New Song: You Can Have

Hmmm… there’s a story behind this one…but I’ll save it for another day. It’s fairly self-explanatory, and somewhat related to one of the points of the sermon this week:

3.  GOD’S GREATEST CHALLENGE IS TO GET ME TO A PLACE WHERE I AM WILLING TO SURRENDER MY TIME, TALENT AND TREASURE FOR HIS CAUSE.

and from stuff we talked about in small group last night. Recorded with the SoundCloud app on my phone on a piano at somebody’s house. One take. Written in a couple hours, start to finish, to recording. Phew!

by Lori Joanne Quick © Copyright 2011

verse:

You can have all my money
It was You who provided
You can have all my time
It was You who gave me breath

chorus:

You can have
all of me
all my gifts and talents and my stuff
For every good and perfect gift
Comes from you

bridge:

You can have it all (repeat)
You can have all of me

I believe, help my unbelief (repeat)
I trust in you, rid my fear and doubt
I trust You Lord, rid my fear and doubt

Song for Japan Video (Version 2)

Cellphones are not the best audio recording devices, and I am glad my friend recorded it, but she was right about the sound quality, so I spent a bit of my evening recording it “live” from my bedroom, because I know God didn’t give me this song to keep to myself. So here you go. Hopefully you can understand what I’m singing, words and pitches :) (if you want to see the lyrics, they are linked here on a previous post)

Video: Song for Japan {Hold Back the Waters}

see previous post for lyrics

Here is the raw footage from last night’s performance.

song for Japan {hold back the waters}

I went to bed last night with a heavy heart after hearing the devastating news about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. When I woke up today, I had a few thoughts. The first, I was reminded of Psalm 46, one of the few I have memorized, here are the verses 1-7, in the NIV, the translation I have memorized.

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

As I thought about the first 3 verses, I came to my next thought, which was simply a prayer, Lord have mercy, and Kyrie Eleison, (greek for Lord have mercy) a frequently sung text from my time in choir.  It evolved very quickly into a song. I finished it and played it tonight at the IMAGO DEI event at Sandals Church. I wanted to share the lyrics here, and hopefully I’ll have a recording to share soon, my awesome friend Alyssa, who had a beautiful blue painting on display, said she got it on her phone, so I’ll link to it as soon as she gets it uploaded.

song for Japan {hold back the waters} by Lori Joanne Quick

Father we appeal
on behalf
of our brothers and sisters
the sons and the daughters
who walk in darkness

Kyrie Eleison
Kyrie Eleison

Father forgive us
for ignorance and apathy
for failing to see the need
for failing to fall on our knees

on behalf, of all who are hurting
confused and abandoned
trapped and alone

Kyrie Eleison
Kyrie Eleison
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy

I know
that one word from your lips
can calm the storm
You lift your voice
the raging seas will calm

Hold back the waters
Hold back the waters
Rescue your people
Lord have mercy
Calm the sea

Kyrie Eleison
Kyrie Eleison

Hold back the waters
Lord have mercy
Calm the sea

sneak peek of a song

what you are about to hear is a one-take iPhone recording while i was composing back in december. the beginning of the song is super sloppy and rough, but as i composed a song started coming together, it’s still rough, it’s just a sketch. the end of the song is my favorite part. I need to finish working on the verses and finish piecing that together, but for now, I wanted you to hear this part, probably the bridge or something.

Song is called Natural
by Lori Joanne Quick

what kind of life would that be
when all you’ve been living for is me, me, me

i’d rather live my days
with my eyes on the prize
eternal hope
and struggle and fight
with my will and my flesh
and make it safely home

than live a short life
thinking it’s a good life
when i get to the end of my days
locked out
of a place called home
forever

i’d rather live my days
with my eyes on the prize
eternal hope
and make it safely home

i want to be home, forever

My first february song

I’ll be honest…I’m not really excited or proud of this song….I started trying to compose some intricate piece about creation…sounding like void and darkness and then light…and got overwhelmed by trying to use too many different synth sounds and my weaknesses of playing and it was just frustrating me…so I closed that and opened a new text window and a new blank garageband file and started playing around with C and F chords til I found this pattern that you hear. That’s all it is. Simple. Oh and fun little fact…I recorded the vocals in my mom’s minvan…hehe.

I’m already working on Song 2 and working on more carefully crafted lyrics and chord patterns. But I commited to sharing all this so…here it is.

Simple

it’s simple
i try too hard
to be perfect
when i try
it just makes a mess

let’s take it slow
go back to the basics
and one at a time
simple
becomes beautiful

New Song and Why I Wrote It: Trust

What you are about to hear is the sound of  yours truly alone in a tiny practice room with a baby grand on a Friday afternoon. I recorded this rough take on my iPhone, it’s an original song I wrote this past summer. It’s rough but I wanted to get it out here and let u have a listen. I am hoping to get more of these out there to share and stop keeping them to myself and my iPhone :) A little bit more about the song…the phrase I trust in You and Lord Jesus, I trust in you are not so much grand statements of faith, but rather a desperate plea and reminder to my heart.

The summer that I worked at Forest Home, I learned about a little type of prayer called a breath prayer (where you breathe in a phrase and exhale) and this was my breath prayer: “Lord Jesus, I trust you“

This idea turned into this little song, that I know without a doubt that God granted me and helped me to uncover and share. I have shared this with a few small groups of people, and the first time I shared it, everyone in the room began to sing it with me. It was one of the most incredible moments of my life, to hear other people singing songs that I have been writing. It was an incredible night of worship, not for the talent, not for the lights or fancy equipment, I was sitting in my friend’s living room at the piano with a room full of worshipers, and the Spirit of the Lord was there With us. And that is why I continue to attempt to write and record despite my inadequacies and inabilities and insufficiencies.

Because He asked me to.

Whatever I do
wherever I go
all glory to You
Lord Jesus, I trust in You

<3 lorijo

Song by Lori Joanne Quick Copyright 2010

EDIT: Here are the full lyrics :)

VERSE 1:
I trust in You
to lead the way
Direct my path
and light the way

PRE-CHORUS
Whatever I do
Wherever I go
All glory to you
Lord Jesus, I trust in You

CHORUS:
Wherever You lead
I will follow
Guide my steps
I trust in You

VERSE 2:
I trust in You
for everything
Rid all my pride
my fear, my doubt