I think it should be! Gospel music is uplifting and people like it! Remember the impact it’s had in Japan (click here for more info)?

The song is not suggesting that your problems will all disappear if you follow Jesus, but that His presence in your life will make a big difference, and give you a whole new perspective on those problems. Enjoy it!

The Solution

Chorus:
F
You’ve got a problem?
F
I’ve got the solution!
F___________C__F [2nd time: F7]
His name is Je—sus. (x2)

_______Bb
If you trust in Him completely
__________F_______A_____Dm
They you’ll see what he can do
_____G
He’ll take away your darkness
_________C
And he’ll make your whole life new

Chorus

If the road ahead looks bumpy
He will straighten out your way
He knows your future inside out
So trust in Him today

Chorus

If you’re weary or exhausted
He will give you peace and rest
When you need someone to guide you
He always knows what’s best

Chorus

Bridge:
___F_F7_Bb
My Jesus loves
___F_F7_Bb
My Jesus gives
___F_A___Dm
My Jesus saves
Bbm_F_C_F
My Jesus lives (x2 minimum)

Chorus

Go open up your Bible now
And take some time to pray
And His unchanging happiness
Will flood your life each day

In spite of my earlier ‘rules’, this one is not particularly based on any one Bible passage, but rather is inspired by seeing the current state of the world, of my country and of many towns and cities. If everyone followed Jesus (or even just lived by his teachings), the world would be a peaceful place.

____Em________C
This world needs Jesus
_________D_______A
More than anything else
________Em________C
More than trees need sunlight
_________D______A
More than riches or wealth.
____Em_______C
Tis world needs Jesus
Bm__________Em___D/E__Em__D/E__Em
More than life itself

.
___D_____B7/D#
For reconciliation
__Em
Between each warring nation
____D
That they would live as brothers
__G
Forgiving one another
__Am
If only they would trust in you
___F_________________D______G
We know that this would all come true

This country needs Jesus
More than anything else
More than fish need water
More than riches and wealth
This country needs Jesus
More than life itself

The homeless and the needy
The jobless and the greedy
The eager politician
Who needs your grace and vision
If only they would realize
That You’re the God who satisfies

This town needs Jesus
More than anything else
More than birds need feathers
More than fitness and health
This town needs Jesus
More than life itself

The drunken and the violent
The lonely and the silent
The man who hates his brother
The helpless teenage mother
If only they could come to see
That Christ alone can set them free

Coda:
This world needs Jesus
More than anything else
This world needs Jesus
More than anything else
This world needs Jesus
More than life itself

(1) Eating out

Enjoy a curry at the ‘Namastae India’ restaurant.

A great choice of tasty meals at the ‘Broadway Café.’

Over 30 flavours of icecream at “Icecream”.

Tasty snacks and good prices at Le Nid.

(2) Days out (in the city)

Climb the ‘Africa Tower’ (Tour d’Afrique).

Bamako Zoo!

Visit the Luna Park (at your own risk!!)

Take a boat trip on the Niger River.

Admire the city of Bamako from a viewpoint on the hillside.

The Parc National du Mali – a lovely place to visit!

Visit Bamako Cathedral

Ten Pin Bowling at the Byblos!

Visit the ‘Jardin du Cinquantenaire’ (NB Won’t take long!)

(3) Days out (near the city)

Have a picnic on a rock near the Segou Road.

The monument of a man on a horse.

“Waspy Waterfall” a few miles out of town (flows best from August – October).

The lovely ‘Campement de Kangaba’ near Bamako.

A relaxing walk by the canal.

Another relazing walk by the canal.


The Hotel Woloni in Selingué (best to stay the night!)

(4) Shopping:

Supermarket: La Fourmi in the Hippodrome area

Buy some tasty pasteurized milk!

Yes, that’s the title of my third song of the year. The aim is to reinstate the phrase to its original meaning of awe and wonder at our mighty, omnipotent creator. As you know, the phrase has become misused as an expletive in recent times, so this song aims to redress the balance once again.

This one has a bit of a funky Latin beat with hints of acid jazz; not something you often hear in church! Also, the repeated chord sequence of I, II, V in a minor key has never (to my knowledge) been used in Christian worship music before (but please correct me if you know otherwise!)

