Hello and welcome to
You Can Write a Song.
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I'm your host, Ryan Day.
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And, of course,
it's always a blessing
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to have you joining us,
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you've taken time
out of your busy day
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to tune into
this special program
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in which we have one
of the greatest gospel
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songwriters of all time,
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Mr. Lanny Wolfe,
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who is going to be taking us
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through another major
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important aspect of songwriting.
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And, Lanny, I have to say,
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I'm locked and loaded,
I'm ready to take notes.
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And I know you're going
to have a special problem.
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Just give us a
hook, kind of lure us into
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what it is you're going
to be sharing with us today.
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Well, this is so exciting to me,
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because songs
come from someplace.
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And people always ask me,
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"Where did you get
the idea for that song?"
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Right.
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So in this session, today,
we're going to be talking about
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all the places, all the ways
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that ideas for
songs come to Lanny Wolfe.
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And I get
excited when I just think
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about all the ways that
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God has done that
in my songwriting.
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Praise the Lord.
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Well, I'm excited about this,
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because I'm not a
songwriter, but...
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You are a great
singer that sings the songs.
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But according to this show,
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according to this
particular program,
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you see, we've called
it You Can Write a Song,
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I'm convinced that I can.
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Yes.
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And I'm excited to
jump right into this
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and to learn exactly how
we can receive inspiration
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in writing powerful gospel songs
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or any type of song
that may inspire you.
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So stay tuned,
get your notepads,
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get your pens, your pencils,
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get ready to take some notes,
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as Lanny takes us through on
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how we also can write a song.
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In this session of
You Can Write a Song,
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I would like to
answer the question,
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where do I get
ideas for songs from?
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Psalms 37:23 says,
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"The steps of a good man
are ordered by the Lord."
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And in one of my favorite
scriptures in the Bible,
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Jeremiah 29:11,
the Lord declares,
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"For I know the
plans that I have for you."
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So as a child of God
and a gospel songwriter,
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I believe that I
get divine inspiration
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from being at God's right place,
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at the right time, with
the right frame of mind.
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So I get ideas for
songs from anything I see,
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anything I
hear, anything I feel.
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Let me first start
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with the Department of
Homeland Security's tagline,
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if you see
something, say something.
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But if you're a songwriter,
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if you see
something, write something.
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Seeing would include anything
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I read from
books, which could be
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fictional,
non-fictional, devotionals, etc.
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Books that sell
millions of copies
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are successful
because their writers
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have what I call
a way with words.
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I have a handful of
inspirational writers
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that have the ability
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to put on paper their
heart inside illustrations,
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and anointed writing
expertise to provide readers
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with a fresh
spiritual inspiration.
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One of many of these
writers' literary techniques
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and a favorite of
mine is alliteration.
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Alliteration is the
repeating of consecutive words,
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all starting
with the same letter,
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as in the title of
one of my Christmas songs,
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a season, a Savior, a star.
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The inspiration for the song
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Precious Lamb of
God came from a chapter
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in one of these
inspirational books.
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As soon as I read
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the first sentence of a chapter,
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I had a light bulb
moment and knew that
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I had to incorporate this
writer's idea into a song.
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The challenge was how
to choose word pictures
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that would elicit
the emotion of the reader
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to connect with
the heart of Mary
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as she prayed this
prayer over the baby Jesus.
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So I used an
inspirational writer's idea,
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but filtered it
through a songwriter's lens.
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My challenge in a
sense was greater than
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He is in writing
a chapter for a book
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because I needed to
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put the song in
100 words give or take
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and to be concerned with
rhyme, melody and chords.
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Rest tiny hands
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Though you belong to a King
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You will hold no
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Royal scepter
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Or wear royal ring
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For your hands are reserved
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For a Roman cross instead
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Loving hands to heal the sick
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And raise the dead
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You are the precious Lamb of God
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is the chorus of that song.
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You are the precious
Lamb of God, the Word
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became flesh to
fulfill redemption's plan.
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Jesus, You are the
precious Lamb of God.
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When it comes to books
as a source of inspiration,
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the book, the Bible,
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the inspired Word
of God is the best one.
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1 John 4:4 says, "Ye are of God,
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little children,
and have overcome them:
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because greater
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is He that is in you
than he that is in the world."
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I had read this
scripture so many times.
