CHUCK GIRARD- Singer, Songwriter, Recording Artist, and Worship Leader
A Pioneer of Contemporary Christian Music, Member and Co-Founder of the CCM group 'LOVE SONG.'
A Pioneer of Contemporary Christian Music, Member and Co-Founder of the CCM group 'LOVE SONG.'
Lay Your Burden Down
I was raised in a denominational background where I wasn't really exposed to too much spiritual or gospel music. After I got saved in 1970, I began to discover some of the great hymns and gospel songs.
Somewhere along the way I heard or maybe saw a song in a songbook which contained the phrase "Lay Your Burden at the Foot of the Cross." I thought this was an idea that needed to be set to contemporary music, so I set about to write a song that would communicate this idea to my audience. The approach to the first verse was to keep it very simple, and then come up with some kind of statement near the end.
The first 2 verses are basically just a variation on each other, then the 3rd verse blossoms into the real force of the message of the song.
Special note: When I sequenced this album having 3 ballads in succession, there was some resistance from some record company execs, They felt that putting three such ballads in a row would create a boring segment and may hurt the sales of the album. To the credit of those execs, I was never dictated to in those days, and my decision to use the songs in succession stood as I felt that this would not be a boring segment, but would really minister to many people. I believe my decision was the right one as no other segment of my work has ever garnered more favorable response.
Production note: In the fadeout, I was trying to get the sound of the hammer on the wood nailing the hands of Jesus to the cross. I actually brought in a railroad tie, and struck it with a hammer, putting equalization and echo on it to make it appear deeper and more ominous. Later I learned that such effects are more successfully rendered when they are exaggerations of the real sound. It may have been more effective to hit the hammer on a metal surface than the wood, or some other such approach, but I'll never know for sure.
Chuck
Somewhere along the way I heard or maybe saw a song in a songbook which contained the phrase "Lay Your Burden at the Foot of the Cross." I thought this was an idea that needed to be set to contemporary music, so I set about to write a song that would communicate this idea to my audience. The approach to the first verse was to keep it very simple, and then come up with some kind of statement near the end.
The first 2 verses are basically just a variation on each other, then the 3rd verse blossoms into the real force of the message of the song.
Special note: When I sequenced this album having 3 ballads in succession, there was some resistance from some record company execs, They felt that putting three such ballads in a row would create a boring segment and may hurt the sales of the album. To the credit of those execs, I was never dictated to in those days, and my decision to use the songs in succession stood as I felt that this would not be a boring segment, but would really minister to many people. I believe my decision was the right one as no other segment of my work has ever garnered more favorable response.
Production note: In the fadeout, I was trying to get the sound of the hammer on the wood nailing the hands of Jesus to the cross. I actually brought in a railroad tie, and struck it with a hammer, putting equalization and echo on it to make it appear deeper and more ominous. Later I learned that such effects are more successfully rendered when they are exaggerations of the real sound. It may have been more effective to hit the hammer on a metal surface than the wood, or some other such approach, but I'll never know for sure.
Chuck
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Chuck Girard's Music
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