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Song Story about writing this song for Sweet Comfort Band Hearts of Fire Project
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Nutshell Sermons — You Can Make It/Lyrics. Machine-transcribed; use the interactive transcript above to jump the player to any line.
It's Brian, your lunatic friend. You ever had a moment all by yourself where you're really feeling something and you look around and you're the only one. Rehearsing at my studio, kid in the corner. Today I was singing a little victory song called You Can Make It. The song that I wrote when I was 20 and hanging out with other people were my age. Cause I got together with my old buddies last year from Sweet Comfort Band and that has turned into a double album. Now I only planned a Riveness and I certainly hadn't planned on adding 40 year old songs to my solo set list and trying to remember a song from 40 years ago is hard enough but I was having trouble keeping up with the tempo pounding eight notes over the top of rockin' power chords from the guitar player in a band and driving at home with a nail gunner for a drummer, the bass boomin' like cannon fodder and just playing it and singing it. My body was tired to tell me that I am no longer a spring chicken and I was even having trouble with the lyrics I couldn't remember them. But when I started singing,
I started to remember the sentiment that I still have to this day where I say looks like you're losing with no one to blame. It's double or nothing but the odds are the same. But from there my 20 year old self went to a positive affirmation which I hadn't recognized in some time where I sing, you can make it, you can come from behind, you can make it makin' up for lost time and I go back to the bedrock and sing, looks like you're fighting to stay in the race. It's harder than ever just keeping the pace. And suddenly I thought, you know I might have been a prophet one of years old talkin' about myself now. And here I go back to you can make it, you can give it your best, you can make it, you can pass every test. But here's where the interjection in the song is where I acknowledge that we're all gonna face opposition and I scream somebody's keeping you from going all the way. Somebody's keeping you from doin' what I say. Somebody's hopein', you won't make it today.
But you can make it, you can come from behind, you can make it makin' up for lost time. And here's where we put our refreshing bridge and a bridge in a song is where you kinda stop and look at the audience and add a little side note. You talkin' to me now and I know you're too well. That's God talkin' to you. Tell ya' the truth cause I love ya. So don't give me reasons why you can't carry on. You can believe what I say. And I'm referring to the things that are said in the Bible like in first John, for everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. And then in verse five it says, so who is it overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God? Now I got what I've meant that I played through this song a few times before I really got into it. Because especially this year my wife and I have both faced fix it or replace it surgeries and recoveries are slow just pronouncing the medications takes a week. And in a log of fiction you don't even realize the weight
that the stress in your life is putting on you. And it's often times that God sees fit to not give you an instantaneous miracle because so far he hasn't put the finish line right in front of you. And it sure feels like an unanswered prayer, but those seemingly unanswered prayers build an endurance that you can't see the point in. But endurance comes from doing the same things over and over again. That's not insanity just because you don't see a result right away. But here's where you wouldn't have known there was a second wind when you've come to the end of your own energy. It's interesting how miracles always look like the power of God. But when God trains you for the test of endurance doesn't look like God's power is working at all. Except that your faith keeps you believe in that you can get there even though you don't even see the end. So getting back to the moment that I had by myself as I was singing the chorus for the last time and started to feel the weight of stress leaving my shoulders. Musically I found a euphoric second wind to realize that suffering will be overcome.
And somehow the victory will be a lot sweeter because of what we've endured. And that's the only way we can say with any joy to those who are facing the same endurance test or at least something that looks similar. Here's where with joy I can say you can make it. You can come from behind. You can make it. You can make up for lost time. You can make it. You can give it your best. You can make it. You can pass every test. And here comes the big finish. Now earlier in the song I started a line with somebody's keeping you but it's about keeping you from going the distance and somebody's hoping you won't make it today. And that includes the devil and some of his friends. But now here's the reason that you can make it. When we come back to that line we go, somebody's keeping you. And that's always been something I love to do like somebody's keeping you from doing something and then you just cut that part off and sing somebody's keeping you. The same words, different implication. And here's where I got those goose bumps, sing in the song. It's not even your effort.
It's Jesus that's keeping you. There is tears of joy when you realize that God has kept you through the worst things he've ever gone through. It's an overwhelming sense of victory. And right there in that moment of rehearsal while a band is driving an uphill progression but I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, and I sing. Somebody's keeping you. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The power of God's hand on my back. Like that come from behind shot and basketball with two seconds left. And you're shooting the ball from half court not a chance and hill that you got it right. And it goes in. And out of nowhere comes instantaneous euphoria. But of course in that scenario, there's thousands of fans jumping up and down with you. So when you're like me and you have a little euphoric moment by yourself, that's what we call it. I was having a moment and I've just shared that moment with you in a lyric episode on Jesus and music at nutshellsermage.com. So now you've heard the lyrics of You Can Make It.
And yeah, this song was pretty easy to write but it's hard to believe when you're singing it. And this just happens to be the on-course song that we did live with the sweet comfort band. It's coming out on CD and vinyl in a matter of weeks. Meantime, I'm gonna let you hear the live version of You Can Make It that we finished our set with in the next episode of nutchillsermage.com. I'll leave a link on here where you can order the project. It's called Iron, Sharpen's Iron. Oh, and thanks for listening and supporting what you believe in. And like it or not, you're never dismissed.
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