SONG COMMENTARY
(Commentary by Chuck Girard unless indicated otherwise)
SINCE I OPENED UP THE DOOR
A country flavored song, inspired by Fred Field's rhythm and chords.
I have half-jokingly called this one of our “baby Christian songs“. It is so innocent and simple. It expresses that first love that we all feel when we first get born again, and it seems like Jesus is the only thing that’s on our mind.
It is a great song to start the album
JOYOUS LAMENT
This is an intentionally ironic title.
A lament is by definition “a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.”
This lyric laments the condition of the world in general, and the fact that so many people are led by false prophets, false teachings, and other deceptive devices used by the devil to blind the world. The joyous part of it is that Jesus can change all that.
The song is really an evangelistic sermon. I was told that it’s Richie Furay‘s favorite song off this album.
JESUS PUTS THE SONG IN OUR HEARTS
Part of the story of Love Song is that for a month or so we lived in a room above a garage provided by one of the wonderful people at Calvary Chapel. It was a stop gap measure to get us out of Laguna Beach and the influence of the drug scene. Shortly after, a couple in the church who were empty nesters, invited us to live in their home.
It was a special time for us. We’d come out of a fairly sumptuous living situation in Laguna Beach into this humble little room, and were happier than we’d been in a long time.
This song was created in that little room.
I will quote the story from my autobiography “Rock & Roll Preacher”:
“ Another memorable time in the garage happened on a Saturday evening when Fred Field was playing some beautiful chords on his guitar. Fred and I had a unique songwriting style. He would compose the chord line and the feel of the song, and I would write the melody and lyrics. We didn’t actually collaborate; we just each contributed our portion. Fred was a gifted musician, and we just clicked musically when the inspiration hit. This time, all the guys were gathered, and the spirit of worship arose. I started to sing “hey, have you lost the feeling don’t you hear the music anymore“. It all happened spontaneously, and the chorus was birthed right there on the spot: “Jesus put the song in our hearts. Jesus set us free”. All the interweaving harmonies came as we sang, and it was obvious that this was a God breathed song. Significant to note is that most all of our lyrics had an evangelistic edge to them. This song was no exception. I could have written more praise oriented lyrics, and had a song that might be sung in worship services. But the center of my heart was to see people saved. My first and only instinct was to speak to the lost. I never even considered making it into a worship song for Christians.
THINK ABOUT WHAT JESUS SAID
I don’t remember any dramatic backstory to this song.
I realized that in my own story of faith, I came to the conclusion that Jesus was the answer by listening to that still small voice inside me. I had years of intellectual exploration behind me, examining scripture of all kind, different philosophies of life, and I don’t regret any of that learning. I am not an advocate of blind faith, but realized that knowledge alone would not get me there. It was when God met me personally on the back row of pews at Calvary Chapel that I knew in my heart that becoming a follower of Jesus was the ultimate truth I’d been seeking.
I wanted to convey that truth in this song.
The verses are a sermon dealing with the questions surrounding this topic.
Musically simple, this song is a true evangelistic song. It is very effective in an evangelistic situation, and sets up the opportunity for a salvation altar call.
LIVING WATER
One if my all-time favorites. Jay Truax brought the foundational elements of this song to me, playing the verses on guitar. He didn’t yet have a bridge or all the words in place, so we joined forces in finishing the song.
I have always loved Jay’s voice, and regret that we didn’t give him more opportunity to sing some leads.
I suggested that we trade lines in the verses, and that turned out magnificently.
I wrote the bridge. I have always loved the mood of the Buffalo Springfield song “Expecting to Fly”, and it influenced my approach to the harmonies on the bridge. The harmonies proved to be very difficult, and it was decided that Jay and I would go in and stack them together rather than using the whole group. That would give us more control over pitch and reading. It took a long time to finish them.
It was decided to use flute in the instrumentation to get a fluid, watery sound. None of us played flute, so we hired xxxxx.
But surprise! We then discovered that Jay played oboe! Who knew? So we decided to add the oboe part to complement the flute.
It turned out to be a very spacey sounding track overall, which is what we wanted.
Adding the harpsichord gave a Beatle-ish flavor to the track.
This is a very unique and wonderful cut on the album.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Another collaboration with Fred Field. Again, he brought the musical idea, and I wrote the melody and lyrics.
The music evoked a pastoral mood to me, and I pursued a more poetic path in writing the lyrics.
A lot of poetic allegory came forth, not my usual wheelhouse.
It turned out to be a very beautiful, contemplative song.
BOOK OF LIFE
DON’T YOU KNOW
As I recall, this song was written more with the words serving the music. This was not my usual path. I knew I was on to a very Beatle-esque song, and wanted to go all the way.
The lyrics are about growing up spiritually.
Not much else to say, just that we never tried to do this song live due to the difficulty of doing justice to the track. A lot of moving parts.
LITTLE PILGRIM
This song became a classic.
Originally written for me to record on a solo album, we started to perform it regularly in our concerts, and it became a LoveSong tune.
I wrote this one morning on a white grand piano in the home of the couple who had adopted us into their home, Dean & Jean Gilbert.
In our hippie group of seekers, one notable person did not receive the Lord, as most of us did from that group. That was my best friend, Ernie Earnshaw.
I began to write the words as a personal message to him. I soon realized that the song had a much more universal application, and took the lyric in that direction.
Over the years, it has become a staple in both LoveSong and Chuck Girard concerts.