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I've heard it quoted many times,
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but it wasn't
until one special moment
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when the trio was on
our way to church service.
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I was in the passenger seat,
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and I pulled the Bible
from the dashboard of the van
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and opened it to 1 John 4:4,
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and the scripture
just leaped out at me.
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It was what I
call as a songwriter,
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the moment of truth.
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So I wrote the
chorus of this song
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in a matter of just minutes.
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Greater is He that is in me
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Greater is He that is in me
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Greater is He that is in me
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Than he that is in the world
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Since the chorus
was so simplistic,
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the verses needed to
include a lot of details
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that would support the
case for the one thought chorus.
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Verses would
take a lot more time
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and tediousness of the craft
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to make the complete song,
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everything would need to be.
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The Downings recorded
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Greater is He,
making it number one on
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the gospel radio
charts for weeks.
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It was then pitched
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to the Oral
Roberts Organization,
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became their
official closing song
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for their
telecast for six years.
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It was heard on
120 stations a week.
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So out of 700 plus
songs God has given me,
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Greater is He has been
one of the most popular
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and to me the
irony is that even though
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I wrote the music to the chorus,
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I did not write the
lyrics, the Apostle John did.
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So the song
really was a co-write,
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and because John's
words are public domain,
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because of when
they were written,
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they are owned by the public
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and not an
individual, the translation.
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I don't have to share any
of the royalties with John.
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Matthew 2:10 states,
"And when they saw the star,
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they rejoiced with
exceedingly great joy."
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Like you that
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I read this
scripture many times,
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but it wasn't until I
received a Christmas card
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from one of my students,
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Dan Dean of
Phillips, Craig and Dean,
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with this
scripture that the words
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leaped off the
card into my spirit in
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what became a
moment of truth for me that
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ignited my writing
pen to write rejoice
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with exceeding great joy.
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The chorus is what I
call a one thought chorus
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with lines one and
three being the same,
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and two and four
almost identical.
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Listen.
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When they saw the star
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They rejoiced with great joy
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When they saw the star
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They rejoiced
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When they saw the star
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They rejoiced with great joy
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They rejoiced with
exceeding great joy, great joy
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They rejoiced with
exceeding great joy
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They rejoice with exceeding,
I could just sing that forever.
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This song was
one of the favorites
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in my first Christmas musical,
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Noel Jesus is born,
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and it's used yearly at
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Disney's Epcot
candle lighting service
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in Orlando, Florida.
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So, if you see
something from billboards,
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signs, cards, any
visual, write something.
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Wise Men Still Seek Him
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became a song for me,
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but it came from
a bumper sticker.
00:09:06.07\00:09:08.14
Only One Life came
from a plaque on the wall
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at my grandmother's house.
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Only one life
will soon be passed
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only what's done
for Christ will last.
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While on tour,
the Lanny Wolfe Trio
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would stop at
Stuckey's, remember that?
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Fill up the Silver
Eagle bus with gas and pecans.
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At one of these
Stuckey's pit stops,
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I passed by revolving rack
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that had wooden
plaques displayed.
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One caught my eye and
it's simply said funny
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how I keep falling in love
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with you over and
over and over again.
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I pulled the
plaque from the rack,
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I took her to the register,
took out $1 paid for it.
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Well, I've gotten my money back
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on that transaction
many, many times over.
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The chorus came so easily.
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And I just keep
falling in love with Him
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Over and over and
over and over again
00:10:01.06\00:10:06.53
I keep falling in love with Him
00:10:06.57\00:10:10.14
Over and over and
over and over again
00:10:10.17\00:10:15.81
He gets sweeter and sweeter
00:10:15.84\00:10:18.68
As the days go by
00:10:18.71\00:10:21.22
O what a love
between my Lord and I
00:10:21.25\00:10:24.55
Just keep
falling in love with Him
00:10:24.59\00:10:27.52
Over and over and
over and over again
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Over and over again.
00:10:33.29\00:10:37.20
Over and over again.
00:10:37.23\00:10:39.60
And that becomes the
hook in this song that
00:10:39.63\00:10:41.64
hopefully stays in people's mind
00:10:41.67\00:10:43.91
and keeps them wanting to sing
00:10:43.94\00:10:45.27
it over and over again.
00:10:45.31\00:10:47.84
Okay.
