Tennessee

Sandra McCracken and Derek Webb released a short collection of songs (EP) called TN & EP. On that EP is a marvelous song called “Tennessee” (listen to it here). I could not find the lyrics anywhere on the web so I transcribed them myself and checked with McCracken’s staff to confirm a line or two.…

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It’s Me Again

In the song, “It’s Me Again,” I have never been quite sure whether Wayne Kirkpatrick is addressing the lyrics to a friend or to God. I suspect that it may be both. Kirkpatrick tends to do this with his songs. Regardless, from my time spent coaching others, and from my own life, I am convinced…

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Pictures in the Mud

When Hurricane Sandy unleashed her force on Atlantic coastlines, and particularly New Jersey and New York states, there was much media coverage of the destruction and several heart-breaking stories that arose. Mike Charko read one of the stories regarding a woman who lost her Staten Island home and caught the inspiration for a song. Mike…

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Song For A Grandson

Becoming a grandfather has had a profound effect on me. Things that used to seem important seem less so. Other things have increased in importance. I have tried to capture some of these feelings in words and melody. I offer up these words to you with an attitude of transparency. Take a look inside this…

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Handmade

The words of the song “Handmade” by Jimmy Rankin say, “Everywhere I go everything’s plastic.” I understand these words. It is all too easy to find pretense and masque all around us. Authenticity is something for which we long. We long for it in the music industry, in business, in spirituality, and in our relationships…

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