
("Let It Go," by Andy Gullahorn.)
Here's hope for a good new year. Here's a toast and a salute to whatever is in store for me. Here's to more growth and change and trusting in Whoever is driving this flying umbrella. Here's to more painful growth.
You never know what's around the corner. You often don't see tragedy or heartbreak coming. You can predict long stretches of routine and lousy weeks where you wake up and just wonder what you're even alive for. But then again, the greatest things that brought the most joy to me were things I never saw coming. You never know if you're on the brink of happiness either. So I choose to be grateful, and to be wise no matter what.
"Sometimes all this pain and sadness
Can be more than a heart can handle.
Well, I'm tired of cursing at the darkness.
I'm gonna light a candle."
("Light A Candle," by Andy Gullahorn.)
"My golden leaves will fade and fall
Through branching years
Though sweet the song
Yet sweeter still shall be the tears.
The night must come
The shadows grow
The dark descends
And all we love and all we know
Must reach an end---
Lothlorien!
Though worlds will die
And worlds will grow---
Out of death, life!
Out of night, day!
Glory from sorrow!
Out of grief, joy!
Out of storm, come
Strength for tomorrow!
Out of dust, gold!
Out of fire, air!
Comfort forsaking!
Out of rage, calm!
Out of loss, find
Glory awaking..."
("Wonder," from The Lord of the Rings musical.)
"Wandering the empty road in twilight's silver shade
Following the hidden paths
Alone and unafraid
Let the sunlight free the heart forever bound to roam
And let the waking morning find
The weary traveler returning home."
("The Song of Hope," from The Lord of the Rings musical.)
~Cadenza
So what I'm going to do is simply write out lyrics with little to no explanation at all. These are songs have been like friends to me. Songs are unique friends. They are always there for you. And while your relationship to them changes as you grow, they always remain steadfastly the same.
Some songs are good for a season. Like Taylor Swift songs. They're written for specific moments (usually sad or unhappy ones!) and as you go on with your life, you grow past that hurt. You change. The song may always remind you of that moment, but I have found that if you choose to trust God and keep doing what is right, the sting will eventually go out of old bitter memories. Other songs, the best songs, you never outgrow. They're always there for you, to cheer you and give you courage. I've always felt that those kinds of songs could be sung like spells of protection. Those have guarded me from temptation and given me strength to do what was right.
Here's a sampling of both kinds of songs:
"You needed space, well you got it now.
Are you doing okay?
I love you and I hate you the same.
And maybe that's the way it'll stay.
Can we stop pretending that the world is never-ending?
Will you try to find a way to believe?
But I don't think you're gonna change.
So you be the one who bends, I'll be the one who breaks."
("Bend or Break," by Allstar Weekend.)
"And when I think about that prodigal son
I've gotta smile when I see the old man run
And I know that You love us the same,
'Cause the sun came up today.
Just as if we deserved it!
Just as if any one of us fools was worth it!
The truth is I am anything but perfect,
But you love me just the same.
Now, isn't it love?
This rain that falls on the sinners and the saints?
Isn't it love?
This well that won't run dry?
Isn't it love?"
("Isn't It Love," by Andrew Peterson)
"I can see in the strip malls and the phone calls
The flaming swords of Eden
In the fast cash and the news flash
The horn blast of war
In the sin-front cities of the dying and the dead
Like steel-rod graveyards
Where the wicked never rest
To the high and lonely mountain
In the groaning wilderness
We ache for what is lost
As we wait for the Holy God.
Father Abraham
I was made to go there
Out of this far country
To my home
This is a far country
It's just a far country
Not my home."
("Far Country," by Andrew Peterson)
"Where has the starlight gone?
Dark is the day
How can I find my way home?
Home is an empty dream
Lost to the night
Father, I feel so alone.
You promised you'd be there
Whenever I needed you
Whenever I call your name
You're not anywhere.
I'm trying to hold on
Waiting to hear your voice
One word---just a word will do
To end this nightmare.
When will the dawning break?
Oh, endless night
Sleepless I dream of the day
When you were by my side
Guiding my path
Father, I can't find the way.
I know that the night must end
And that the sun will rise
I know that the clouds must clear
And that the sun will shine..."
("Endless Night," from The Lion King.)
"He lives in you!
He lives in me!
He watches over everything we see!
Into the water
Into the truth
In your reflection
He lives in you."
("He Lives In You," from The Lion King.)
"I will not resist You when you move Your hand to mold me.
I will not insist You show me all your plans today.
I will not despise the tools You're using now to shape me.
I will not require understanding to obey.
I refuse to fear when the future is unclear
Knowing You are here, close beside me.
And when I haven't got a clue
What it is that You're up to
Even then I know that You have not abandoned me.
Faith is believing in things that are yet unseen
Faith is believing God will intervene.
So I will not look only with my eyes
And I won't believe the lies that say I'm all alone.
I won't perceive only with my darkened mind
And I refuse to find a God who's cold like stone.
So when the heavens seem like brass,
And Your nearness a thing of the past:
I am not alone
But with the eyes of faith I see
That You are here with me."
("I Am Not Alone," by Todd Murray.)
"Close your eyes, breathe in the night
A softer bed I'll make you
The trial is done, all danger gone
Now let far dreaming take you
Away
Where the ocean is lapping
At a soft, pearly shore
And the swaying palms napping
As their swinging fronds soar
Now the dark night approaches
Yet so soft and so mild
Lullaby, sing lullaby,
Sleep, my child."
("Three Nocturnes, no.3 'Lullaby,'" by Daniel Elder.)