00:10:47.88\00:10:49.21
It was my first time to visit
00:10:49.24\00:10:50.58
the largest
cathedral in the world,
00:10:50.61\00:10:52.45
St. Peter's in Rome, Italy.
00:10:52.48\00:10:54.58
It holds 96,000
people on the inside
00:10:54.62\00:10:57.85
and on the basilica
outside, 450,000 people.
00:10:57.89\00:11:02.89
Can you imagine?
00:11:02.92\00:11:04.43
The abs where
the dome is located
00:11:04.46\00:11:06.59
inside is two
football fields in height.
00:11:06.63\00:11:10.53
Michelangelo's
masterpiece was filled
00:11:10.57\00:11:12.57
with overpowering statues
00:11:12.60\00:11:14.90
and massive marble columns
00:11:14.94\00:11:17.27
that left me
overwhelmed and speechless.
00:11:17.31\00:11:22.08
The child in me couldn't help
00:11:22.11\00:11:23.85
but wonder how
could heaven outdo this?
00:11:23.88\00:11:28.48
But quicker than I could put
00:11:28.52\00:11:29.85
the question
mark on the question,
00:11:29.88\00:11:31.85
the man inside of me
00:11:31.89\00:11:33.22
reminded the
child of the scripture,
00:11:33.25\00:11:35.82
"Eye have not
seen, nor hear, heard,
00:11:35.86\00:11:39.19
neither have entered
into the heart of man,
00:11:39.23\00:11:41.20
the things which God
hath prepared for them
00:11:41.23\00:11:43.87
that love Him."
00:11:43.90\00:11:45.83
It was at that moment
00:11:45.87\00:11:47.20
standing in the middle
of St. Peter's Cathedral
00:11:47.24\00:11:50.07
that God gave me this
song, A Little Taste of Heaven.
00:11:50.11\00:11:53.48
Heaven, I've had a
little taste of heaven
00:11:53.51\00:11:57.78
I've had a
little touch of heaven
00:11:57.81\00:12:00.72
I've had a
little glimpse of heaven
00:12:00.75\00:12:02.42
Want to go where
the milk and honey flow
00:12:02.45\00:12:05.05
No more sorrow pain or woe
00:12:05.09\00:12:07.76
I've had a
little taste of heaven
00:12:07.79\00:12:09.89
And I want to go there
00:12:09.92\00:12:11.49
I want to go there
00:12:11.53\00:12:14.63
It happened at Lanny Wolfe
00:12:14.66\00:12:16.00
Trio concert in
Kingsport, Tennessee,
00:12:16.03\00:12:17.80
actually, the bus broke down,
00:12:17.83\00:12:20.87
and we didn't get
there till 10 to 9.
00:12:20.90\00:12:23.64
And the people waited patiently
for us to set up equipment
00:12:23.67\00:12:26.78
and started the concert.
00:12:26.81\00:12:28.24
So in the concert, we
were singing an upbeat song,
00:12:28.28\00:12:31.08
and most of the
audience was clapping along.
00:12:31.11\00:12:33.65
As I looked out
over the audience,
00:12:33.68\00:12:35.28
I noticed a
little lady clapping,
00:12:35.32\00:12:37.79
but there was
something different
00:12:37.82\00:12:39.15
about how she was doing it.
00:12:39.19\00:12:41.26
I looked more
closely and realize that
00:12:41.29\00:12:43.19
her right hand was
00:12:43.22\00:12:45.06
clapping against her left elbow,
00:12:45.09\00:12:47.53
because she had no
left hand to clap with.
00:12:47.56\00:12:50.23
So she used what she had.
00:12:50.27\00:12:53.57
After the concert was
over, I got back on the bus,
00:12:53.60\00:12:56.81
I couldn't help
but write this song.
00:12:56.84\00:12:59.31
I'm going to praise the
Lord any way that I can.
00:12:59.34\00:13:03.14
I'm gonna praise the Lord
00:13:03.18\00:13:05.45
Any way that I can
00:13:05.48\00:13:10.35
I'm gonna praise the Lord
00:13:10.39\00:13:12.52
Any way that I can
00:13:12.55\00:13:16.99
I'm gonna pat my feet
00:13:17.03\00:13:19.29
Lift my voice, clap my hands
00:13:19.33\00:13:22.30
I'm gonna sing and rejoice
00:13:22.33\00:13:24.53
I'm gonna praise the Lord
00:13:24.57\00:13:26.94
Any way that I can
00:13:26.97\00:13:32.17
So I get great inspiration
00:13:32.21\00:13:34.71
from greeting cards.
