Same Clothes, New Heart - Song Explanation

         Welcome to this latest installment of the legendary, sensational, expectation-shattering, confrontational, incendiary, unapologetic look into the process, from inception to post-production, of creating one of these little tiny babies I like to call my songs. Before I get into all that, though, a quick, semi-interesting announcement: After this week, all the song explanations for the next several weeks until my concert will be from my BRAND SPANKIN' NEW ALBUM, affectionately titled "Doubts Turned to Joy." (My working title, of course, was "A New Spankin'" but for some reason I decided against it...) So again, the concert will be June 20, and the next couple of weeks you'll get some sneak peaks in the form of YouTube videos, Soundcloud recordings, and of course, these clever and insightful blog posts about the process of writing and recording this new album. Which brings me to the song for today, which is actually another from my very first album, back when I was recording on a crude phonograph machine onto little 45's, which accounts for the fact that it sounds like there's a chorus of cats constantly hissing in the background... But despite it's humble beginnings, and the lack of recording prowess I had back then, I'm actually pretty proud of this song... I'd call it one of my personal favorites, but of course I'm not allowed to have favorites, as these songs are all my babies... Anyhow, go ahead and check these lyrics!

Lyrics:

Times for me had grown so dark, 
I heard the call to change my heart,
Thought, "Hey that won't be so tough,"
I'll say a prayer and walk an aisle,
And put on a superficial smile,
And that should be enough,"
So I put on a brand new shirt,
But underneath there was still such dirt,
I hoped maybe it would go away,
I changed my pants, my shoes, my socks,
Bought a brand new pair of Crocs,
But my condition stayed the same,
Then a voice so still and small,
Said "Son the message of my call,
Is not in how your clothes arrange,
In spite of what you may believe,
Your heart's not really on your sleeve,
And I alone can make you change..."

He said "If you turn, if you turn to Me,
In true repentance, bowing at my feet,
How merciful, and gracious I can be, you will see,
But if you go on putting on this show,
And hide your heart behind your change of clothes,
Do you think the God Who sees all will not know? I will know...

He said "You've gotta change, you've gotta change your heart... (Repeats)
Your wardrobe cannot hide,
The sin you have inside,
Return to Him this day,
And let Him make that change,

So I'll look past, this surface that's not real,
Into the cold, dark heart Your word reveals,
I'll turn to You, and at Your throne I'll kneel, Lord please heal...

Lord please change, Lord please change my heart... (Repeats)
My wardrobe cannot hide,
The sin I have inside,
I return to You this day,
Lord please make me change!

So in humility I pray, I try to take it day by day, knowing this is just the start,
In this world appearance rules, but I think that stuff's just for fools,
'Cause only God can change your heart....

Music: I remember sitting down at the piano, looking for a new sound for a new song, and figuring out to play an A2 chord. I liked the sound of it so much that I started playing it over and over, and the story goes that my thumb slipped and accidentally hit the F below A, and thought to myself, "Well now, that sounds interesting..." And the rest, as they say, was me figuring out how to combine that sound with the other half of the song, which is very much influenced by the song "Living the Dream" by DownHere, at least in the way I play the piano chords. So basically I combined two songs, gave you a little taste of the second half with the little prelude at the beginning, and it was mostly just figuring out how much of everything I wanted in there, a lot of which was completed on my Aunt Tina's piano in Florida, except when Uncle Gene was taking a nap in the Ballroom...

Lyrical Explanation: So this song, as so many great ones do, started with a sermon from the Message Bible. Actually, it wasn't the greatest sermon I ever heard, (nor is The Message Bible the best for expository preaching, but that is another subject for another day), but it was out of the book of Joel chapter 2, and included this verse that really stuck with me, verse 13, which says (in the good ol' NKJV): 

"So rend your heart, and not your garments; 
Return to the LORD your God, 
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm."

