Lyrics: (Go to Comments)

  1. Kumbaya
    Somebody's singing Lord, kumbaya! Oh Lord, kumbaya!
    Somebody's crying… Somebody's praying… Somebody's shouting…
    Sing halleluiah!
  2. When It Grooves
    Spirit, come down and move me, come down and light the fire
    Sometimes it's not so easy, though it's my own desire
    Waiting for things to happen, "Move me now Lord," I pray
    Give me some strength and courage, just to sit down and play
    Then the music fills the air

    When it grooves the Spirit moves, and I'm renewed in the rhythm
    Love's begun and we are one in the Son, when it grooves

    Last night the place was empty, as the evening began to wear
    I wondered what I was singing, I wondered if you were there
    If I could find the reason, the reason why I choose
    To keep up a life of striving, when in stillness
    In stillness you can fill the groove

    When it grooves the Spirit moves, and I'm renewed in the rhythm
    Love's begun and we are one in the Son, when it grooves
    You will feel the sound is real, let it heal as it grooves
    Love's begun and we are one in the Son, when it grooves

    Singing's the sound of your own spirit; singing's the sound of your soul
    Singing's the sound of your spirit

    Music fills the air, the Spirit's everywhere
  3. Road To Emmaus
    Everywhere hear the news and people talking
    Could it be? Can't decide. As we're walking on the road
    Side by side sharing thoughts, no conclusions
    Excepting that discussion leads to confusion
    To scared to hope on a seven-mile journey back home
    On a seven-mile journey back home

    Is it too much to ask for, what some are believing?
    I don't want to be foolish, but am I worth deceiving?
    A question confronts us, on the road to Emmaus
    Can there be redemption amidst all of this chaos?

    A man whose words burned our hearts walked beside us
    Journey's end, couldn't part. Would he join us as the day is done?
    In the night the table's set, words are spoken
    Giving thanks, he gives to us bread that's broken
    We saw the truth on a seven-mile journey back home
    On a seven-mile journey back home
  4. Always With You
    Why do you cry? I will be always with you
    Who do you seek? I will be always with you
    Do not hold on to me for I have not yet returned to God

    Be not afraid. Alleluia! I am with you. Alleluia! Alleluia!

    How can I go? I will be always with you
    I am afraid. I will be always with you
    Do not hold onto sorrow. Go instead and tell them I'm returning to our God
    Be not afraid. Alleluia! I am with you. Alleluia! Alleluia!

    Why do you cry? I will be always with you
    Who do you seek? I will be always with you
    Do not hold onto fear I am with you always

    Be not afraid. Alleluia! I am with you. Alleluia! Alleluia!
  5. Forty Days
    Lord, you know my trials and tribulations
    Will you be with me fighting these temptations?

    Help me Lord (I will find strength in my pain)
    Find my way (I will not let go my soul)
    Through this dark (Oh Spirit, come down like rain)
    From this pain (to you I give my control)

    Forty days, forty nights and no less, forty days in a vast wilderness
    Forty days tempting me to do wrong, help me Lord forty days to be strong

    Somewhere out there is my sole salvation
    A forty day long journey through temptation

    Help me, Lord find hope, joy, love, peace!
  6. Awake My Soul (Psalm 57)
    God have mercy, God have mercy, for in you my soul takes refuge
    I take refuge in the shadow of your wings until trouble passes
    I cry out to God most high, fulfill your purpose for me
    Send your love and faithfulness

    Be exalted above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth
    I am steadfast, I am steadfast, I will sing and make music
    Awake my soul
  7. Life's Unveiling A Song
    We walk upon the paths we walked before; we know them well, we close our eyes
    And through the darkness we learn to see a light, a love, a life in peace

    Our time has come if you just stop and see, the minute you stop and see
    Your time, our time will now come
    In this feeling life's unveiling a song, free your heart to sing, open up to everything

    Sing about the blue, sing about the rain in the rain, sing alone, sing of the new day just begun
    In this day you have made we awake, we rejoice, we are glad and we sing life's music
    A never ending song of joy; sing a song of God of love of dance of moon of breath
    Sing for you, sing for me
    We walk upon the paths we walked before; we know them well, we close our eyes
    And through the darkness we learn to see a light, a love, a life in peace