00:13:34.74\00:13:37.41
I love to go to card
shops, and look at cards.
00:13:37.45\00:13:43.02
Card writers make great
salaries for their skill
00:13:43.05\00:13:45.45
and putting emotional phrases
00:13:45.49\00:13:46.86
and ideas in a few words.
00:13:46.89\00:13:48.59
Hopefully, that connects
00:13:48.62\00:13:50.29
with the person buying the card
and the person receiving it.
00:13:50.33\00:13:54.36
I love to spend
time in card shop
00:13:54.40\00:13:56.16
pursuing through
cards, looking for any lines
00:13:56.20\00:14:00.14
or phrases that
get my attention.
00:14:00.17\00:14:02.10
A few years back, I was looking
00:14:02.14\00:14:04.04
for Christmas
cards in a card shop.
00:14:04.07\00:14:06.41
Notice that there were
00:14:06.44\00:14:07.78
just a few that
said Merry Christmas.
00:14:07.81\00:14:10.65
Many more said Happy
Holidays or Season's Greetings.
00:14:10.68\00:14:13.78
I got riled up in my
spirit, I went to the clerk
00:14:13.82\00:14:16.69
and I was asking, "Why
aren't there more cards
00:14:16.72\00:14:19.42
that say Merry Christmas?"
00:14:19.45\00:14:21.02
His reply was simply that
00:14:21.06\00:14:22.39
there was a growing
social trend to do away
00:14:22.42\00:14:25.19
with the word Christmas.
00:14:25.23\00:14:26.59
Can you believe it?
00:14:26.63\00:14:27.96
And so the card
companies were cooperating
00:14:28.00\00:14:30.00
with that
philosophy and putting cards
00:14:30.03\00:14:32.70
on shelves that would play
00:14:32.73\00:14:34.60
into the demand from the public.
00:14:34.64\00:14:36.67
As I walked out of
the card shop that day,
00:14:36.71\00:14:39.31
I was more determined
than ever to write songs
00:14:39.34\00:14:42.21
about keeping the word
00:14:42.24\00:14:43.78
Christmas in this
favorite season of the year.
00:14:43.81\00:14:46.85
I wrote the song,
Keep Christ in Christmas,
00:14:46.88\00:14:49.72
which became
the centerpiece song
00:14:49.75\00:14:51.99
of a Christmas musical
00:14:52.02\00:14:53.36
I wrote called Jesus,
The Heart of Christmas.
00:14:53.39\00:14:56.52
Had I not been in
that card shop that day,
00:14:56.56\00:14:58.93
this song or this
musical would never
00:14:58.96\00:15:01.83
have been written.
00:15:01.86\00:15:03.57
Keep Christ
00:15:03.60\00:15:08.37
In Christmas
00:15:08.40\00:15:13.34
Don't ever take
00:15:13.38\00:15:18.25
Him out
00:15:18.28\00:15:23.82
Keep Christ
00:15:23.85\00:15:28.16
In Christmas
00:15:28.19\00:15:32.96
For He's
00:15:32.99\00:15:35.66
what it's all about
00:15:35.70\00:15:41.00
Remember, Show and
Tell from elementary school.
00:15:44.31\00:15:46.78
Today I'm going to show you
00:15:46.81\00:15:48.28
some cards that
have caught my eye
00:15:48.31\00:15:50.25
with some kind of inspiration
for me to write a song.
00:15:50.28\00:15:53.65
But I'm not telling you
what the inspiration is.
00:15:53.68\00:15:56.22
And I don't want
you to steal my idea
00:15:56.25\00:15:58.82
and write the song before I do.
00:15:58.85\00:16:00.29
So, I want you to
start spending your own time
00:16:00.32\00:16:04.09
in your card shops,
00:16:04.13\00:16:06.06
looking for some
special card that gives you
00:16:06.09\00:16:09.46
some special
moment of inspiration.
00:16:09.50\00:16:11.83
I get inspiration from anything
I hear, sermons, conversations.