A fitting closing song to what we believed was our final album.’
SINCE I OPENED UP THE DOOR
A country flavored song, inspired by Fred Field's rhythm and chords.
I have half-jokingly called this one of our “baby Christian songs“. It is so innocent and simple. It expresses that first love that we all feel when we first get born again, and it seems like Jesus is the only thing that’s on our mind.
It is a great song to start the album
JOYOUS LAMENT
This is an intentionally ironic title.
A lament is by definition “a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.”
This lyric laments the condition of the world in general, and the fact that so many people are led by false prophets, false teachings, and other deceptive devices used by the devil to blind the world. The joyous part of it is that Jesus can change all that.
The song is really an evangelistic sermon. I was told that it’s Richie Furay‘s favorite song off this album.
JESUS PUTS THE SONG IN OUR HEARTS
Part of the story of Love Song is that for a month or so we lived in a room above a garage provided by one of the wonderful people at Calvary Chapel. It was a stop gap measure to get us out of Laguna Beach and the influence of the drug scene. Shortly after, a couple in the church who were empty nesters, invited us to live in their home.
It was a special time for us. We’d come out of a fairly sumptuous living situation in Laguna Beach into this humble little room, and were happier than we’d been in a long time.
This song was created in that little room.
I will quote the story from my autobiography “Rock & Roll Preacher”:
“ Another memorable time in the garage happened on a Saturday evening when Fred Field was playing some beautiful chords on his guitar. Fred and I had a unique songwriting style. He would compose the chord line and the feel of the song, and I would write the melody and lyrics. We didn’t actually collaborate; we just each contributed our portion. Fred was a gifted musician, and we just clicked musically when the inspiration hit. This time, all the guys were gathered, and the spirit of worship arose. I started to sing “hey, have you lost the feeling don’t you hear the music anymore“. It all happened spontaneously, and the chorus was birthed right there on the spot: “Jesus put the song in our hearts. Jesus set us free”. All the interweaving harmonies came as we sang, and it was obvious that this was a God breathed song. Significant to note is that most all of our lyrics had an evangelistic edge to them. This song was no exception. I could have written more praise oriented lyrics, and had a song that might be sung in worship services. But the center of my heart was to see people saved. My first and only instinct was to speak to the lost. I never even considered making it into a worship song for Christians.
THINK ABOUT WHAT JESUS SAID
I don’t remember any dramatic backstory to this song.
I realized that in my own story of faith, I came to the conclusion that Jesus was the answer by listening to that still small voice inside me. I had years of intellectual exploration behind me, examining scripture of all kind, different philosophies of life, and I don’t regret any of that learning. I am not an advocate of blind faith, but realized that knowledge alone would not get me there. It was when God met me personally on the back row of pews at Calvary Chapel that I knew in my heart that becoming a follower of Jesus was the ultimate truth I’d been seeking.
I wanted to convey that truth in this song.
The verses are a sermon dealing with the questions surrounding this topic.
Musically simple, this song is a true evangelistic song. It is very effective in an evangelistic situation, and sets up the opportunity for a salvation altar call.
LIVING WATER
One if my all-time favorites. Jay Truax brought the foundational elements of this song to me, playing the verses on guitar. He didn’t yet have a bridge or all the words in place, so we joined forces in finishing the song.
I have always loved Jay’s voice, and regret that we didn’t give him more opportunity to sing some leads.
I suggested that we trade lines in the verses, and that turned out magnificently.
I wrote the bridge. I have always loved the mood of the Buffalo Springfield song “Expecting to Fly”, and it influenced my approach to the harmonies on the bridge. The harmonies proved to be very difficult, and it was decided that Jay and I would go in and stack them together rather than using the whole group. That would give us more control over pitch and reading. It took a long time to finish them.
It was decided to use flute in the instrumentation to get a fluid, watery sound. None of us played flute, so we hired xxxxx.
But surprise! We then discovered that Jay played oboe! Who knew? So we decided to add the oboe part to complement the flute.
It turned out to be a very spacey sounding track overall, which is what we wanted.
Adding the harpsichord gave a Beatle-ish flavor to the track.
This is a very unique and wonderful cut on the album.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Another collaboration with Fred Field. Again, he brought the musical idea, and I wrote the melody and lyrics.
The music evoked a pastoral mood to me, and I pursued a more poetic path in writing the lyrics.
A lot of poetic allegory came forth, not my usual wheelhouse.
It turned out to be a very beautiful, contemplative song.
BOOK OF LIFE
DON’T YOU KNOW
As I recall, this song was written more with the words serving the music. This was not my usual path. I knew I was on to a very Beatle-esque song, and wanted to go all the way.
The lyrics are about growing up spiritually.
Not much else to say, just that we never tried to do this song live due to the difficulty of doing justice to the track. A lot of moving parts.
LITTLE PILGRIM
This song became a classic.
Originally written for me to record on a solo album, we started to perform it regularly in our concerts, and it became a LoveSong tune.
I wrote this one morning on a white grand piano in the home of the couple who had adopted us into their home, Dean & Jean Gilbert.
In our hippie group of seekers, one notable person did not receive the Lord, as most of us did from that group. That was my best friend, Ernie Earnshaw.
I began to write the words as a personal message to him. I soon realized that the song had a much more universal application, and took the lyric in that direction.
Over the years, it has become a staple in both LoveSong and Chuck Girard concerts.
A fitting closing song to what we believed was our final album.’