      I'm pretty sure the message version was something more like "Bro, like, totally, like, give your heart to God and stuff, you know, not just, like, your Abercrombie jeans, or whatever... Peace out, dude..." But the idea was the same, even during the time of the prophet Joel, the people had a problem with superficiality. They were outwardly turning to God, putting on a show, giving their best on the surface while not giving their whole hearts to Him alone. God is imploring His people to turn back to Him with their whole hearts, and He would show them how merciful and gracious He truly is. But it couldn't be just a superficial, on the surface change, it had to be a "rending of the heart," not just a change of clothes.
     I thought of how very similar we are. "Yeah, sure, I'll change, I'll repent and follow Christ, what do I have to do? Walk down the aisle? Say the right combination of words? Go to church every Sunday? No problem..." But there is a problem. All those things can be good. We can say some meaningful words to God in prayer and truly believe them and mean them and He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We can walk to the front of the church and let everyone know we have believed in Christ and let them celebrate with us. We can go to church and learn under a pastor who takes the time to study the Word of God and bring faithful teaching every week, and fellowship with the people of God. But if that's all we're doing, if there's no real change that comes along with it, then we've just put on some new clothes, we've just covered ourselves up with a new shirt and new pants and maybe even some Crocs, (who are not a sponsor, by the way), without any of the filth underneath changing even one bit.
     So I guess that's why I wrote this song. Because the Word of God made me think, "Am I being merely superficial in my faith? Is all this a show for everyone else, while I personally don't even care? Or is it real? Do I actually live out what I say I believe while also experiencing a true relationship with Christ that changes my attitude, my heart, and my entire life? I would hope that for every one of you reading this that it's the latter. That you've given your heart to Christ, and not just your outward appearance. Life is too short to try and play games, to make yourself out to be better than you are, and to cheat yourself out of a truly new and amazing life with Christ.

YouTube Version: This actually got mildly popular when a couple people shared it on Facebook, and it was one of our first songs where we used an actual decent microphone, the Blue Snowball. So it turned out pretty above average I'd say... Take a look!

Recorded Version: Like I said, this was our first album, Jason and I, and I especially had no idea what I was doing, so it sounds a little off, the drums are too loud, the background noise is off the chain, but you can at least hear what we were going for, hopefully... Here's the link!

https://soundcloud.com/justin-samuel-manry/same-clothes-new-heart

Conclusion: The conclusion is, as it often is, inspiration can come from anywhere, even The Message Bible! What a novel idea... Again, these next few weeks I'll be explaining some songs from my new album, getting you all hyped for it's release date, June 20, when I'll see you all on my back porch listening to it all go down live... Until then, tell me what you'd like to hear, what you like or don't like about this series, and what if anything I should eat for a midnight snack tonight... I'm thinking Cheez-Its...

Singing off for now,
Justin Samuel Manry

So eager...

Dead But Alive - Song Explanation

         Welcome back, music enthusiasts, to the only blog on the internet that gives you the raw, unadulterated, messy, intense, and often too-hot-to-handle stories behind the songs that I write, because I'm the only blogger on the internet that can look into my own mind and tell you those stories... (Which, coincidentally, is a good thing... Nobody needs to see that I'm thinking about a chocolate-banana milkshake right now...or basically all the time...) This week I'll be diving into a song with a longer history than you may realize, or really care to know, or even have the time to read about. But I'm going to tell you anyway, because that's how all my blogs work... You didn't ask for it, so here you go... Anyways, the song to which I'm referring actually comes from my first album which Jason and I recorded in the basement using mostly my on board laptop microphone and my Dad's microphone when he wasn't using it at church, and this is actually the song that turned out the absolute best out of all those experiments: Dead But Alive. But the story behind the song goes way back before those days in the basement trying to figure out how to record an album, back to a time where Dinosaurs roamed the big ol' bin full of dinosaur toys in our attic... But more on that later, here are the lyrics...

Lyrics:

I was born into slavery,
My birthright was my bondage to my sin,
Every time I tried so hard to climb out,
My old master would bring me down again,
I tried all the remedies man gave me,
There's so many ways up the mountain so they say,
But each road that I took just sunk me deeper,
It seemed death was my only escape...

(Chorus)
So I died to my sin,
And I was made alive with Christ,
I died to my sin,
And death lost its sting,
'Cause when I died to my sin,
I obtained eternal life,
And now I'm a servant the king...

So with Christ I've been buried,
And just like Him I've been raised,
I walk in a brand new life of freedom,
Emancipated only by His grace,
So when that old Devil tries to claim me,
And tells me that I still should be his slave,
I can just invite him to my funeral,
I've walked away a free man from that grave...

(Repeat Chorus)

Music: So like many of my songwriting endeavors, this one begins with an afternoon of mowing the lawn. Some people have their best thoughts on the toilet, I have my best thoughts on every aspect of life (including the toilet) whilst pushing a mower back and forth endlessly over a field of tall grass. I don't know what it is, but somehow I'm transported to a place where everything is so much clearer, my decisions become final and binding, and my creativity goes through the roof. I've thought up my best jokes, my funniest skit ideas, and some of the greatest (and worst) songs I've ever written while trying to get that last corner of the yard to look good. This song was no different, though it started as a totally different thing all-together. The original bright idea came when I was thinking about Facebook, and how you could write on people's walls, and how "rad" and "tight" (those were actual words I would have used at that time in my life) it would be to write a song about writing on the wall, and relating to my generation while making a point about life and stuff... I was very philosophical at the age of 15ish. So I used the only chords I knew at that point: G, C, D, Am, and Em, and started a song. It ended up actually not sounding that bad, with a little folk flavor, and with more time and perspective, I realized the lyrics were stupid, but the song itself musically was pretty good. For the album version I used plastic spoons to get some of the percussion, which I thought was pretty groundbreaking at the time, and added the harmonica which became a staple of my style (if you can call it a style) back then. So it was a simple but solid little folk song, but the problem was I had written it about Facebook, so, I needed some better lyrics...