00:16:11.87\00:16:16.60
In Cleveland,
Tennessee for a meeting
00:16:16.64\00:16:18.34
with my publishing company,
00:16:18.37\00:16:20.08
I was having breakfast at
a restaurant in the hotel.
00:16:20.11\00:16:23.78
At the table next to mine,
00:16:23.81\00:16:25.45
I could hear some businessmen
talking rather loudly.
00:16:25.48\00:16:28.78
I wasn't trying to
overhear the conversation.
00:16:28.82\00:16:31.12
But they were so loud.
00:16:31.15\00:16:33.25
It was hard for
me to tune it out.
00:16:33.29\00:16:35.62
I overheard one of the men say,
00:16:35.66\00:16:38.16
"And they made me
an offer so good that
00:16:38.19\00:16:41.13
I just couldn't turn it down."
00:16:41.16\00:16:43.37
At that moment,
I put my fork down,
00:16:43.40\00:16:46.13
took out a pen and
wrote on the napkin
00:16:46.17\00:16:47.97
at my place setting,
Jesus made me an offer
00:16:48.00\00:16:51.24
so good that I just
couldn't turn it down.
00:16:51.27\00:16:54.04
I finished my
breakfast as well as the chorus
00:16:54.08\00:16:56.68
of this nugget of inspiration.
00:16:56.71\00:16:58.78
Listen.
00:16:58.81\00:17:00.15
Jesus made me an offer so good
00:17:00.18\00:17:02.25
That I just
couldn't turn it down
00:17:02.28\00:17:05.95
I just couldn't turn it down
00:17:05.99\00:17:08.22
No, I just couldn't turn it down
00:17:08.26\00:17:13.13
Jesus made me an offer so good
00:17:13.16\00:17:15.53
That I just
couldn't turn it down
00:17:15.56\00:17:19.80
Jesus made me an offer
00:17:19.83\00:17:22.17
And I just couldn't turn it down
00:17:22.20\00:17:26.21
So I believe that
I was sitting beside
00:17:26.24\00:17:28.38
this particular table
00:17:28.41\00:17:29.91
with loudmouth businessmen
00:17:29.94\00:17:31.75
for a reason in
God's divine economy.
00:17:31.78\00:17:34.28
During a church
service in Jackson Mississippi,
00:17:34.32\00:17:36.72
preacher gave a message
which included this sentence,
00:17:36.75\00:17:39.92
"My house is full,
but my field is empty."
00:17:39.95\00:17:43.43
The contrast was so impacted,
I scribbled the words down
00:17:43.46\00:17:46.86
on a piece of paper,
00:17:46.90\00:17:48.26
and I completed the
song within two weeks.
00:17:48.30\00:17:51.10
Writing this song illustrates
to me an important principle
00:17:51.13\00:17:54.87
as a songwriter
and that's what I call
00:17:54.90\00:17:56.87
the moment of truth
or a light bulb moment.
00:17:56.91\00:18:00.28
My house is full
00:18:04.01\00:18:09.38
But my field is empty
00:18:09.42\00:18:15.96
Who will go and
work for Me today?
00:18:15.99\00:18:21.86
It seems my children all
00:18:26.63\00:18:32.07
Want to stay around my table
00:18:32.11\00:18:38.31
But no one wants
to work in my field
00:18:38.35\00:18:44.82
No one wants to work in my field
00:18:50.26\00:18:56.56
It wasn't until years later
in a songwriting class that
00:19:00.27\00:19:03.00
one of my students
00:19:03.04\00:19:04.37
called my
attention to the fact that
00:19:04.41\00:19:06.11
nothing in this chorus rhymes.
00:19:06.14\00:19:08.31
And I was shocked
00:19:08.34\00:19:09.68
because I'm such a
stickler for rhyme.
00:19:09.71\00:19:11.48
But in reviewing it God
was so forcibly speaking to me
00:19:11.51\00:19:14.92
that I just
wrote what He told me.
00:19:14.95\00:19:17.15
I get inspiration from
when God speaks of chorus.
00:19:17.19\00:19:20.36
Wall Street heavyweight EF
Hutton's advertising slogan
00:19:20.39\00:19:23.32
you remember it possibly.
00:19:23.36\00:19:24.93
When EF Hutton
talks, people listen.
