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This song challenges societal norms, religious stereotypes, and emphasizes the power of Jesus’ message in unconventional musical forms.
In the lyrics, Norman expresses his gratitude for his faith, acknowledging that Jesus saved his soul. However, he also confesses his love for rock ‘n’ roll music and the radio, despite religious criticism that often labeled the genre as “wrong.” Norman openly defies this notion, stating that rock ‘n’ roll makes him feel good and compels him to dance. He firmly asserts that he knows the difference between right and wrong, and believes that there is no reason why the devil should be the sole proprietor of enjoyable music.
Norman addresses the judgment he faces for his long hair and his involvement in a rock ‘n’ roll band. People question his intentions, wondering what a “good boy” is doing in such a setting. However, he defends himself by implying that his appearance does not define his character or the quality of his music. He asserts that playing blues licks is not inherently sinful, and challenges anyone who disagrees with him to confront him directly.

Throughout the song, Norman emphasizes his preference for music that moves him, both physically and emotionally. He expresses his distaste for slow, mournful hymns and funeral marches, craving songs that have a beat and make him want to dance. His desire for music that energizes and uplifts him aligns with his belief that Jesus is the rock who has rolled away his blues.

The phrase “Jesus is the rock and he rolled my blues away” is a central refrain that appears multiple times in the song. It serves as a powerful reminder of the transformative power of faith for Norman. By associating Jesus with rock ‘n’ roll music, he is subverting traditional religious associations and challenging the notion that only church hymns can convey spirituality. Norman believes that he can enjoy vibrant, rhythmic music while staying true to his Christian beliefs.

The lyrics of the song have a deeply profound meaning that captures the essence of what gospel music stands for. The tune is a tribute to the power of collective and communal singing and illustrates why people choose to sing despite their struggles.
The song opens with the lyrics, “Someone asked a question/Why do we sing?/When we lift our hands to Jesus/What do we really mean?” These lines prompt the listener to ponder the meaning of worship and singing in a group setting. Despite the struggles that people face in their daily lives, they continue to sing as a form of expressing their faith and deriving strength from the community.

Kirk Franklin elaborates these thoughts in the lyrics, “We sing because we’re happy/We sing because we’re free/His eye is on the sparrow/And I know He watches me.” These lines suggest joy and freedom from earthly worries. The second half of the song reflects the emotions generated through worship and describes the feeling of being uplifted, where “He hears every cry, he sees every tear.”
Gospel songs, like “Why We Sing,” have the power to transcend boundaries, be they cultural, regional, or linguistic. Gospel music can unite people from all walks of life because religious experiences, faith, and emotions are universal. Kirk Franklin’s “Why We Sing” reflects such inclusiveness; it has remained relevant to people across the globe since its release.

LYRICS:
Through the veil, we have come
You've paid the price, a sacrifice of flesh and blood
Hearts ablaze, drawing close
The holy place now invades the human soul

Wide awake, unashamed in Your light
By Your grace, boldly running to Your side
Captivated, oh, I am taken by everything You are
I wanna be closer and closer and closer to Your heart
I wanna be closer and closer and closer to Your heart

Hope is here, love has won
With burning hearts into Your arms, oh God, we run
All my life and all my days, holding nothing back
Giving all I am for Your great name

Wide awake, unashamed in Your light
By Your grace, boldly running to Your side
Captivated, oh, I am taken by everything You are
I wanna be closer and closer, closer to Your heart
I wanna be closer and closer, closer to Your heart

Yeah!

Closer to Your heart (Your heart)
Wide awake, wide awake, oh-oh
Ooh, ooh, oh, wide awake, oh, wide awake, oh, wide awake

Wide awake, unashamed in Your light
By Your grace, boldly running to Your side
Captivated, oh, I am taken by everything You are
I wanna be closer and closer, closer to Your heart
I wanna be closer and closer, closer to Your heart

To Your heart

LYRICS:
When I met him on a sidewalk,
he was preaching to a mailbox
down on Sixteenth Avenue.
And he told me he was Jesus
sent from Jupiter to free us
with a bottle of tequila and one shoe.
He raged about repentance
and finished every sentence
with a promise that the end was close at hand.
I didn't even try to understand.

