All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and let us sing
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia.
Creation sent to me the centipede
To witness the complexity
Of one hundred legs that were moving unexpectedly
Ironically, just as they were meant to be
They’re fearfully and wonderfully made
An organism prays in circadian rhythms
The sun will rise, and the sun will set
The sun will rise again so lift up your head
This is life, not a static object preserved and displayed
Like a relic of the dead
You are not a fruitless tree with a rootless disease
Growin’ in a bucket in a rich man’s home
Next to the TV, tamed and alone
Learnin’ to lust for the things you don’t own
Like an armchair warrior who’s been dethroned
Declawed and fixed
Fightin’ for your life with unattended slit wrists
Don’t let your name get intermingled with a number
Cause it’s time to awaken from the devilish slumber
And freely follow the forerunner to the Fatherland
And rally ‘round the Renaissance man
And the wisdom of His ways
And all the work of His hands
Catch come as catch can
Concentrating on the good words of the Son of Man
The plan is to withstand the demands of a confused oppressor
A wolf in sheep’s clothes with monotonous lectures
And questionable gestures
Unequal measures
Cultural pressures
And synthetic textures
Force fed instead of the most beautiful architecture
Of our long lost, forgotten origins
Earth, seed, fiber and the blood of my kin
And that old rock where we confessed our sins
Oh, my God, fellow man, and this great land
They all cry out for full restoration
And this will take patience
And this will take the tribes and tongues of all the nations
And all of creation groans in anticipation
Waitin’ for the Son of God to be manifest
And I can feel it burnin’ in my chest
The liberation for the oppressed
And it’s beautiful like the feet that bring good news
It’s beautiful like this freedom tune
It’s beautiful like the power to choose, to change
Beautiful like the long awaited rain
Beautiful like the healing pains
Beautiful like to holy flames
Coming down
All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and let us sing
O praise Him! O Praise Him!
Alleluia
credits
from Lost Animals,
track released September 1, 2009
Chorus from "All Creatures Of Our God And King" by St. Francis of Assissi, 1225. Sample used from "Gloria" by Psalters on their album "Divine Liturgy Of The Wretched Exiles" (Charity Cimarron on accordion). Josh Garrels - vocals, guitar, charango, trumpet, percussion, bells, beats & samples
it's such a beautiful album of grieving and loss and acceptance. it speaks to a particular kind of grief -- not a grieving of one who is lost, but the grieving for one who is still present and still causing pain. i love the last song most because while it could end in pain, or end with the narrators decision to permanently push this person out of their life and that would be justified, it doesn't. instead, it offers something. what is offered? acceptance. hope. and a chance for redemption janmisha
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The first song of yours that I heard thanks to our youngest who’d discovered you on YouTube, so thankful for the ministry and the talents that you’ve been given! Mary Parker