Lyrical Explanation: This was where perspective helped a lot. If I had become extremely famous and rich for my music back when I was 15 or 16, I'd be singing songs about writing on people's Facebook walls, taking a walk on a ray of sunshine in the woods, and asking the very philosophical question "How can I smell my pants on a Monday morning...?" (The answer, coincidentally, is and always has been "with my nose...") But I thankfully did not get rich and famous with my music right away, and had time to think to myself: "Hey, this song about writing on walls is rather stupid, maybe I should change it so it's not completely dumb." And so "Dead But Alive" was born. Now granted, I didn't have enough perspective yet to realize that taking "Dead or Alive" and changing the conjunction in between did not a clever and groundbreaking song title make, but again, I was young and foolish. I did however take my inspiration this time not from Facebook (or any social media for that matter), but from Scripture. This would be a common theme for my songwriting career, basing my lyrics not on my feelings or a cleverness of my own, but from the Authoritative Word of God, which is much better than what I can come up with whilst mowing the lawn.
      So I went straight to Romans chapter 6, which has always fascinated me. The dichotomy (which I'm not even sure if I'm using correctly by the way) of being dead to sin, yet alive in Christ; dead and buried with Christ, yet also raised to new life with Him. To become truly alive we must die. This was and still is fascinating to me. In a sense, we're all dead in our trespasses and sins, and yet to get out of that death we have to die to it, in order to truly become alive. This is the message of the gospel, that the ultimate death brought ultimate life, that Jesus made a way for our dead selves to have new life in Him. And then there's the image of slavery. That we were all born slaves to sin, and so we have to die in order to be released from that bondage, that weight, and that death brings us release from the slavery of sin, and then our new life gives us a new master who is greater than sin and death, God. It's amazing, how God's plan works and keeps working and gives us so much grace that we never deserved in such an amazing way. So maybe this song oversimplifies that great mystery, but hopefully it shows just how joyful I was to know it, and to know my King Jesus had overcome the grave and made me dead to sin and alive in Christ. Hopefully I'll continue to grow in that knowledge and keep writing songs that reflect His glory and majesty. Or maybe I'll give up and start writing songs like "Tweet for Jesus..."

YouTube Version: Now before you go judging, yes, Jason has a mustache here, and yes, I'm wearing my 'Merica t-shirt, and yes, this is recorded with a terrible microphone and webcam... And actually, there really aren't any redeeming qualities about it, but you can still enjoy watching... It's basically a piece of history now...

Recorded Version: Here's the link to the version we recorded for our very first album, which again was done fairly primitively, in a cave with clubs and such... But for real, it was probably the best sounding song from that album, and I used plastic spoons for percussion! So original! Here's the link.

https://soundcloud.com/justin-samuel-manry/dead-but-alive

Conclusion: So here's the deal, if you're a young songwriter out there, start mowing the lawn! But then when you get inside, don't just trust any idea you had out there, make sure it's not stupid first... No, for real, keep writing, keep growing, and you'll make some incredible stuff that reflects the creativeness you have from your Creator. And feel free to give me some of the royalties when you get rich and famous...
      So what song would you like me to do next time? What song would you like me NOT to do? Oh, and I almost forgot, my concert is almost definitely going to be June 20, at my house, admission is free and you can get my new album "Doubts Turned to Joy" for a special introductory price of however much you want to donate to my trip to Cambodia! Hooray!
     Peace out, party people.

Singing off for now,
Justin Samuel Manry

We almost certainly didn't follow this sign....

Song for the Unsung - Song Explanation

          Welcome back (after several weeks/months away) to the greatest blog ever known to mankind (and womankind, and you know, whatever Michael Jackson was). This week, as always, I'll be delving into the deep waters of my own creativity and emotions as I wrestle my inner demons and then make a couple of jokes about my sanity and call it a day. The song I've picked is a song that was difficult for me. Most of the time I don't get into politics and taking controversial stances just for the controversy and making a big deal of myself as it relates to social change and all that jazz, but I figured, you know, if God is pro-life, so should I be. Anyways, I'll figure all that out when the time comes, but for now, here are the lyrics:

Lyrics - Song for the Unsung

I know I was fearfully and wonderfully made,
But what about those who don't have a say,
Who never see the light of day,
Is it true, they too, were formed in His likeness,
Made for a purpose, if so, I propose, we give,
Them a chance to live...

