May 18th, 2009
by Andy Judd
Just a quick note about a small lyric change in Hallelujah, one of the songs on the new album.
The chorus used to have the line:
“O Father, you reign forevermore”.
A kind friend graciously pointed out at KYCK this year where we debuted the song that this makes a mess of the Revelation 19 passage… it doesn’t really reflect who Revelation 19 is talking about when it gives the titles “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” etc — the object of our praise and adoration in this passage is the Son, not the Father.
Also, I see now that the line doesn’t really square with the rest of the song: the verses speak directly to Jesus describing the amazing things he did to rescue us. It’s weird to start addressing the Father in the second person just for one line when the rest of the song is definitely addressed to Jesus in the second person.
Of course, it is entirely appropriate that God the Father gets praised for our salvation, and he is intimately responsible for Jesus’ death and resurrection: John 3:16.
But out of respect for the original passage’s context, and a desire to keep the “you” in the song consistent, I’ve decided to change the line to:
“O God, you reign forevermore”.
Updated sheet music is available at www.garagehymnal.com/resources
Thanks!
Andy