Back with a bang: Absolutely Free But Extremely Costly.
So as many of you might have known, throughout September I was taking a little break from posting any new material on YouTube, Facebook and here on my Website. Coming back in October marked a new work pattern for me where I’m producing a video every fortnight rather than every week. Sure, there were various factors in this decision, but basically, I couldn’t keep up the rate of one a week with everything I’m doing especially as I’m still working part time.
Anyway, I WANTED TO COME BACK WITH A BANG. And what better way to do that, than by releasing a brand-new single!
Cast your minds back several months to Easter. We were in the height of the first wave of COVID and in a national lockdown. Here at home we sat down to listen to the Good Friday message from the church here in Blackpool. The Pastor was talking about the great cost of our salvation. He also said that it was free.
You might be thinking this isn’t anything you haven’t heard before and perhaps it isn’t. It certainly wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before either but THAT’S THE BEAUTY OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. It doesn’t matter how many times you hear the truth; it is always outrageously magnificent.
Then he summarised. He said that our salvation was “absolutely free, but extremely costly.” WHAT A TRUTH! WHAT A LYRIC!
Straight away I made a mental note of that phrase. Over the next few weeks, I mulled it over and decided to use it as the basis for a new song. When it comes to my writing I ALWAYS TRY AND HAVE A HOOK. That might be a musical hook, or a lyrical hook. Something you can grab the listener with. Here, this perfectly worded five-word idiom was going to be my hook. I just had to build the rest of the song around it.
Every musician, no matter what instrument they play or which genre, has levels of comfort. We all have ways we love to play. Techniques we find easier than others. When it comes to signing, as someone who is a piano player, I HAVE A COMFORT ZONE WHICH I TRY TO STAY WELL WITHIN. For me, this often means I fall into the habit of writing stuff at a slower tempo.
With this song I knew that was a no no. It didn’t sound right. Such a tremendous truth had to be proclaimed with a pace which I would have to force myself to set. So, I set a faster tempo and SUDDENLY EVERYTHING CAME TOGETHER. The piano licks simply came to me and the bridge pretty much wrote itself. There were now just a few things missing.
Only once before had someone else featured on a video of mine. IT WAS TIME TO CALL ON THEM AGAIN. The addition of a guitar part and a bass part, for me really tied the track together. It really does mean a lot to me that Matthew was once again willing to help me out.
This track is something I’m really really proud of and I HOPE THAT GOD WILL BE ABLE TO USE IT. Would you join with me in praying that people will hear it on the various platforms where it is available and be challenged about this basic, yet life changing truth.