He left me wide eyed,
in disbelief and disallusion.
I was tongue-tied, drawn by my conclusions.
And so I turned and walked away
and laughed at what he had to say.
And casually dismissed him as a fraud.
I forgot he was created in the image of my God.

When I met her in a bookstore
she was browsing on the first floor
through a yoga magazine.
And she told me in her past life
she was some plantation's slave's wife-
she had to figure out what that might mean.
She believes the healing powers of her crystals
can bring balance and new purpose to her life.
Sounds nice.

She left me wide eyed,
in disbelief and disallusion.
I was tongue-tied, drawn by my conclusions.
And so I turned and walked away
and laughed at what she had to say.
And casually dismissed her as a fraud.
I forgot she was created in the image of my God.

Not so long ago, a man from Galilee
fed thousands with his bread and his theology.
And the truth he spoke
quickly became the joke
of educated, self-inflated, pharisees like me.

They were wide eyed
in disbelief and disallusion.
They were tongue-tied, drawn by their conclusions.
Would have turned and walked away
and laughed at what He had to say?
And casually dismissed Him as a fraud.
Unaware that I was staring at the image of my God.

LYRICS:
I've had seasons of goodness
Overflowing with life
But I'm no stranger to sorrow
Or a heart that wanders sometimes

I know the darkest night
Cannot outrun the sun
The burden will be light
But until that day comes

I will rest
I will rest
Rest my heart in Your hands
'Cause I know that I can
Put my hope in Your faithfulness

I will rest
And trust with confidence
If You're God in the good, in the promised land
You'll be God
God in the wilderness

When I'm stuck in the silence
And my mind's full of noise
You're my light in the distance
You're my peace in the storm

I know the longest fight
Cannot outlast Your love
The wrong will be made right
But until that day comes

I will rest
I will rest
Rest my heart in Your hands
'Cause I know that I can
Put my hope in Your faithfulness

I will rest
And trust with confidence
If You're God in the good, in the promised land
You'll be God
God in the wilderness (Oh, oh)
In the wilderness
God in the wilderness (Oh, oh)
In the wilderness

There is joy on the horizon
I can feel it rising up, rising up
There is joy on the horizon
I can feel it rising up

I will rest
I will rest (Oh)
Rest my heart in Your hands
'Cause I know that I can
Put my hope in Your faithfulness

I will rest (I will rest)
And trust with confidence (Oh)
If You're God in the good, in the promised land
You'll be God
God in the wilderness (Oh, oh)
In the wilderness
God in the wilderness (Oh, oh)
In the wilderness

LYRICS:
The rain falls on the righteous and the wicked
Mine is not to reason why this is
In this I rest in this I find my refuge
That my thoughts and ways are not His
I spend my life on looking up the answers
It's rare that I can't find a reason why
But reasons fail at children without mothers
His plan is more than I can know

Have you ever held in doubt
What this life is all about
Have you questioned all these things that seem important to us
Do you really wanna know
Or are you a little scared
You're afraid that God is not really exactly what you'd have Him be
What should I hold to and what should I do
How do I know if anything's true
I'm somewhere in-between Canaan and Egypt
A place called the wilderness

I'm not one who always trusts their feelings
I don't believe in what you'd call blind faith
But faith that you can do all that you promised
And you said it all works for good
It's safe to say I don't see the big picture
I can't see the forest for the trees
And if five hundred lives
Were mine to get to know
You all could be spent on just this

God do you really understand what it's like to be a man
Have You ever felt the weight of loving all the things you Hate
Have You struggled have you worried
How can You sympathize

I have spoken too soon put my hand over my mouth
I can't contend with You
Your ways are so much higher
And we pass through the fire that Christ endured before us
When You were in the wilderness

'Will the Circle Be Unbroken" is a Christian hymn written by Ada Habershon in 1907. In this hymn, Habershon reflects upon rejoining her family and friends in the afterlife of heaven, "a better home awaiting in the sky." This hopeful, yet somber Christian tune ponders who we will reconnect with when it is our time to depart this world.
LYRICS:


1 There are loved ones in the glory
Whose dear forms you often miss,
When you close your earthly story
Will you join them in their bliss?

