It's March! Tim & Al become audio tour guides for the big London conference this month, listen to new song 'God Of All' by Ben Cantelon. Tim interviews Al exploring the key values of worship, followed by an arm wrestle!
20 June 2009 - 12:13pm
Hi there,
This is an attempt at creating a new tune to a very old hymn written in, I think, 1835 by Charlotte Elliot.
I've kept the original lyrics, some of which are slightly archaic....using phrases that include "thine" and "plea". I don't want to take away from the integrity of the piece, and I imagine that people will still understand it (accessibility is so important), but what do you think? Is it still suitable for a congregation? I haven't used it in church so I'm not sure. Your opinions as always are so valued!!
Thanks,
Annie
The words are:
Just as I am, without any plea
But that Thy precious blood was shed for me
And that Thou bids me come to Thee
O Lamb of God, I come
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot
O Lamb of God, I come
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many failings, many doubts
Conflicts and fears within, without
O Lamb of God, I come
Just as I am, you will receive
You pardon, cleanse, renew, forgive, relieve
Because Thy promise I believe
O Lamb of God, I come
Just as I am, Thy love I’ve known
Has broken every barrier down
Now, to be Thine, yes, Thine alone
O Lamb of God, I come
Just as I am, of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove
Here for a season, then above
O Lamb of God
O Lamb of God
O Lamb of God, I come
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Hi Larry,
Thanks so much for your comments. I see what you mean about the structure. I thought the "B" sections suited the lyrics if you know what I mean, but now that I think about it your suggestion for AB x 3 would work much better. I guess there's no reason that I can't change the order of the verses - what do you think? It's so tricky to change things around when you get so familiar with a song! But it's so worth doing - so thanks for your comments; I will play around with it and see what happens.
Thanks again,
Annie
Hiyah Annie-babe!
Love the new tune to an old classic - well done.
Annie, your performances always move me tremendously and flood me with emotion, and I often get "wet-cheek syndrome". You've done it again.
I hope you are active in your area performing your songs as well as using them in corporate worship? Your ministry would be great, and could touch many hearts for God.
Bless you girl!
Rog
Hi Roger,
Thank you so much for being so encouraging. It really overwhelms me and excites me that people can be blessed by these simple songs. I love using my gifts to bless the Lord and others. In answer to your question about ministry, I'm currently not active. I did a worship internship 6 years ago and served in the worship team of my church for many years, but in recent years (due to location etc) I haven't been involved anywhere. I've done a bit of writing, but musically it's just been me and a piano in the back room! My husband and I wanted to record some of my songs (as they only existed inside my head!) and it was fun to work with him on that, borrowing a friend's equipment. Hopefully the Lord will lead us into new things when the time is right. I love to worship and to lead others in worship so that's what I will try and do, in whatever context I find myself.
Whoops - that was probably a bit of a ramble, sorry! Anyway, glad you were blessed.
Thanks again,
Annie
Beautiful Annie. Really beautiful. First of your songs I've heard. Stunning voice. Gorgeous accompaniment. Thanks for composing and sharing this.
I love it as it is to listen to. Although I think a congregation could definitely use this by learning it/ getting used to it (!) over time, I tend to agree with Larry that slight reworking of it regarding its syllable count would make it more accessible and stronger for corporate use. The first line has nine in the first verse compared to the eight in other verses. The second line varies between eight and ten! But hey, who am I to challenge a songstress whose song has lasted 174 years!? :-$
Blessings!
Mart
Hi Annie
Yes, I'm sure God has His special plans for you and your husband - He does sometimes give us a period during which it seems we are going nowhere, but we can use them to refine our gifts and get close to Him. So glad you're using this time wisely.
Don't ever despair, and keep your spiritual eyes and ears open for the beginnings of the thing He is calling you to!
Bless you
Rog
............ and Mart - check out Dangerous Trust by Annie, about 4 pages ago! My fave.......
This is simply exceptional in every way. Absolutely beautiful. The ending to the last verse in particular - well done!!
If there was anyway of restructuring the different sections so it was a bit more predicatable and easy to use by a congregation (like Larry's idea) that would be fantastic, it's too a version to just keep it as a solo song!
Blessings
Matt
www.RESOUNDworship.org
Free New Worship Songs
Hi guys,
Wow, thank you so much for your comments. I'm so glad you've enjoyed the song. I wish I could take credit for the lyrics! They've been very special to me ever since my granny wrote them on a little card and hid them under my pillow when I was about 8 years old, telling me to keep them as a prayer. Just as I am - when I doubt, when I'm scared, when I'm lost, when I'm messy with sin, if I come just as I am, he will still love me and cleanse me. How beautiful.
To get technical, I'm wondering about the structure. A few people have commented that it's difficult to recognise when the verses change, since the form is the same in all of them. But I guess that woiuld be easy enough to present by putting the "chorus" verses in bold print, or in a different colour or indented on a screen for a congregation. When I played around with ABABAB format, it just didn't feel right. There were too many "darker" sections for lack of a better word. So I'm not sure what to do?! Actually, I think there were a couple of other verses in the original which I left out; maybe I'll go and take a look at those and perhaps build it into AAB AAB A (think it needs to end the way it does - do you agree?)
Thanks a million everyone. I appreciate your thoughts so much.
Annie
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Hi Annie,
This sounds great and has lots of promise - nice melody! I was just reading the sticky topic about song structure, so here's what struck me after that:
There are two sections to this, an A and B if you like. It's not very clear when the congregation should switch from one phrase to the other, so it might be easier to lead people if you simply went A/B/A/B/A/B through the whole piece. A bit like In Christ Alone, for example, where the verses are identical and can be picked up easily by someone hearing it for the first time.
So you could actually have three longer verses of 8 lines each rather than the 6 you have now. Make sense?
I can hear the "solo" aspect as you've performed it here but can easily imagine the "corporate" version too - fixed note lengths and steady meter to the rhythm, like all the old great hymns have (and a good feature too) but some lines might still benefit from a syllable count in case some are too short or long - but then you don't want to change the original words, so your call!!
Good work, keep at it!
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