Okay...here's the list of my Top 25 Favorite Songs that are on my iPod.
25. "San Antonio Rose" by Bob Wills. As with most of these bands or artists, it was hard to pick just one song to be my favorite. This one's a classic.
24. "She's Got a Way" by Billy Joel. The lyric captures that feeling I think all men have when it comes to the woman they love: I don't know what it is, but there's just something about her I can't live without.
23. "Consider the Cost" by Steve Camp. Steve used to be popular in Christian music, and he spoke with the voice of a prophet. I think this is one of his most important songs.
22. "When God Ran" by Benny Hester. This one goes way back, and is the first of two songs on my list about the parable of the prodigal son, which speaks to me in very personal ways. The lyrics are still startling to me, as he describes the greatness and glory and power and strength of God, and then says, "the only time I ever saw God run was when He ran to me..."
21. "You Don't Know Me" by Cindy Walker. Many people have recorded this song over the years, from Eddy Arnold to Willie Nelson and everyone in between. As a child, I think I heard Mickey Gilley's version first. I have always been shy and hesitant around females, so I understood right away the longing and regret of this song.
20. "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. I have always thought that this is one of the most beautiful love songs ever written about how a man finds that missing part of himself in the woman he loves, and the torment he endures when there is separation. I have not liked it when Christian artists have recorded this song as a testimony of their love for God. The lyrics are powerful wen describing my love for Kim, but seem inadequate and silly in describing my passion for Christ.
19. "40" by U2. Bono based the lyrics to this song on Psalm 40, where David waited patiently for the Lord, who lifted him up out of the pit. The song is filled with hope about singing a new song, but is tinged with impatience as we wait on the Lord. We so often feel that way.
18. "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney. Macca post Beatles is hit and miss, in my opinion, but this song is greatness. What man in love has not felt like he was in the middle of something that he doesn't really understand?
17. "Walkin' After Midnight" by Patsy Cline. It is that voice. None like it.
16. "I Need Thee Every Hour" by Jars of Clay. This is the first entry on my list by Jars, and the only hymn I have included. This song appears on the album "Redemption Songs" where Jars recorded old hymns and made them new. I am humbled every time I hear this one.
15. "With or Without You" by U2. This song was popular when I was 17, and I often felt that way about women - can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Bono's painful wail at the climax of the song probably sounds familiar to many broken-hearted men who felt like they had nothing to win and nothing left to lose.
14. "I've Been Everywhere" by Johnny Cash. This one rocks along expressing joy in traveling and road-weariness at the same time. This is a fun song.
13. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"
by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. You would probably recognize this version if you heard the ukulele. This song is hauntingly beautiful, and manages to be both hopeful and sad at the same time.
12. "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" by Louis Armstrong. I love Satchmo, and this is my favorite. Hard to not to love his raspy voice and distinctive trumpet playing.
11. "Heading for the Light" by The Traveling Wilburys. George Harrison, Jeff Lynn, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty made up the Wilburys, and their music is a lot of fun. Harrison sings this song with a joyful sense of determination and redemption.
10. "When the Saints Go Marching In" by Sara Groves. This one is for all of us who feel overwhelmed walking down the narrow road that leads to life. We need to remember the great faith and courageous obedience of those who have gone before us and resolve to be one of them.
9. "Breathe In Me" by Michael W. Smith. Smitty's song expresses the deep desire for renewal that so many of us feel from time to time in our lives. During these times we are convinced that God can breathe in us new life, and we cry out our deep longing for more of Him.
8. "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" by Willie Nelson. This classic is from Nelson's album, "The Red-headed Stranger," an old west fable. The song is so simple and subtle, expressing the realities that life is filled with partings, but Heaven won't be.
7. "Help Me" by Johnny Cash. This is one of the last songs John recorded before his death. In his feeble voice you can hear the shakiness of years of hard-living, pain and regret. This adds an emotional punch to the lyrics, which are a prayer to the Lord for help. The song is a confession of our desperate need for God.
6. "Two of Us" by The Beatles. This song is among the first written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, during their young days in Liverpool, but it was one of the last songs The Beatles recorded before their acrimonious break-up in 1970. The lyrics remember the close friendship between two young boys, and these are fond memories. Although both Lennon and McCartney denied the song was autobiographical, you can't help but wonder if, at the end of it all when their friendship had soured, they longed for a simpler time.