    Sing for the times love would not come your way and sing it for those who think
    That they will never know love
    Sing a new prayer, let your prayer be a song; free your heart to sing, open up to everything
    Everywhere you go sing about her life and the book, sing of change
    And the red wagon glazed with dew
    Sing of sky, sing of peace, sing of dreams, sing of hope and faith in one another
    And people who never let you be just let them hear you sing
    La la la la la, la la la la la

    Of the sweetness in the wine, the pebbles in the stream, the echo of her steps
    The comfort of the morning sun reflecting on the floor

    And as we stop and stare and wonder, we sing of hope, we sing of peace
    Our time has just begun
  8. Who Do You Say I Am
    Hear the people ask about me, "what's the nature of this man?"
    "He is John or Elijah" Well, who do you say I am?
    Am I prophet, am I spirit, am I ordinary man
    Who was broken, who was crucified? Well, who do you say I am?

    I am Silence, I am Stillness, I'm the Lion and the Lamb
    Before Moses, before Abraham before all of you I am
    After all of you I am
  9. Witness
    Who'll be a witness for my Lord? Who'll be a witness for my Lord?
    Who'll be a witness for my Lord? I'll be a witness for my Lord, I'll be a witness for my Lord!

    Dear Lord, I pray in all I do that I will be an instrument of love for you
    Help me to see the path you choose so as I'm walking in your love I am spreading your good news

    And help me understand, that within me is your hand
    Spreading your good love, to every woman, child and man
    Oh Lord, help me to understand, I wanna know!

    Sometimes you feel, it's just too much to give, but it's not what you would die for but for what you would live
    If you believe, and let God shine through, you can be witness in whatever you do

    Oh Lord, we come before you now and humbly sing our song
    To share will all your generous love

    Who'll be a witness? Who will be a witness?

    Spread the word (everywhere)! Spread the joy (everywhere)! Spread the love (everywhere)!
    The love that is God and the Son and Spirit!
  10. Remember Me
    Now my time draws near, go prepare a table for us in the upper room
    This will be my last, for I will not feast again until the evening comes

    Remember me, remember me, as I've loved you, remember me, remember me

    We will break the bread, as our father's fathers did in days so long ago
    And as I pour the wine, I offer up a covenant for many to be free

    I give myself to you, for though we all sit at the table I am one who serves
    You have stood by me and there will come a day when we will eat and drink again
  11. Cantemos Al Senor
  12. I've Got The Joy
    Oh, I've got the joy, down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart
    Oh, I've got the joy, down in my heart. Down in my heart I've got the joy of the Lord

    Oh, I've got the song…
    Oh, I've got the love…
    Oh, I've got the joy… I've got the joy!

Comments: (Go to Lyrics)