00:19:24.96\00:19:28.26
But to this
songwriter when God talks,
00:19:28.30\00:19:30.47
I want to make sure
I'm always listening.
00:19:30.50\00:19:33.50
For six years while teaching
00:19:33.54\00:19:34.94
at Gateway College
in St. Louis, Missouri,
00:19:34.97\00:19:37.21
every Monday night
I would drive 20 miles
00:19:37.24\00:19:39.41
to Southern Illinois University,
00:19:39.44\00:19:40.81
Edwardsville, Illinois,
00:19:40.84\00:19:42.58
working on a
second master's degree,
00:19:42.61\00:19:44.35
this one in music education.
00:19:44.38\00:19:46.25
On one of these Monday nights
00:19:46.28\00:19:47.62
as I was walking
from my class to my car
00:19:47.65\00:19:50.25
through the Student Union,
00:19:50.29\00:19:51.85
I heard over the PA
system a song with a line in it,
00:19:51.89\00:19:55.89
there's something in the air.
00:19:55.92\00:19:58.06
I thought to myself,
"That tune sounds familiar.
00:19:58.09\00:20:01.23
Where have I heard it?"
00:20:01.26\00:20:02.66
So from the Student Union,
all during the 20 miles home,
00:20:02.70\00:20:07.54
that phrase just
kept playing over my mind
00:20:07.57\00:20:10.01
and it just
started spinning out to.
00:20:10.04\00:20:12.21
There's something in the
air, I can feel it everywhere.
00:20:12.24\00:20:17.05
So I asked friends of mine,
00:20:17.08\00:20:19.15
if they had
ever heard this song,
00:20:19.18\00:20:21.15
there's something in the air.
00:20:21.18\00:20:22.82
And they all agreed, no,
00:20:22.85\00:20:24.52
but told me that
the tune reminded them
00:20:24.55\00:20:26.89
of rainy days in
Monday's, always get me down.
00:20:26.92\00:20:31.93
So it finally dawned on me that
00:20:31.96\00:20:34.03
what was playing
through the PA speaker,
00:20:34.06\00:20:36.97
sorry, in the Student
Union was the carpenter song,
00:20:37.00\00:20:41.27
rainy days in
Monday's, always get me down.
00:20:41.30\00:20:44.91
But God was speaking to me with,
00:20:44.94\00:20:47.24
there something in the air.
00:20:47.28\00:20:50.05
So I finished the song.
00:20:50.08\00:20:51.85
The Lanny Wolfe Trio recorded it
00:20:51.88\00:20:53.21
and became the title
song of our first project
00:20:53.25\00:20:56.55
that was picked up
by the Benson Company.
00:20:56.58\00:20:58.35
Listen.
00:20:58.39\00:20:59.72
Could it be that this would be
00:20:59.75\00:21:02.92
The day that starts eternity
00:21:02.96\00:21:06.63
The day that we've
been waiting for so long
00:21:06.66\00:21:11.17
Could it be that yet today
00:21:14.24\00:21:17.74
The King of
kings will turn and say
00:21:17.77\00:21:21.34
Pick up that trumpet
00:21:21.38\00:21:23.45
Blow it loud and strong
00:21:23.48\00:21:28.98
Could it be the soul of me
00:21:29.02\00:21:32.35
Can sense that
soon it will be free
00:21:32.39\00:21:35.89
Is that my soul
that's telling me
00:21:35.92\00:21:39.56
To look up in the sky and see
00:21:39.59\00:21:43.10
There's something in the air
00:21:43.13\00:21:46.43
I can feel it everywhere
00:21:46.47\00:21:49.87
I know there's something
00:21:49.90\00:21:52.17
In the air
00:21:52.21\00:21:57.08
Writing this song underscores
to me being at the right place
00:21:57.11\00:22:00.98
at the right time with
the right frame of mind.
00:22:01.02\00:22:03.65
I could have gone through
00:22:03.69\00:22:05.02
the Student
Union 15 minutes later
00:22:05.05\00:22:06.92
and that particular
00:22:06.96\00:22:08.29
cut would not have been playing,
00:22:08.32\00:22:09.66
and this song would
never have been born.
00:22:09.69\00:22:11.49
Her name Loretta Bernard,
00:22:11.53\00:22:13.09
she and her husband, Elton,
00:22:13.13\00:22:14.46
they spent 20 years
as missionaries in Korea.