I was skillfully crafted in my mother's womb, and I assume,
Those precious children were made there too,
With care and love from our God above,
And if He formed them, what right do we have to kill them?

(Pre-chorus)

Lord, what can I say?
Lord, they're still dying every day.
Lord, what can I do?
My Lord, I bring this song to You...

(Chorus)

This is a song for those unable to sing,
Each and every one made in the image of their king,
Why, oh, why, oh, why do they have to die so soon?
Murdered every day in the name of something they call the right to choose...
They want to make it an issue of tissue,
But if babies are tissue, I guess I'm tissue too,
And so are you, so they might as well kill us too,
But then again, where does life begin, if not in the womb,
A hospital room? But it's the same baby inside and out,
So again I'm confused...

Ten fingers, ten toes, head heart and nose,
If that's not human I'm assuming,
There's something more to being human,
Like an application process or something.
But if it is human, great, there's no debate, so let's not wait,
To give, them a chance to live...

(Repeat Pre-Chorus and Chorus)

I choose to lift His name on high,
I choose life,
I choose to listen to the God Who made me and you.
When He says, quite plainly, to all creation,
"I love you..."
This is a song, for the unsung....

Music: I had just discovered the greatness that is the major 7th chord. For all of you non-music people, that's the chord that sounds kind of like "whooaaahhhaooooahhh" with a little mixture of "heuuuooooahhhuehhhh," and for all you music people, you know exactly what I'm talking about, right? Is it just me? Anyways, I liked their subtle sound, where it was just a little off, but not in a cheesy way which can happen all too easily with 7th chords in general. So I decided it would be way cool to write a song using only major 7th chords, (not even resolving at the end!) and so I did, and I was pretty jazzed about it, as they say, when a song using Gmaj7, Cmaj7, and Dmaj7 began coming together. The rhythm I probably borrowed from Steely Dan or something, I can't remember...

Lyrical Explanation: So I had this music or chord progression or whatever you want to call it, that sounded a little off, a little unresolved, a little desperate. And then one day I was driving to Towson University, as I often did when I was trying to be a good student, and I was mulling over the world's issues, as I often do when in the car listening to Barry Manilow, and it hit me, "I should write a song for the unsung, for those who can't sing themselves..."
       Now as I already said, I'm not a very political person. I have views and opinions of course, but other than the ones that involve my distaste for condiments such as mustard and ketchup or my intense hatred of Jimmy John's or my just-as-intense love of The Muppets, I generally keep those views to myself, or at least don't insert myself into the public sphere to speak out for or against them.
     But this was something so heavy on my heart I couldn't stand it. I would literally lie awake at night going over the arguments in my head, wishing people would have compassion on these tiny children, wishing they didn't see them as disposable. I listened to people like David Platt lay out better arguments than I could have for why it is a very simple issue, if they are human, (and since they are), they must not be murdered. We take away people's right to choose to murder other people every single day in America. It's called justice and the law of the land. We can't keep treating these babies as if they're just a bunch of tissue to be eliminated, and we can't punish them for the sins of their fathers, or call them inconveniences. But the greatest argument I ever heard or read was from God himself...

Psalm 139:13-17
¹³  For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.
¹⁴  I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵  My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶  Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
¹⁷  How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

God didn't just do that for David, or for me or for you or for those who are pro-life or for those who are pro-choice, He did it for every single person ever conceived on this planet. He loves each one of them. It grieves His heart when they're murdered out of inconvenience or shame. We should be the ones who are ashamed. We who have been given a chance to live, and are taking that chance from thousands upon thousands of tiny lives every day. That's why it grieves my heart. Because I was given the chance to live. Because my mother and father loved me and saw me as a blessing from God. And thousands of blessings are dying every day. Oh that God would change hearts and minds and bring this nation back to Himself. This is a song for the unsung.

YouTube Version: Here's Jason and I performing it on YouTube... Notice the poor lighting and terrible camera angle...

Recorded Version: I was also pretty proud of how the recorded version of the song came out, from our album "Quite Plainly." Here's the link.

https://soundcloud.com/justin-samuel-manry/song-for-the-unsung

Conclusion: That one was pretty heavy, but I had to get it off my chest. And now that it's off, I can tell you exciting news! I'm working on a brand new album, to be released THIS SUMMER at my "Concert for Cambodia." I'm still working out a date, but it'll probably end up being mid-to-late June, so mark your calendars for the whole month, and tell me what song you want me to do next. Some of the next few song explanations will be from the new album, so you can get pumped out of your minds for that... See you all next whenever! Rock on...

Singing off for now,
Justin Samuel Manry

We're sitting.....on a rock....