  1. Kumbaya
    I love taking something familiar and giving it a completely new setting. We can invoke God in a number of ways — solemnly, quietly, ecstatically — all depending on our mood. This is an upbeat celebratory invocation. I wanted this song to feel like a party.
  2. When it Grooves
    There are times in my life where I feel like I don't want to do anything; even those things that I claim I love doing. In those moments, I have been known to be rescued by a solid groove. I'm talking about that part of a song that compels you to move, nod your head to the beat, tap your foot, or dance. There is something about the groove that is supernatural in the way it binds, transports and heals. For this song, I imagined a singer, tired of playing the same gig every night, finally becoming still enough to feel the groove. It lifts him up and suddenly he is part of something that is so much bigger.
  3. Road to Emmaus
    Today a question confronts us that was asked two thousand years ago; do we dare be hopeful when all our senses are telling us that it would be foolish to do so? Three days after Christ's crucifixion, two people are walking and discussing everything that has happened and also about the possibility that the Christ may still be alive. Then Jesus actually joins them on their journey but "they were kept from recognizing him." I believe that very first Easter must have been a time of great fear and confusion. A promising leader is betrayed then brutally killed. And amidst all this sorrow Jesus appears yet is not recognized. It takes courage and a kind of audacity to put hope in something good amidst so much death and chaos. But if we don't put our hope in the good, we will often miss it.
  4. Always With You
    This song is about the difficulty in letting go of someone you love. Jesus comes before his disciples and tells them yet again that he will be leaving. Understandably they don't want to hear it. They cling to him, they protest, and Jesus says, "Don't be afraid, I am always with you." We all have things that we are attached to whether they are physical things, beliefs, people or, as the disciples, a concept of who Jesus is. But if we are truly growing there will come a time when we will have to let those attachments go, as we must let go of our fears. Then we allow ourselves to be open to an experience that is far deeper and richer than ever imaginable.
  5. Forty Days
    There are a startling number of events that take place within forty days and nights in the bible — the great flood, Moses on a mountain top, Elijah's journey, Jesus fasting in the desert. Forty days represents a trial of some kind. Now we all have trials in our lives and how we deal with them can shape who we are. The message of this song is that we must face and then go through our trials in order to experience the peace that is waiting for us at the end.
  6. Awake My Soul
    This lyric is extracted from psalm 57. It begins in despair with a plea for mercy but ends in hope with the enlightened request to "awake my soul". This is a particular meaningful message for our time in the wake of so many human caused tragedies. But I believe it is not asking us to respond to such tragedies with anger, fear and retaliation; but with love and a commitment to change ourselves.
  7. Life's Unveiling a Song
    This song is about my conviction that reality is so much more than what we perceive and that certain experiences can allow us glimpses into what lies behind this "veil". The song begins with someone walking through her tired and "familiar" life. She closes her eyes to take in her surroundings differently. When she opens her eyes again she is awakened and is able to joyfully revel in the details of the everyday, the familiar and the mundane. That is my take on the scripture, "This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad". There is also a tiny allusion to William Carlos Williams's poem, The Red Wheelbarrow. Williams is a master of taking the ordinary and imbuing it with extraordinary life.
  8. Who Do You Say I Am
    Jesus posed this question to his disciples yet it is a timeless one that we, as a community, are still grappling with. I think many of us would like to think we know the answer but we don't; as soon as we think we do, we've imprisoned Jesus in a concept. My friend Tom O'Brien wrote the lyric for this tune and I love the way he finishes the song with the paradoxical statements "before all of you I am, after all of you I am" which refers back to the conversation in the Old Testament account of Moses and the Burning Bush. I think as much as the mind can stand to wrestle with these paradoxes is as close as we can get to the truth of who Jesus is.
  9. Witness
    A witness is one who publicly affirms religious faith. So often we think that means knocking on people's doors or being able to interject scripture in conversation. I hope this song gets across the idea that it is the evidence of one's life that is the strongest witness; that the more compelling case for Christianity lies in loving action rather than empty words. The burden of being a witness is simply the burden of living your life to the fullest and the burden of living your life falls not on your shoulders but on something much bigger than yourself.
  10. Remember Me
    Reading the scriptural accounts of the last supper, I was struck by the beauty, ceremony and poignancy of, what must have been, a very sad event. Jesus speaks to his disciples and in his words one can feel the love that binds them together. That's what I wanted this song to be about — a true friendship. I realized that, though we may live imperfect lives, in our friendships we all have experienced perfect moments — whether a perfect moment of joy, a perfect moment of fun or, as in the case of this song, a perfect moment of selflessness. We can all relate to what Jesus says when he tells his disciples, "You have stood by me". Like us, they were flawed and not one hundred percent reliable but ultimately, they were his friends.
  11. Cantemos al Senor
    I was attracted to this Carlos Rosas composition because of the title. It roughly translates, "we sing to the Lord". But this "we" in Spanish is the royal "we" which includes everybody. Imagine that, everybody singing as one voice to the Creator who "made the sky above, the stars, the sun, the oceans". It's a beautiful image that inevitably leads to a joyful litany of salsa infused "alleluias!"
  12. I've Got the Joy
    As a composer, "joy" comes quite naturally for me to render musically, so I thought I would try my hand at reworking an old camp song. The lyric is simple and meant to come together quickly for uplifting community singing.

(Go to Lyrics)   (Go to Comments)