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....