I love Thanksgiving, and I love Christmas. But for me, the most exciting part happens between the two, the four-week period of Advent. The celebration in the waiting, the personal soul-searching within the expectation, and the lament-like longing for Messiah to come. In the same way that Easter isn't as powerful until we attempt to come to grips with the suffering, betrayal, and death of Good Friday, I believe Christmas morning isn't as powerful until we enter into the aching of Advent.
A year ago as I began the process of writing this song, I wanted to try and express this longing and the waiting through the music. To our contemporary and western musical ears, we are used to a certain formula when it comes to 96% of every song you hear: verse one, chorus, verse two, chorus, bridge, two choruses, outro, song over, sigh. I thought it would be fun to attempt a musical interpretation of Advent, and convey the waiting through the song. Unlike any other song I've written, this one asks you to wait, and then wait again. Verse one is followed by verse two, which is followed by a hint of the chorus, followed by verse three, followed by verse four, and finally, finally, finally, the angels' sigh gives way to the familiar chorus of The First Noel. Enjoy!
We Wait
Christmastime is finally here, we're singing Silent Night and spreading cheer with our parties and our scarves, our gifts, and overspending. Silver sleigh bells ring, but are we forgetting that we wait for you? My children smile, so full of wonder. I wanna see this time through their eyes and hold them closer as we try to teach them the meaning of this fun is so You could reach them by sending Your Son. They wait for You, we ache for You. Crowns and kingdoms searching in vain, bringing newfound freedoms, yet we're still in chains. Until that holy night when Your throne became a manger. No pageantry in sight, a tiny babe, our Savior. Years of silence finally broken, bringing peace to violence, You have spoken through a tiny newborn cry. The wait is over, the angels sigh...
Noel, noel, noel, noel. Born is the King of Israel.
To download and enjoy the song, feel free to click on the blog title! :)