"There's no way you can see it
You are too close
Everything looks backward when you're looking in a mirror.
The fire you wake up in I can't know
The rising of a phoenix is all I see from here.
So if you start to lose yourself walking in the dark
Let us remind you who you are.
The strength of a survivor
You surprised yourself
Always underestimated what you had to give.
You squared up like a fighter
To walk through hell
Showing us that giving up is not a way to live.
Now everyone who's broken down is drawn to who you are
And knows they can trust you with their heart.
There's a club that no one wants to be in
'Cause tears are what you have to pay
But you accept the terms and keep on keeping your head up
And you do it all with grace.
You're not afraid to hold the pain
That seems too much to bear.
Your strength is shining through you
Like a purple heart you wear
You are the brave one.
The unafraid one.
You look suffering in the eye and does not run.
Our true names arise when the time comes
And you are the brave one."
("The Brave One," by Andy Gullahorn.)
"A lone woman stands in the turning December
She's got ice on her lashes
White on her winter coat
The trees stand like soldiers around her
Dutiful wooden guards
And the heart she feared frozen still beating
Still marches on.
Oh, Annie
I still think of you each time I see the sun
Didn't want a life without you
But here I am
Living one."
("Ice On Her Lashes," by Brooke Fraser.)
"Mother said be good
Father said be nice
That was always their advice
So be nice, Cinderella!
Good, Cinderella!
Nice, good, good, nice!
What's the good of being good
When everyone is blind
And you're always left behind?
Never mind, Cinderella!
Kind, Cinderella!
Nice, good, kind, good, nice, NICE!!"
("Prologue," from "Into the Woods.")
"I want to stay like this forever
If only I could promise forever
Then we could just be we
Forever you and me
Forever and ever."
"I used to believe in forever
But forever's too good to be true
I've hung a wish on every star
It hasn't done much good so far
I don't know what else to do
Except to try to dream of you."
("Forever and Ever," and "Wherever You Are," from "Pooh's Grand Adventure.")
"No more memories, no more silent tears
No more gazing across the wasted years
Help me say goodbye."
("Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," from "Phantom of the Opera.")
"A new life
What I wouldn't give to have a new life.
One thing I have learned as I go through life:
Nothing is for free along the way.
A new start
That's the thing I need to give me new heart.
Half a chance in life to find a new part,
Just a simple role that I can play.
A new hope
Something to convince me to renew hope.
A new day
Bright enough to help me find my way
A new chance---
One that maybe has a touch of romance.
Where can it be?
A chance for me?
A new dream
I have one I know that very few dream.
I would like to see that overdue dream
Even though it never may come true.
A new love
Though I know there's no such thing as true love
Even so, although I never knew love
Still I feel that one dream is my due.
A new world!
This one thing I want to ask of you, world;
Once, before it's time to say adieu, world---
One sweet chance to prove the cynics wrong!
A new life
More and more I'm sure as I go through life
Just to play the game and to pursue life!
Just to share its pleasures and belong---
That's what I've been here for all along!
Each day's a brand new life!"
("A New Life," from "Jekyll and Hyde.")
"Picture a land that you never have seen
Where life is eternal and ever green
A future of happiness all in your hands
Here in this place of your dreams
Here inside Neverland...
Shooting stars, new shapes and sizes
Wakenings and new surprises
Opening my eyes to something happening
(Neverland)
Universe in constant spinning
Every end a new beginning
I begin to feel that something's happening
To me...
And by closing my eyes I'll be finding Neverland."
("Neverland" reprise, from "Finding Neverland.")
"I'm a silhouette, asking every now and then
Is it over yet?
Will I ever love again?
I'm a silhouette, chasing rainbows on my own
But the more I try to move on
The more I feel alone.
So I watch the summer stars to lead me home."
("Silhouette," by Owl City)
"We mustn't be afraid of letting go."
("Letting Go," from "Jekyll and Hyde.")
"Sometimes letting go feels like dying
With no one there to roll away the stone
But before you know it
You are flying
Resurrected to a life you've never known."
("Let It Go," by Andy Gullahorn.)
Here's hope for a good new year. Here's a toast and a salute to whatever is in store for me. Here's to more growth and change and trusting in Whoever is driving this flying umbrella. Here's to more painful growth.
You never know what's around the corner. You often don't see tragedy or heartbreak coming. You can predict long stretches of routine and lousy weeks where you wake up and just wonder what you're even alive for. But then again, the greatest things that brought the most joy to me were things I never saw coming. You never know if you're on the brink of happiness either. So I choose to be grateful, and to be wise no matter what.
"Sometimes all this pain and sadness
Can be more than a heart can handle.
Well, I'm tired of cursing at the darkness.
I'm gonna light a candle."
("Light A Candle," by Andy Gullahorn.)
"My golden leaves will fade and fall
Through branching years
Though sweet the song
Yet sweeter still shall be the tears.
The night must come
The shadows grow
The dark descends
And all we love and all we know
Must reach an end---
Lothlorien!
Though worlds will die
And worlds will grow---
Out of death, life!
Out of night, day!
Glory from sorrow!
Out of grief, joy!
Out of storm, come
Strength for tomorrow!
Out of dust, gold!
Out of fire, air!
Comfort forsaking!
Out of rage, calm!
Out of loss, find
Glory awaking..."
("Wonder," from The Lord of the Rings musical.)
"Wandering the empty road in twilight's silver shade
Following the hidden paths
Alone and unafraid
Let the sunlight free the heart forever bound to roam
And let the waking morning find
The weary traveler returning home."
("The Song of Hope," from The Lord of the Rings musical.)
~Cadenza
