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This was the second lyric that Janice and I wrote together almost a year ago. We were fortunate to become acquainted with a talented singer-songwriter, Larry Vannatta, who did the musical honors. Please offer up the usual comments, good, bad or indifferent.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8872362

The Day I Felt Your Grace
©2010 Greg C. Brown, Janice Hopkins and Larry Vannatta

It's so hard to recall my life without you
How I survived it, I still can't say
All I know is I was wandering alone
And desperately losing my way

My days and nights were misguided truths
Filled with deceit and gold-plated lies
The smiles of the people I saw as friends
Were part of the devil's disguise

Chorus
But all that changed when you found me
Wrapped in your love, my spirit's free
I was lifted on your shoulders
Then forgiveness let me see
The man I'd been was gone without a trace
It happened on The Day I Felt Your Grace

All the years on the streets had swallowed my soul
While I searched for unnatural highs
Trust had been lost when I was so young
When no one answered my cries

Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:
My life had spiraled out of control
But you showed me there was hope for my soul

Chorus
Yes, all that changed when you found me
Wrapped in your love, my spirit's free
I was lifted on your shoulders
Then forgiveness let me see
The man I'd been was gone without a trace
And it happened on The Day I Felt Your Grace

Yes, it happened on The Day I Felt Your Grace.
Yes, it happened on The Day I Felt Your Grace.

Hi Greg:

Really like this one. Great gospel feel to it!

It's fine as is for me - If I was going to consider anything, it would be to stick the second verse where the third verse is and drop the third verse altogether. Not because it isn't nicely written but because you would get to that cool chorus sooner and the length would probably be just over three minutes instead of just over four.

I might do that and then just end up putting it back the way it is now....

Scott

Greg, Janice and Larry....man I really like this one....it's a toe -tapper....head shaker...some more background singers might be good....lyrics are very good....I can't think of anything to say but....great job by you all....thought of the Statler Bros..and Larry Gatlin for this tune....enjoyed it....

Howdy Greg & Big Sister. What a great Ole' Timey Country Western
feel to this one. Very nice. One of my favorite styles. Fits these
Lyrics to a T............Thanks for Sharing...........Gus

Hi there, Scott. Thanks for giving this a few minutes of your time. I'm glad it struck the right chord for you.

You're right that taking out the third verse would shorten the running time a bit, but we kind of felt like all three of them were necessary to help show the down side of this guy's past life in comparison to the up side that the chorus expresses. But I wouldn't rule anything out.

Always appreciate your visit and take on things.

Greg

Hi Bob.

Thanks for the glowing review! We sure do appreciate your enthusiastic feedback. I love the Statler Brothers (too bad they've retired) and the Gatlins. It would be very cool if either of them ever recorded this. We were also thinking the Oak Ridge Boys could do wonders with it, too.

Thanks for the encouragement. Means a lot to us.

Greg (on behalf of Jan and Larry)

Thanks, Gus! We appreciate you listening, liking and saying so.

Greg

Thanks so much for all of you who have taken a listen so far and have commented. Sorry I have been away for awhile. As some of you, may or may not know....we had a very shocking, unexpected death in our family.....very difficult one to deal with. This song means even more to me now. There will never be any answers to this one, but it reminds me of where to put my hope. I just wish that he had heard it before last Thurs.

Thanks all...

Jan

Hi Greg and Janice....well this is a happy clappy song....no nits just think a few more of the harmonies brought forward in the mix would lift it higher.

Sorry to hear about your loss Janice my condolences....

Hi Jim,

Thanks so much for listening to this one for us. I agree with the harmonies being brought forward. This is still just a worktape, so we have all kinds of room to get it tighter. We thank you for that. And....I thank you so much for your condolences....it has been truly rough the last few days.

Jan

Hi Big Jim. Thanks for taking a few minutes to give this song a spin. I know the subject matter isn't exactly your cup of tea, but I'm glad you thought the music worked. Happy Clappy is a great description. I'll take that.

We appreciate your time and feedback.

Greg

Any other thoughts on this one? Thanks for indulging this shameless, self-serving bump.

Great job ya'll, good country gospel tune

This is a great gospel tune, I love it. Actually got goosebumps in a few spots as Larry Vanatta reminded me soo much of Gram Parsons...awesome lyrics . Sue

Very nice country gospel tune. I think this is a pretty versatile lyric, that would work well in a bluegrass style as well. Larry has done a really nice job with it. I agree with Big Jim about possibly pulling the harmony a bit more forward in the mix. It would be nice to hear some fiddle coming-in somewhere too.

Janice, I'm sorry for your loss. LIfe is so hard sometimes.

Sorry! Slow computer. Posted twice.

Thanks for giving it a spin, Louis. We're glad you liked it.

Greg

Hi Sue. I got a coupla goosebumps myself when I first heard what Larry had done with our lyric. The Gram Parsons comparison is very complimentary, thanks.

As for the lyrics being awesome, I'll take that!

Thanks for stopping by.

Greg

Morning, Wendy. Thanks for having a listen at this. I'm thrilled you liked it. I agree that Bluegrass is another way the song could go. It has been mentioned as a possibility. So, we'll see.

Thank you for your support and encouragement. We appreciate it.

Greg

No problem with the double post. I just figured it meant you liked the song twice as much as you thought.

Sounds good to me. Scott may be right -- or maybe the bridge needs to be more of a radical change-up to keep folks attention. I was drifting away after awhile.