5. "Growing Young" by Rich Mullins. This is the second "prodigal son" song on my list. The world tells men to grow up, be strong, and don't admit weakness or mistakes. Jesus tells us we must become like little children and ran back into the arms of our loving Father.
4. "Worlds Apart" by Jars of Clay. The lyrics express astonishment over what Christ has done for us. In humble surrender and submission, the singer falls on his knees and asks Christ to take his world apart, and gives all that he is for all that Christ is. The cross compels us to this kind of surrender.
3. "Hard to Get" by Rich Mullins. Rich recorded this song as a demo on an old tape recorder, sung in an abandoned old church. Not long after recording the demo, Rich was killed in a terrible car wreck. The lyrics describe how hard it can be to understand God's silence and seeming absence during our times of deepest needs and hurt, but ends with a note of hope in the realization that Christ has been with us all along.
2. "In My Life" by The Beatles. This song has special meaning for Kim and me, going back to the beginning of our relationship. Every time I hear it I am reminded of my wife's love for me, and how fortunate I am to be loved by her.
1. "If I Stand" written by Rich Mullins, recorded by Jars of Clay. Jars recorded this song for the tribute album for Rich after he was killed. I like Jars' version better than the original. This is the first contemporary Christian song I ever truly loved, the first song to really minister to me. I was 19 years old, sitting in my dorm room struggling with who I was in Christ, because my walk was not consistent or always upward and onward. I wept like a little girl when the truth swept over me, "If I stand let me stand on the promise that You will pull me through, and if I fall let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You." I had never really understood living by grace before that moment, and the realities of God's mysterious and marvelous existence and love for me swept over me like waves. Praise God for His grace.
There now, that wasn't so bad, was it? As I said, I would love to hear about your favorite songs and what makes you connect with them so powerfully. The songs are often the soundtracks of our lives.
My next post will be my "real top 25 songs," the ones played most often on my iPod. I was surprised and laughed out loud at the songs on that list.
25. "San Antonio Rose" by Bob Wills. As with most of these bands or artists, it was hard to pick just one song to be my favorite. This one's a classic.
24. "She's Got a Way" by Billy Joel. The lyric captures that feeling I think all men have when it comes to the woman they love: I don't know what it is, but there's just something about her I can't live without.
23. "Consider the Cost" by Steve Camp. Steve used to be popular in Christian music, and he spoke with the voice of a prophet. I think this is one of his most important songs.
22. "When God Ran" by Benny Hester. This one goes way back, and is the first of two songs on my list about the parable of the prodigal son, which speaks to me in very personal ways. The lyrics are still startling to me, as he describes the greatness and glory and power and strength of God, and then says, "the only time I ever saw God run was when He ran to me..."
21. "You Don't Know Me" by Cindy Walker. Many people have recorded this song over the years, from Eddy Arnold to Willie Nelson and everyone in between. As a child, I think I heard Mickey Gilley's version first. I have always been shy and hesitant around females, so I understood right away the longing and regret of this song.
20. "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. I have always thought that this is one of the most beautiful love songs ever written about how a man finds that missing part of himself in the woman he loves, and the torment he endures when there is separation. I have not liked it when Christian artists have recorded this song as a testimony of their love for God. The lyrics are powerful wen describing my love for Kim, but seem inadequate and silly in describing my passion for Christ.
19. "40" by U2. Bono based the lyrics to this song on Psalm 40, where David waited patiently for the Lord, who lifted him up out of the pit. The song is filled with hope about singing a new song, but is tinged with impatience as we wait on the Lord. We so often feel that way.
18. "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney. Macca post Beatles is hit and miss, in my opinion, but this song is greatness. What man in love has not felt like he was in the middle of something that he doesn't really understand?
17. "Walkin' After Midnight" by Patsy Cline. It is that voice. None like it.
16. "I Need Thee Every Hour" by Jars of Clay. This is the first entry on my list by Jars, and the only hymn I have included. This song appears on the album "Redemption Songs" where Jars recorded old hymns and made them new. I am humbled every time I hear this one.
