Wayne Sanders
From C3 (Cambridge Community Church)
. . . but in terms of Amos, it might be considered worship. Our pastors recently got back from a conference with Hope for justice and started sharing with us some of what had gone on and some of what Hope for Justice are doing. They also shared some of the horror stories of kids as young as 3 being trafficked. That completely undid me in a devastating way . . . my own little girl is 3 years old. Among many other emotions I felt was one of intense frustration - "what can I do?" Steve, my pastor gave me some good advice - that being that for some bizarre reason, worship and social justice seem to have a close link. And he suggested among other things that I could write songs that will speak out about this. So here is a very raw response. I only hope I've in no way trivialised any aspect of something as serious as this.
Unnoticed she cries, this little girl
Her eyes hide from these strangers
She trembles inside, dreaming of a life
Where she will be safe
Will we speak out for the voiceless?
Will we fight for those who are weak?
Or will we just remain silent while they cry, while they cry?
Let my heart break for those whose heart's are broken
Love unfold what my heart ought to know
He's still just a boy, but his gun is not a toy
And the bullets are real
They took him one night and they taught him how to fight
But he's still just a boy
So I will speak out for the voiceless
I will fight for those who are weak
I will not remain silent
While they cry, while they cry
Let my heart break for those whose heart's are broken
Love expose what my heart ought to know
If I turn my face, if I close my eyes
It's You I've rejected, Lord
So I will join my voice with every cry
For Justice
Unnoticed they came, they took her away
As darkness descended
Hope found a way, now she'll never be the same
Her nightmare has ended
It look's like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.
Hey Ian - cheers for your thoughts and comments mate. Sorry it's taken so long to respond though. Stoked you feel this IS a worship song . . . though obviously not a congregational one. So to answer your question, NO - I haven't done it with a congregation but quite honestly have no intention of doing so either.
I realise that when we talk "worship" we invariably mean "corporate, sung, congregational" worship. I obviously have no problem with that but I've felt more and more challenged to ask the big questions like "is this ALL there is to worship?" Firstly, I realise I'm not the first to ask this and won't be the last but it's something which is on my mind a fair amount. Secondly, I LOVE corporate sung worship and always count it such a privilege to be able to be a part of it. And quite honestly if that WAS all there was to it I'd not be the least bit unhappy. But the niggling questions still remain and especially in the light of what is going on in our world today.
I've not yet done this in church at all but will be doing so for the first time in October at a women's conference. It will definitely be more a solo song but with a view to evoking something in the hearts of the congregation which will hopefully result in worship to God. Maybe not "everybody singing along" kinda worship, but "I was hungry and you fed me, I was a victim of trafficking and you all fought for my freedom" kinda worship.
Having said all that, I realise there is power and significance in a group of people singing something - especially when it's heartfelt and so it might work to pick up on the refrain “let my heart break for those whose hearts are broken” as a corporate prayer.
Thanks again for your feedback mate. Oh btw – I've rewritten the 2nd verse.
Its great to read the words of this song and i was stirred into worship. Thanks for the honesty and the great storytelling. I like the fact that the questions you ask in the pre-chorus are answered the next time round with a resounding declaration. It definitely works as a solo song and like how u start of with the piano and introduce the electric guitar as the song progresses. what do u think of removing the pause in the chorus, and running straight from broken into love? just a thought. I'd definitely love to hear your rewrite of the second verse. Well done though and God bless.
Not sure I really have a lot to add to the previous comments. Tough subject. Beautifully written. Worship, yes. Congregational, no. Reminds my in places of Delirious.
In the final verse, the syllabalic emphasis on "they" didn't work for me. But I think that if you shifted it slightly to emphasize "took" instead, that would work a little better and give more weight to the statement itself.
Hi Elikem - cheers for the comments. Kinda a little unsure that I fully understand what you mean by running straight from "broken" into "love" - any chance you could put it down on mp3? Would you add an extra syllable, would you lengthen broken or start love earlier and lengthen that? Also - the version which is up now is the rewritten verse 2.
Doug - cheers for that mate. Again, i could shift the emphasis to the word "took" but were thinking of adding lyrics/syllables to that line to accommodate this? (ie: Unnoticed they came, they TOOK that girl away . . . or something like that?)
Cheers for the encouragement guy. nice one
Wayne
New Song
Forum Latest
Hello Wayne,
It's good to hear a heartfelt song that looks at this issue. There still aren't enough good social justice songs even with the Compassion Art project. We end up doing Beauty for Brokenness a lot even though it is rather dated. As always with your songs the musical and technical values are high. As to whether it is worship or not - it clearly is. I wouldn't do it with a congregation as it stands though and, although I wouldn't expect you to change it now as you have produced it to a high standard, the reasons are:
1) The changes in lyrics between the different versions of the chorus (and, obviously, the verses) result in changing syllable patterns that make it tricky to pick up. If you want to use it for this purpose, I would humbly suggest some re-writing.
2) Some of the stresses are more soloistic (e.g. the stress on 'just' in the second paragraph).
Have you been doing it with your congregation? It sounds like it would be great to use for a powerpoint for an appeal or as a solo song for an album. It's a lovely song mate - well done.
http://www.myspace.com/ianbwilson