Caverns

'Caverns' is the latest video I uploaded onto my YouTube channel. It's a very slow moving and emotionally driven song, and it really compares to 'My Heart Sings' in terms of its genesis. 

I wrote it out of a place of feeling empty. I was missing something, and found myself with my head over my shoulder looking backwards for something I lost that I no longer have or need. It was the sort of occurrence that a listen to 'Miss Amnesiac' would have alerted me to "...remind me to keep my gaze ahead."

But nevertheless, there I was feeling a bit down and remorseful. And as was the case with 'My Heart Sings', particularly the section "My hope never escaped, my heart was never broken. Those days have departed they're gone. That's what I must believe as I sing this song..." I had to sing from a place of unbelief in order to believe the truth once more. 

That logic (or lack of) may sound confusing. So I'll just explain a bit more. The point I had reached in that moment of feeling at a loss, was not something I got over and decided to write a song about having made my way out of it. I picked up my guitar thinking. 'Okay... I need to lose this feeling... What should I be thinking and feeling? What is the truth in this situation?'

So I began singing and out of my mouth popped the first line, "At a loss, but I'm not losing." Immediately I stopped singing and playing and thought 'Woah.. hold on. I am losing! I feel awful.' But then I wrestled with myself a bit and sang it again. And as I sang that first line a few more times I had the word 'caverns' on the tip of my tongue. I knew that I was feeling completely hollow and needed filling with something (God) other than the feeling of loss. So gradually the rest of the verses emerged from there pretty quickly. 

The chorus lyrics were, again, another natural process of me just having a tune in my head, and singing whatever came to mind. I love the idea in the bible that is found in Zephaniah (3:17) where it is said of God that:

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."

With that idea at the back of my mind it occurred to me that God's singing over me could bring me peace and healing. And having found the first line of this song come out of nowhere, I really felt as though God was giving me the words to sing and was, somewhat mysteriously, singing to me.

With this song-blog I really wanted to give you an insight into how exactly this song-writing process elapsed. It doesn't always happen this way, but with this song it really was a case of picking up my guitar in a moment of hopelessness, and singing my way out of it with God's voice resounding in unison with each line that I professed.


Lyrics:


At a loss 
But I'm not losing
All of this emptiness
Caverns of sentiment

Revealing how little
You were a part of me
All of this grief I feel
Caverns for you to fill

At a loss, but I hear your voice
Resounding through this heart
My fears are quenched and stilled

You're singing me to peace
You're singing me home
You're singing me to life
That I had not known

You're taking what was dead
And giving me hope
At a loss to how you do it
Caverns turned to dust