“Thy ways”, “Your ways”… there is inconsistency here, and that’s because it’s a real snapshot into solo time with the Lord. As someone who has had trouble sleeping since I was a small child, for a season I woke at 4 am daily to spend time with the Lord. In May of 2022 I woke and intentioned in my heart that I would pick 4 chords (D, Bm, Em, A) and sing as I was moved, without a script. When I realized I was singing a song, I grabbed my phone to record what was happening. The result over that and the next day was five simple verses (the fifth the only with any significant variation), a chorus, and a bridge. It was a during a time (which as yet has not ended) where I was intently searching scripture and allowing it to rewrite my ideas, and the things I have learned from religion – particularly reexamining things in scripture that are discounted or justified away to different meanings. Though simple, the song was precious to me. 

Because it was simple, I was able to make an early recording of the song. But, within the next month or so, the song grew. I was staying at my sister’s home, when I rose at 4 am per my custom to spend time with the Lord. This visit I hadn’t brought my guitar, but the song jumped into my head, and without an instrument I wrote down what would become nine more verses, two more choruses, and another bridge. There was a little extra fodder with what I wrote down – I am not sure exactly where the lines I penned fit in the song when I penned the extended verses. Those included the “secret’ verse 11 – which isn’t really a secret, I just don’t plan to record it ever, and I don’t expect anyone should sing it ever. It is evident from it, that I replaced the first line in verse 9 from the idea in line 3 of the unsung verse. That verse just captured how tired I was that morning, and my commitment to my commitment. 

Once home again with a guitar, I tested what I had written, and when to hacking things apart and rearranging them. I cut out much of the redundancy from the original version. Unlike some songwriters I have heard, I don’t mind hacking things up and rearranging them. Sometimes I make a son with clear repetition, other times not.  I don’t feel bound by any rules. No one has to like whatever songs come out of me. They are not for sale. They are just expression that I won’t keep bottled up, and that I feel I am supposed to share. “Thy Ways Oh Lord” has a lot of repetition – with it’s nearly ten minutes with the same chord pattern, it’s slough of verses with the same rhythm and melody. Yet, the lyrics bring variation, with the multiple choruses and bridges with different lyrics. 

I actually love the arrangement. The first page follows the pattern of the first recording with all but the last line of each verse starting with “Thy/Your ways oh Lord”. This is broken up by the two different choruses. All the verses are short, and the first six could be doubled and through of as three verses. All the verses come in pairs, though the second to last is unsung. It is good if a bridge goes somewhere, and the bridge on the second page does. After that bridge, no longer does each verse beat down “Your ways oh Lord”, but they break the pattern while keeping the same cadence allowing for deeper thought and ideas. Each verse has a line that begins with “My heart” as I become overwhelmed by what I sense deep within my spirit from searching the Lord and his ways. These four verse types are broken by a single verse, and then another bridge leads back out to the instrumental (secret) verse, and the end verse. 

Having played, and sung this song repetitively (and considering my lack of instrumental skill) I don’t suppose if this song is to be sung, that it ought be sung in whole. Like some hymns of the past, there is plenty here to choose from. While I know all the words, I have to read the chart when I play because I sure can’t remember those words in order (especially the last line of each verse). In some ways, it’s a simple song, and other ways quite complex. It carries revelation, declaration, adoration, and acknowledgement. It is a song that waits for a wave, then upon finding it, rides it wildly to it’s crest, then back down to the shore where the song began. A song about resolve that brings resolution from it's structure.