Scott Freeman

Top 12 Tuesday: Choice Lyrics From “Noise From Words”

When I returned from vacation last night I finally was able to place my hands on the masterful new Michael McDermott CD Noise From Words. In case you haven’t picked up on it this is my vote for the album of the year. Greg and Jason agree.

Scratch that, it is an album for the ages. Buy it. Anywhere. iTunes, Emusic, your store. Entertainment Weekly only gave it a B but what do they know?

Buy it. If you don’t like it I’ll pay you back. This is his most stripped down, honest project yet.

The strength of Michael’s musicianship is always his deep and heartfelt lyrics. I’m planning a series on the theology of his music in the near future. But today I want to share a snippet of lyrics from each of the songs on this album. I wanted to include all the words to Broken and Long Way From Heaven but hopefully you will get the idea.
However, I have to include all the words to “I Shall Be Healed.” 99.99% of songwriters will never come close to a song of this magnitude, beauty and power. Nor will they creates such an arresting and desirable portrait of Jesus. Michael has done this before.

1. Mess of Things–The trouble with trouble is that it sometimes sticks/Plays tricks with your mind while it gets its kicks/And slowly there’s a momentum shift/And the weight becomes too great to lift/I woke up last night, I heard my mama scream/Saying boy you always make a mess of things/What will become babe, of you and me/If we keep on making a mess of things.

2. Still Ain’t Over You Yet–I’m wondering around, as lost as I’ve ever been/I don’t even think Jesus Christ knows the piss poor shape that I’m in…Most nights I wish that we never met/And most days I choke on my fear and regret/But I hate to admit, that I still ain’t over you yet.

3. Tread Lightly–This water ain’t holy, that bird ain’t a dove/When the road gets darkest/Tread lightly my love/When your heart gets heavy/With what you’ve been in fear of/When you need some surrender/Tread lightly my love.

4. The American in Me–Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong/Sometimes I go where I don’t belong/What’s liberty, the history books are stained/Sometimes I’m so ashamed/Of the American in me/Don’t mistake dissent for disloyalty/It’s the American in me.

5. A Kind of Love Song–I wish I could write you the kind of love song/That a better writer than I could pen/Cuz all I think about is all that went wrong/And the things I’d give my life to do again.

6. No Words–Paint me with rubies and rust, scars that you can’t cover up/You see the beauty is something so wrong/Here at the end of it all, where even angels can fall/If you grew wings, I swear you’d be gone/The night has come undone/And the world has just begun/There are no words, there are no words.

7. All My Love–Maybe all we are is all we are right now/I had to lose to find out what I want has/Been here all along/And before its gone, before its gone/I’ll give all my love.

8. Just a Little Blue–Soon a day will come/When we don’t have to run

9. Broken–Old hags and dime bags and lost so-co day drags/Pick yourself up off the floor/There’s bending and breaking, and the endless forsaking/This path that you’ve traveled before/Man, I know for certain, when God raised the curtain/I wasn’t prepared for this role/There’s knowing and learning and the one light a burning/In the cool dark night of the soul/The gypsy’s and magician’s said, “The God’s were all awoken/by the roar of the lost and broken.”

10. A Long Way From Heaven–The Lord He giveth and the Lord He take/I’ve broken laws that I couldn’t face/Between the colors of your love and hate/It’s a time to murder and a time to create/The din of despair and broken drunken tongues/Who are these people we’ve become/I feel it do you feel it too…happiness always eluding you?/I’ll weave you a liars blanket, snug/And show you what I’ve learned from love/Yeah, we’re a long, long, long way from Heaven.

11. My Father’s Son–My old man, I don’t understand/And neither does my mom/Sometimes I look at him and smile/Cuz I’m my father’s son

12. I Shall Be Healed

Everything here lately, everything more or less
Seems it’s slowly becoming such a beautiful mess
From the gates west of Eden, to the oceans leading out
Round here everybody is bleeding, or everybody’s filled with doubt
Then out on the horizon, they say the truth is revealed
Say the word, say the word, say the word
And I shall be healed

My Mother and My Father, they always believed
But me, I felt different, I always felt so deceived
I went looking uptown, looking downtown too
I even went to the west side I went looking for You
One day in South Carolina I saw You in a cotton field
Say the word, say the word, say the word
And I shall be healed

Many is the hour that I’ve seen go to waste
Is Your heart wilted like a flower?
How will I find You in this place?

I heard You were seen on Ashland
On Your way to Wicker Park
They say that You looked different
You were standing in the dark
You were there for just a minute
When they looked back You were gone
You were always like that
You loved to keep on keepin’ on
Then I stood at an altar, the weight had caused me to kneel
Say the word, say the word, say the word
And I shall be healed.