00:22:14.50\00:22:17.20
She relays the story
of a time when in Korea,
00:22:17.23\00:22:19.83
she was so sick that
00:22:19.87\00:22:21.67
she couldn't
even pray for herself.
00:22:21.70\00:22:23.97
About a year
later when she was back
00:22:24.01\00:22:25.74
in the States on furlough,
00:22:25.77\00:22:27.64
she talked about her ordeal
in a congregation in Michigan.
00:22:27.68\00:22:32.11
After the service,
a dear sister came up
00:22:32.15\00:22:34.08
to Sister Bernard and asked her
00:22:34.12\00:22:36.48
if she could
remember generally the date
00:22:36.52\00:22:38.99
when she was so sick.
00:22:39.02\00:22:41.22
As Sister Bernard
responded with a date,
00:22:41.26\00:22:43.83
the woman said,
00:22:43.86\00:22:45.56
"That was the very day
00:22:45.59\00:22:48.10
that God woke me up
00:22:48.13\00:22:49.46
in the middle of
the night and said,
00:22:49.50\00:22:50.83
'Get out of bed and
pray for Loretta Bernard.'"
00:22:50.87\00:22:55.20
And the woman said,
00:22:55.24\00:22:56.64
"I heard and I got out of
bed and I prayed for her."
00:22:56.67\00:23:00.04
Upon hearing about this story,
00:23:00.08\00:23:02.71
I was so deeply moved
that I wrote this song,
00:23:02.74\00:23:06.08
someone is praying for you.
00:23:06.11\00:23:09.92
Someone is praying for you
00:23:09.95\00:23:15.79
Someone is praying for you
00:23:20.66\00:23:26.74
So when it
seems you're all alone
00:23:30.14\00:23:35.88
And your heart
would break in two
00:23:35.91\00:23:41.15
Remember someone
00:23:41.18\00:23:44.62
Is praying for you
00:23:44.65\00:23:51.49
This song reminds
me of many songs that
00:23:51.53\00:23:53.40
God has given me that
00:23:53.43\00:23:54.76
I categorized as
no pain, no gain.
00:23:54.80\00:23:57.90
Had Sister Bernard not been sick
00:23:57.93\00:23:59.87
or even so sick that she
couldn't pray for herself,
00:23:59.90\00:24:03.07
this song would
never have been born.
00:24:03.10\00:24:04.77
But of equal significance,
00:24:04.81\00:24:07.04
had Sister Bernard
00:24:07.08\00:24:08.41
not told her
story in the States,
00:24:08.44\00:24:10.18
and had I not
heard about it, likewise,
00:24:10.21\00:24:12.98
this song again
would never have been born.
00:24:13.01\00:24:15.68
When God wants to speak,
00:24:15.72\00:24:18.42
it's when He wants to
speak and not necessarily
00:24:18.45\00:24:21.09
at some right
convenient time in our schedule.
00:24:21.12\00:24:24.63
So if you want
to be a songwriter,
00:24:24.66\00:24:26.76
you need to be
sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
00:24:26.80\00:24:29.03
Maybe God wants you to
stop at Burger King today
00:24:29.06\00:24:31.53
instead of McDonald's.
00:24:31.57\00:24:32.97
Maybe He wants you to
stand in the long line
00:24:33.00\00:24:35.60
and not the short line
because there's somebody
00:24:35.64\00:24:37.94
that's going to be there
00:24:37.97\00:24:39.51
behind you that's
going to say something that
00:24:39.54\00:24:42.54
he wants you to hear.
00:24:42.58\00:24:44.61
I also get inspiration
from anything I feel.
00:24:44.65\00:24:47.65
As a part of a
crowd of some were
00:24:47.68\00:24:49.75
close to 20,000 people
00:24:49.78\00:24:51.25
at a General
Conference for a church.
00:24:51.29\00:24:54.76
I was sitting
there and I just felt...
00:24:54.79\00:24:58.26
I love the thrill that I feel
00:24:58.29\00:25:00.96
When I get together
00:25:01.00\00:25:02.83
With God's wonderful people
00:25:02.86\00:25:06.53
Sitting in the
congregation at Brooklyn
00:25:06.57\00:25:08.30
Tabernacle in
Brooklyn, New York,
00:25:08.34\00:25:11.57
it was a divine feeling.
