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Kevin's Notes

OK, now this is an interesting story. If you are still with us, hopefully this story will be worth the wait. The inspiration Strong Tower again came from The Message I was reading Psalm 61:1-5 and was struck by the comparison of God to a high tower, unapproachable by any enemies. A cool word picture to say the least!

So, I set some rules for this one before I wrote it (which I usually do not do). The first rule was to have it begin as a simple song with intimate lyrics (if you listen closely, you'll hear me whisper the words in the background). The second rule was to build the song, still staying intimate until the last possible moment until going into a radical chorus about God being a strong tower. The third rule was to keep the words of verse two the same as verse one with no variation except for the melody then drop into the chorus again with it even more rowdy. Each time I came up with words or a melody, I'd force myself to stay within the rules to see if it could be done. I am happy to say that with God's help, I did it!

The one unfortunate thing about Strong Tower is that it is hard to sing congregationally. But, it is a doable thing if you play it enough times! Musically, in the studio, Steve Goetz and Mark Koch did the drums/bass combo and I initially sang the song on two separate tracks. It just didn't sound right so I went out on a limb and asked Scott Underwood (who I had met a couple of times) to sing with me on it. He agreed and the song just took off!

Again, the icing was having God's Women of Treasure do the BGVs. We did basic percussion (Brad Bisquera did all of it except the tambourine) added a B3, a mandolin, as well as the patented Chris Kohler volume swells at the beginning of the song. To finish the song off and to give it just a bit more attitude, we had Chris Bengs add a touch of crunch electric guitar to the final mix. The hardest part of the mix down was getting the vocals to blend together. My favorite part is the passion and energy that is generated during the last words of the song with the whole group of us singing "Your love is a strong, strong tower!" As Tom Gingell, the studio owner and engineer said, "too much fun!"

Lyrics

Hear my cry, O God. Listen to my prayer.
Come and rescue me, and draw me near.
Lead me to the rock, that is higher than I.
From the ends of the earth, hear my cry.

And when the darkness comes in like a flood,
I'll give thanks for Your mercy,
Because I'm washed in Your blood,
and I will rejoice in the shelter of .... (Your)

Strong tower - refuge for me.
Strong tower - from my enemies.
Strong tower - you're worthy of my praise.
Strong tower - forever and always. (repeat)
Your love is a strong, strong tower! Yeah!

©Kev-X music 7-98

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