Song Of The Week - December 12

We will be having a new segment on the blog, entitled Song Of The Week (!). I have thought a bit about how I'm going to try and go about this, and have come up with a few rules/guidelines:

1. It has to be good.
Sorry, the Song Of The Week has to be able to hold a tune in a bucket.

2. It must have a message.
I think this should be the most important rule. It doesn't necessarily have to be the best tune on the street, but it should have a meaning (examples that don't have much meaning: Country, Rap :P)

3. It must be accessible.
The Song Of The Week should be something that everyone can enjoy. Well, at least tolerate.

And there we go! With that, let's get on to the Song Of The Week!



This week's Song Of The Week is actually Song(s) Of The Week. They are:

Ancient Skies - Michael Gungor, Ancient Skies
Prodigal - Michael Gungor, Ancient Skies

"And you ride/The ancient skies/You're amazing!"

"I've tasted your glory/And I left it there/You poured out your spirit/And I didn't care/Still you loved me..."

I found it hard to find a good candidate to start this off. So we ended up with two.

Ancient Skies is the title track of the Michael Gungor Band's new album. I chose this song because of how it presents God: An amazing, unchanging savior whose love and mercy will always remain for us. The song has this... soaring feeling to it, and makes you reflect on God's grandeur and the expansiveness of what he's created. It is uplifting and a delight to listen to. And it definitely can hold a tune in a bucket! Probably could hold one in a pool, if it wanted to.

The end of Ancient Skies strikes out a repeated A note, which leads right into the next song, Prodigal (for those who have iTunes or a gapless media player). I don't think I've ever heard a song more beautiful in my life that talks about the frailty of our beings. How God can love us, die for us, and still, we turn away and corrupt everything in our sight. The song presents an eerie contemplativeness, making us think about the weight of it all. The chorus is simple, but true and heart felt:

"Nothing compares/To what you've done for me"

Nothing does. And if this song doesn't at least make you think about God's saving grace, something is wrong. The ending leaves us thinking about our brokeness, then it rises, bursting into one of the most dramatic worship endings I've ever heard. Prodigal makes me think about all the prodigals of the world, and how God takes us back into His loving arms.

I definitely consider these worthy candidates for the Song Of The Week. They capture so much in the time they witness to you. I hope you can listen to them and find as much... joy and hope in them as I do.

Ancient Skies - http://www.mediafire.com/?mtdykme2gwm
Prodigal - http://www.mediafire.com/?mdmltmnwjtt