Jesus, Lover of My Soul

This is a new arrangement based on an old tune for this song called Aberystwyth, written by Joseph Parry. We recorded both a multi-track and a live version on Martha's laptop.

Words by Charles Wesley, 1740. Music by Joseph Parry, 1879. Arranged by Martha and David.

Multi-Track


Live


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Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, ’til the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah, leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head In the shadow of Thy wing.

Thou, O Christ, are all I want, more than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart; rise to all eternity.

O Sacred Head Now Wounded

Martha's vision for this song was to combine Bach's beautiful arrangement with modern motifs. Our friend and fine singer Kristen joined us for this song. The live take has a slower, pensive atmosphere, while the multi-track version is slightly faster.

Words by Bernard of Clairvaux, 1091-1153. Translated by James W. Alexander, 1830. Music by Hans Leo Hassler, 1601. Arranged by Johann Sebastian Bach, 1729. This arrangement by Martha, David, and Kristen.

Live


Multi-track


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O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory what bliss ’til now was Thine
Yet though despised and gory I joy to call Thee mine .

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe me to Thy grace.

The joy can never be spoken, above all joys beside,
When in Thy body broken I thus with safety hide.
My Lord of Life, desiring thy glory now to see,
Beside Thy cross expiring, I’d breathe my soul to Thee.

What language shall I borrow to praise Thee, heavenly friend,
For this my dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
Lord make me Thine forever, nor let me faithless prove
Oh let me never, never abuse such dying love

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

This song was arranged for our friend Frank, who lives with AIDS. Frank loves to sing this song - now we can play along with him! The first version of this song is a live recording, when the Stanford RUF worship band played it as an offertory at Grace Presbyterian Church. The second is a live take recorded on Martha's laptop.

Text by Fanny J. Crosby, 1820-1915. Music by William H. Doane, 1832-1915. Arranged by David and Martha.

Live at Grace Pres, 5.20.07


Live


Download Live at Grace Version or Download Live Version

Verse 1
Jesus, keep me near the cross;
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary's mountain.

Chorus
In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.

Verse 2
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.

Verse 3
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o'er me.

Verse 4
Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.

The Best Baja Class Ever (A Song for Aaron E. Hirsh)

Written to commemorate the 2006 Stanford seminar at Bahia de Los Angeles which was undoubtedly the best Baja class ever.

Words and music by David. Harmony vocals by Kristen.



Download Recording or Watch Debut Video

Verse 1
The stars aligned over the Baja seas,
And the animals, they aimed to please.
First the fin whales gorged to their hearts’ delight.
The sea lions gave an acrobatic display,
And a whole pod of dolphins came over to play
But what we next saw dropped Veronica’s jaw
And left the whole crew in a silenced awe
As false killer whales and pilots filled our sight.

Chorus
2006 was a mighty fine year
Though the winds did blow and things were unclear
In days to come, they’ll want to take a look
Woh, to a time when
Whales abound and folks songs sound
And the best class ever was in town.
Aaron E. Hirsh please let us into your book.

Verse 2
Remember that day when we first arrived
And we marveled at a lone cloud stuck in the sky
But that was before the coming of the hurricane
Well, the winds picked up and waves got rough
And Dmitri was thinking we’d all had enough
But we took it in stride, took the cots inside
Didn’t let it stop our hiking or our kayak ride
And enjoyed the shower in the freshly falling rain.

Bridge
But hey, it’s about the people and the things that we did there
We were . . .
Mountain climbin’, stingray defyin’
Cetacian spottin’, snack time alottin’
Backflip turnin’, lighting fast learnin’
Frisbee tossin’, octopus crossin’
We’re smart, cool, fun, rockin’
Everybody is a talkin’
Aaron, how can you keep us from your book?

Journal Blues - Holiday in Nashville

Back in Nashville for the holiday
My pal Eric Chu has come out my way
We see old friends and play some soccer
Then watch a new flick about the Dreamsicle rockers
Pour some water in Katie's hair and she's gone . . .

Singin' ooh la la
These are pieces of life
Ooh la la
These are glimpses . . .

Journal Blues - Cetacian Extravaganza

It was our cetacian extravaganza
And you've gotta wonder, "What's the chance of
finding first false killers than a pilot sample
To compare as easy as a textbook example?"
Dolphins launch, and we just watch in awe . . .

Singin' ooh la la
These are pieces of life
Ooh la la
These are glimpses . . .

Journal Blues - The "Hurricane"

The hurricane supposedly came
But all it brought was a pleasant rain
We took a lazy day around the station
And made a brief visit to the town museum
I sit through the dream while the sky-born streams fly down . . .

Singin' ooh la la
These are pieces of life
Ooh la la
These are glimpses . . .