15. "With or Without You" by U2. This song was popular when I was 17, and I often felt that way about women - can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Bono's painful wail at the climax of the song probably sounds familiar to many broken-hearted men who felt like they had nothing to win and nothing left to lose.
14. "I've Been Everywhere" by Johnny Cash. This one rocks along expressing joy in traveling and road-weariness at the same time. This is a fun song.
13. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"
by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. You would probably recognize this version if you heard the ukulele. This song is hauntingly beautiful, and manages to be both hopeful and sad at the same time.
12. "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" by Louis Armstrong. I love Satchmo, and this is my favorite. Hard to not to love his raspy voice and distinctive trumpet playing.
11. "Heading for the Light" by The Traveling Wilburys. George Harrison, Jeff Lynn, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty made up the Wilburys, and their music is a lot of fun. Harrison sings this song with a joyful sense of determination and redemption.
10. "When the Saints Go Marching In" by Sara Groves. This one is for all of us who feel overwhelmed walking down the narrow road that leads to life. We need to remember the great faith and courageous obedience of those who have gone before us and resolve to be one of them.
9. "Breathe In Me" by Michael W. Smith. Smitty's song expresses the deep desire for renewal that so many of us feel from time to time in our lives. During these times we are convinced that God can breathe in us new life, and we cry out our deep longing for more of Him.
8. "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" by Willie Nelson. This classic is from Nelson's album, "The Red-headed Stranger," an old west fable. The song is so simple and subtle, expressing the realities that life is filled with partings, but Heaven won't be.
7. "Help Me" by Johnny Cash. This is one of the last songs John recorded before his death. In his feeble voice you can hear the shakiness of years of hard-living, pain and regret. This adds an emotional punch to the lyrics, which are a prayer to the Lord for help. The song is a confession of our desperate need for God.
6. "Two of Us" by The Beatles. This song is among the first written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, during their young days in Liverpool, but it was one of the last songs The Beatles recorded before their acrimonious break-up in 1970. The lyrics remember the close friendship between two young boys, and these are fond memories. Although both Lennon and McCartney denied the song was autobiographical, you can't help but wonder if, at the end of it all when their friendship had soured, they longed for a simpler time.
5. "Growing Young" by Rich Mullins. This is the second "prodigal son" song on my list. The world tells men to grow up, be strong, and don't admit weakness or mistakes. Jesus tells us we must become like little children and ran back into the arms of our loving Father.
4. "Worlds Apart" by Jars of Clay. The lyrics express astonishment over what Christ has done for us. In humble surrender and submission, the singer falls on his knees and asks Christ to take his world apart, and gives all that he is for all that Christ is. The cross compels us to this kind of surrender.
3. "Hard to Get" by Rich Mullins. Rich recorded this song as a demo on an old tape recorder, sung in an abandoned old church. Not long after recording the demo, Rich was killed in a terrible car wreck. The lyrics describe how hard it can be to understand God's silence and seeming absence during our times of deepest needs and hurt, but ends with a note of hope in the realization that Christ has been with us all along.
2. "In My Life" by The Beatles. This song has special meaning for Kim and me, going back to the beginning of our relationship. Every time I hear it I am reminded of my wife's love for me, and how fortunate I am to be loved by her.
1. "If I Stand" written by Rich Mullins, recorded by Jars of Clay. Jars recorded this song for the tribute album for Rich after he was killed. I like Jars' version better than the original. This is the first contemporary Christian song I ever truly loved, the first song to really minister to me. I was 19 years old, sitting in my dorm room struggling with who I was in Christ, because my walk was not consistent or always upward and onward. I wept like a little girl when the truth swept over me, "If I stand let me stand on the promise that You will pull me through, and if I fall let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You." I had never really understood living by grace before that moment, and the realities of God's mysterious and marvelous existence and love for me swept over me like waves. Praise God for His grace.
There now, that wasn't so bad, was it? As I said, I would love to hear about your favorite songs and what makes you connect with them so powerfully. The songs are often the soundtracks of our lives.
My next post will be my "real top 25 songs," the ones played most often on my iPod. I was surprised and laughed out loud at the songs on that list.
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