00:25:11.61\00:25:13.48
And I had to take pen
and paper out and write...
00:25:13.51\00:25:17.55
I feel heaven in this place
00:25:17.58\00:25:20.98
I feel heaven in this place
00:25:21.02\00:25:23.49
I feel heaven all
around me in this place
00:25:23.52\00:25:28.96
As I returned to my
seat at a SESAC banquet
00:25:28.99\00:25:31.66
after receiving SESAC
Songwriter of the Year,
00:25:31.69\00:25:34.86
for two years in a row,
00:25:34.90\00:25:36.67
I just took out a
pen so and wrote...
00:25:36.70\00:25:39.37
Thank you, Lord
00:25:39.40\00:25:40.77
For giving Your song to me
00:25:40.80\00:25:45.11
Some years back,
00:25:45.14\00:25:46.47
I'd look for a car,
a special kind of car,
00:25:46.51\00:25:49.34
umpteen car lots finally saw it.
00:25:49.38\00:25:51.88
And when I did...
00:25:51.91\00:25:53.42
It's a wonderful feeling
00:25:53.45\00:25:55.08
When you know you've found
00:25:55.12\00:25:56.95
What you've been looking for
00:25:56.99\00:25:59.62
Overcame with emotion,
00:25:59.65\00:26:01.49
so I took this
physical situation,
00:26:01.52\00:26:04.36
and wrote a spiritual
song about that feeling.
00:26:04.39\00:26:07.56
Your assignment,
beyond a spiritual alert,
00:26:07.60\00:26:11.77
to see something,
to hear something,
00:26:11.80\00:26:15.14
or to feel
something that becomes a song.
00:26:15.17\00:26:18.17
Go!
00:26:18.21\00:26:19.61
Wow!
00:26:25.75\00:26:27.08
I can't believe
that we've already come
00:26:27.12\00:26:28.45
to the end of this
particular program.
00:26:28.48\00:26:30.19
But I know there's probably
hopefully many more to come.
00:26:30.22\00:26:32.85
Lanny, I have to say I
was writing notes as you
00:26:32.89\00:26:35.12
were going through
that particular lecture.
00:26:35.16\00:26:37.33
And it's just
amazing how we can look
00:26:37.36\00:26:39.09
and see that there's so
many different aspects that
00:26:39.13\00:26:41.36
we can gain inspiration
in how to write a song.
00:26:41.40\00:26:43.83
I made some notes here,
00:26:43.87\00:26:45.20
what we see it's
important that we look out
00:26:45.23\00:26:47.37
and watch for
the things, you know,
00:26:47.40\00:26:48.74
inspiration from the Bible.
00:26:48.77\00:26:50.11
I never would have
thought billboards,
00:26:50.14\00:26:51.47
looking for billboards and signs
00:26:51.51\00:26:52.84
and
architecture as you told that
00:26:52.87\00:26:54.21
wonderful story there,
00:26:54.24\00:26:55.61
greeting cards and anything
that we hear and listen to,
00:26:55.64\00:26:58.71
conversations,
statements, sermons.
00:26:58.75\00:27:01.08
Again, you want
some inspiration,
00:27:01.12\00:27:02.45
start listening to
the preacher preach.
00:27:02.48\00:27:04.12
Because again, one
of my favorite songs
00:27:04.15\00:27:05.55
that I grew up
singing Lanny Wolfe songs
00:27:05.59\00:27:07.06
with my house is full.
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When I hear you tell that
story about my house is full,
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it just makes it
so much more special.
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And, of course,
anything that we feel,
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sometimes we may
feel a certain feeling
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and it may give us that
inspiration to write a song
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and so I'm just...
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Capture. Exactly,
capture that moment.
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And I'm just so
thankful for this,
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to be able to spend the
time with you to listen,
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to get into your
head to pick your brain
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on how we can write a song.
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We want to encourage you
again to take these things,
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don't just let them pass by
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because
learning from the grades,
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learning from someone
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who God has given a special gift
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is definitely special indeed.
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So again, we thank
you for joining us here on
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You Can Write a
Song, and we hope that
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you again take that pen out,
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take that paper out, listen,
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watch so that you also
can indeed write a song.
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God bless. We'll
see you next time.
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Just do it.
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