First off, thanks, all who have commented on the songs. You do all this editing and staring at a computer screen, trying to get the songs where and how you want them to look. And then you hit “Save Changes” and wonder if anyone’s going to even bother looking at them anyway. In our new, silently technology-savvy world, it’s nice to know you’re out there!
I thought you might enjoy hearing at least a little bit about the reasons behind the songs themselves. I wanted to add this in the CD insert, but there wasn’t room - and then, of course, some of you don’t have the insert at all and are simply listening to the music via computer. So, here’s a bit about the first few songs . . .
1) “Just Like Always”: This is a song I wrote several years ago after I’d taken a lonely walk down a good, old-fashioned Nebraska country road. It ran straight ahead and straight behind (like most roads in Nebraska do), and I looked up to see home looming nearby and the sun setting in the west and cornfields stretching out left and right. And I thought how grand it was that I could walk alone down this road and yet not really be alone because of the One who said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” And so a song was born. (Note: The country twang came accidentally. I used to hate country music; I think I’ve more or less accepted it now, and even enjoy it sometimes.)
2) “Toliba Weka” (Translation: “Never Alone”): This and the fourth song are the reason this CD was made at all. Two summers ago, I took a trip to Africa with Music for Life (parent organization for the African Children’s Choir). During the second half of that trip, in Uganda, I wrote the words to this song to share with the children there. A good friend from Uganda then translated the words from English into Luganda, helped me with the pronunciation, and I set the words to music. I was blessed to be able to sing several times to the children there, at a school, an orphanage, and the Music for Life facilities. And, quite unexpectedly, on my return to the States, God gave me the privilege of singing three times more to various Ugandan groups touring this country. (For the story that perhaps best describes why I wrote this and the other African song, see “Day 12" in the September 2008 archives of this blog.)
The full translation of this song into English is as follows: Dear child, remember you are never alone//I wrote this song just for you/I want you to know/That you have a Creator in Heaven/Who loves you so much//God has your name written on His hand/God holds love for you in His heart.
3) “Faithful”: This is my personal favorite song on this CD, and the first one we recorded in studio. I actually didn’t know we were going to record it that day, but when I sat down at the piano to “play a little something,” we decided to break out the microphones and start recording! I don’t think I can rephrase the message of the song better than the lyrics themselves already do. It’s a very simple song, one I was inspired to write when I was plunking away at the piano keys one day, and it tells about the utter faithfulness of my God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
4) “Urukundo Niruhemuka” (Translation: “Love Never Fails”): Well, if you’ve read about the second song already, you have a good idea why I wrote this one as well. It’s more or less the same, except that this song was written during the first half of the Africa trip and is in Kinyarwanda, which is the language in Rwanda.
Full translation into English: I want to say to you/Beautiful child/That your Father in Heaven/Loves you very much/Every time you smile/Every tear you cry/Every dream/He sees and understands/He is wonderful/Your God made you just as you are/For a purpose/And His purpose is love//Remember, love never fails.