Kevin

Kevin...sorry that you drifted away...we will take a look at that and see if we can keep you more alert...or maybe just an extra cup of Joe would do it....then again...maybe not...LOL.

thanks for stopping by, Kevin...we appreciate it for sure....no matter if it made you nod off...HA.

Jan

Glad it got bumped or I might have missed it.
This is very good. It sounds like something the Statler's or the Oak Ridge Boys would do.
My nit is the length. I think you could drop V2 and get to the chorus quicker but I loved the last line of V2 so I'd hate to see you lose it. How about using it in a rewrite of V3
Drop the reference to soul, you use it in the bridge.
I don't think you need the reference to drugs. It's a throw away line.
But Like Scott said I'd probably chop it then go back to the original.
This does sound a bit dated too. But everything I do is dated, LOL
Having said all that I see no point in a rewrite just for the sake of a rewrite. Nothing wrong with this as is.
Sorry to hear of your loss Janice.

V1
It's so hard to recall my life without you
How I survived it, I still can't say
All I know is I was wandering alone
And desperately losing my way

Chorus
But all that changed when you found me
Wrapped in your love, my spirit's free
I was lifted on your shoulders
Then forgiveness let me see
The man I'd been was gone without a trace
It happened on The Day I Felt Your Grace

V2
Trust had been lost when I was so young
When no one answered my cries
The smiles of the people I saw as friends
Were part of the devil's disguise

Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:
My life had spiraled out of control
But you showed me there was hope for my soul

Chorus
Yes, all that changed when you found me
Wrapped in your love, my spirit's free
I was lifted on your shoulders
Then forgiveness let me see
The man I'd been was gone without a trace
And it happened on The Day I Felt Your Grace

Yes, it happened on The Day I Felt Your Grace.
Yes, it happened on The Day I Felt Your Grace.

Hi Greg. Glad you finally got some music put to this that works.

Steve

Hi Bill,

So glad that alot of this seemed to work for you....dated...maybe so, but then....so am I?....LOL. I also heard the Oakridge Boys or the Statler Brothers on this one, just because it needs those great harmonies....IMO.

You've given us some good suggestions to think about, for sure. That drug reference, well you see....I don't usually write a full out gospel tune, because I don't like to hit someone in the face with my own beliefs.....I like to make my lyrics edgy enough to fit other genres....and also try to write to make people think about their lives....then decide for themselves....that's just me.

But we really appreciate all that you've said....and also I personally thank you for your words of sympathy. I take every one of those to heart right now....suicide is a terrible loss...that there are never many answers to....it's not something that you can ever really get over....but you can get through...one day at a time...thanks Bill.

Jan

Hi Janice
I see your point about not making it pure Gospel. Adding a little ugliness to keep it real.
It didn't seem preachy to me and seemed pretty generic. That's good, it doesn't target anyone.
I think songs about hope and peace always have a place whether Gospel or not.
As fellow writers all we can hope to do is offer a suggestion and if it helps we have helped. If not then it is only our opinion and how we see things. I think we sometimes overthink the songs.

Again I am sorry for your loss. Most Suicides are younger people so we don't expect to lose them from our lives. Unless of course they are taken by a sudden illness like my younger brother.
I think as our loved ones age we begin to anticipate losing them. Can prepare ourselves a bit.
My Dad died three years ago. He was 83. It hurt but nothing like losing my younger Brother at 54.

Steve....I'm not Greg....but I am at times, his alter ego....HA.

Yes....I think this works pretty well....thanks for stopping by and thinking so too.

Jan

Bill,

Thanks again for all of your help and comments. We do so appreciate that you took the time. It all helps us so much.

My grandkids, Dad...(my former son-in-law) was 40.....such a loss. He made a terrible decision that's for sure.

I appreciate what you went through with your brother, and I am so very sorry about that...for I lost a child suddenly at 23....no way that you can get ready for that either. You just learn to lean on faith and go on...one day at a time.

Thanks Bill,

Jan

Hi Bill,

I just wanted to echo Janice's comments about our thought process for this lyric. I think of the song, and others like it, as more spiritual in nature rather than necessarily religious. I enjoy gospel and contemporary Christian songs, but we didn't want to be too heavy handed with that angle. That's why we slipped in the "real life" references.

That said, if we decide that we should edit this down to a shorter running time, your suggestion of incorporating parts of the second and third verse might just be the way to go. We'll definitely take another look and see if a change is in order.

Thanks for taking the time to let us know your thoughts on our song. I'm glad we bumped it up, too, so we could hear from you. Take care.

Greg

Hi there, Steve. I appreciate you stopping by and giving this a listen. Thanks for taking a shot at it initially.

Greg

Thanks for the visit and feedback, Kevin. It's always appreciated. Just wondering, though, are you referring to the music or lyric (or both) in the bridge that could be "radicalized"?

Glad you liked it for the most part.

Greg

Oh what a great gospel sound ... just wonderful
I love this, it is just wonderful

Dan....we're so glad that you liked it. It needs some 4 part harmonies...ala' Statler Bros./Oakridge Boys....etc...

We are so happy that you listened...thanks, Dan

Jan

Perhaps I should not mention this, but your title has another meaning to those who address members of the aristocracy as Your Grace.

Ha....That's funny, Colin.....only YOU would think of that...but thanks for weighing in...sort of...HA.

We won't release it in the UK then...just for you...LOL

Jan