Refrain:
Will the circle be unbroken
by and by, yes, by and by?
In a better home awaiting
in the sky, in the sky?

2 In the joyous days of childhood,
Oft they told of wondrous love,
Pointed to the dying Savior,
Now they dwell with Him above. [Refrain]

3 You remember songs of heaven
Which you sang with childish voice,
Do you love the hymns they taught you,
Or are songs of earth your choice? [Refrain]

4 You can picture happy gatherings
Round the fireside long ago,
And you think of tearful partings,
When they left you here below. [Refrain]

5 One by one their seats were empty,
One by one they went away,
Now the family is parted,
Will it be complete one day? [Refrain]

LYRICS:
I was standing by my window
On a cold and cloudy day
When I saw the hearse come rolling
For to carry my mother away.
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by Lord, by and by
There's a better home awaiting
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
Well, I went back home, home was lonely
For my mother she was gone
And all my family there was cryin'
For out home felt sad and alone.
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by Lord, by and by
There's a better home awaiting
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
Undertaker, undertaker, undertaker
Won't you please drive slow
For that lady you are haulin'
Lord, I hate to see her go.
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by Lord, by and by
There's a better home awaiting
In the sky Lord, in the sky.
There's a better home awaiting
In the sky Lord, in the sky...

LYRICS:
I am thinking today of that beautiful land
I shall reach when the sun goeth down
When through wonderful grace by my Savior I stand
Will there be any stars in my crown?

Will there be any stars, any stars in my crown
When at evening the sun goeth down
When I wake with the blessed in the mansions of rest
Will there be any stars in my crown?

In the strength of the Lord let me labor and pray
Let me watch as a winner of souls
That bright stars may be mine in the glorious day
When His praise like the sea billow rolls.

Will there be any stars, any stars in my crown
When at evening the sun goeth down
When I wake with the blessed in the mansions of rest
Will there be any stars in my crown?

O what joy it will be when His face I behold
Living gems at his feet to lay down
I would sweeten my bliss in the city of gold
Will there be any stars in my crown?

Will there be any stars, any stars in my crown
When at evening the sun goeth down
When I wake with the blessed in the mansions of rest
Will there be any stars in my crown?...

LYRICS:
[Verse 1: John Cooper & Korey Cooper]
As I fall to sleep
Will You comfort me?
When my heart is weak
Will You rescue me?

[Chorus: John Cooper & Korey Cooper, Both]
Will You be there
As I grow cold?
Will You be there
When I'm falling down?
Will You be there?

[Verse 2: John Cooper & Korey Cooper]
When I'm in retreat
Can I run to You?
Will my pain release
At Your mercy seat?

[Chorus: John Cooper & Korey Cooper, Both]
Will You be there
As I grow cold?
Will You be there
When I'm falling down?
Will You be there?
My heart grows cold
Will You be there
When I'm falling down?

[Bridge: John Cooper & Korey Cooper, Both]
Are You saying so?
Oh, I gotta believe it
Are You saying yeah?
When Your love comes down
I can rest my eyes
Feel Your grace and power
Flood into my life
As my brokenness
And Your strength collide
When Your love comes down
Falling down

[Verse 3: John Cooper]
As I fall to sleep
As I fall to sleep

[Chorus: John Cooper & Korey Cooper, Both]
Will you be there
As I grow cold?
Will You be there
When I'm falling down?
Will you be there?
My heart grows cold
Will You be there
When I'm falling down?
Will You be there
As I grow cold?
Will You be there
When I'm falling down?
Will You be there?
My heart grows cold
Will You be there
When I'm falling down?
[Breakdown: John Cooper & Korey Cooper, Both]
As I grow cold
Will You be there?
My heart grows cold
Will You be there
When I'm falling down?

[Outro: John Cooper & Korey Cooper, Both]
Will you be there?
As I grow cold
When I'm falling down?
Will You be there?
My heart grows cold
Will You be there
When I'm falling down?
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