Here you go:

Chorus:
Dm7_______Em7
Oh my God!
____A7*_______________Dm7_____Em7_____A7
You made this whole vast universe
Dm7_______Em7
Oh my God!
A7___________Dm7________Em7_____A7
You are wonderful indeed
F__________Gm7
Oh my God!
__C_____________F__________Em7 A7
I can’t take in the size of you
____Dm7____________Em7
And yet you know me
_____A7________Dm7
Even better than I do

Verse 1:
Bb______________F
Every hair on my head is numbered
Bb________________F
Every thought in my mind he knows
___Eb
So why do you fret?
____Bb
And why do you worry?
___Gsus________Asus_A
Oh ye of little faith!

Every step that I take He guides me
My whole future is in his hands
So why should I fret?
And why should I fret?
The Lord is in control!

This whole church is the Lord’s own body
His great purposes we’ll fulfil
So we will not fret
And we will not worry
For He will lead the way!

* If you want it to sound ‘posh’ then play A7b9 instead of A7 if you know it (C#dim would work too).
Also, the song still sounds okay with the normal Dm and Em chords without the added 7ths.

The words are inspired by Psalm 42, Romans 8:28, Rudyard Kipling and other Biblical themes. The melody only uses an octave of the C major scale (no accidentals), but the harmonies are more adventurous. It’s got a slightly 80s or even Elton John/Disney feel to it in places. Here you go:

Still I will Praise Him
[Intro: C, G, F, G x2]

__C__________G
In turmoil and strife
F________G_______
Still I will praise Him
______C______________G
When there’s no sense to life
F________G_______
Still I will praise Him
_____Am__________Am/G#
When prayers go unanswered
_______Am/G________D/F#
And my faith is growing dim
F_______C_______
I will still praise Him
___________F____________G__
For He’s my saviour and my God

Chorus:
___F____E___
My solid rock!
____Am________Am/G
The only real life-giver
____F____E__
My faithful God
_Am_____Am/G___D/F#
I thirst for you like rivers
____F________________C/E_______
You work all these things out for good
_____F____________G__
Whatever comes my way
_____Bb__________F__________Gsus___G
So I’ll put my trust in you whatever happens

In life and in death
Still I will praise Him
In failure and success
Still I will praise Him
When those around me mock and sneer
And say “Where is your God?”
I will still praise Him
For He’s my saviour and my Lord

In sickness and in health
Still I will praise Him
In poverty and wealth
Still I will praise Him
When I can see no way out from the quandary I am in
I will still praise Him
For He’s my saviour and my king

I’ve gone for a pseudo-celtic, neo-hymn (which partly breaks my rule no.5 already). But, hey, the Townend/Getty ones have gone down well and it’s still different from most other worship songs today! Hope you like it – I’ve gone for a very ‘safe’ song first time round, but shall endeavour for something more radical next time! (PS Sorry, I’m recovering from a cold, so my voice is not that great).

______C_____Am______Em
This world is full of darkness
______F_______G______C
With much to make you fall
____Am_______________Em
So stand your ground believing
________F_____G_____C
In the wonder of your call
__Am_Em_F___C__Am
So take the power of Jesus
____F_____G_____C
To aid you in your fight
__Am_Em_F_C_Bsus4_B_Em
Surrender all you are to him
A___Dm_____F/G_____C
And you will know His might

It’s hard to love your enemies
To humbly serve your foes
But that is just what Jesus did
So rest assured he knows
The struggles and the trials
You are going through each day
Just follow His example
To trust and to obey

Take away all bitterness
All vengeance and all spite
I just can’t do this on my own
It’s only by your might
My human nature hinders me
In, oh, so many ways
Create in me a pure heart
Of wisdom, love and praise.

Ambitious? Yes! A bit crazy? Probably! Well, I’m pledging to do fifty songs, so that I get a week or two off at least. The thing is, I’ve been composing for over two decades and I get tunes and ideas in my head all the time. So, all I have to do is note them down and share them with you.

I’m setting down a few ground rules for the songs, to try and make sure they’re original and intesting enough for you to use. Also, because I have a great burden (due to my line of work) for moving Western worship songs on from the ‘Jesus is my boyfriend’ style stuff, to deeper, more inspiring songs which are completely honest, challenging and real. Here are my rules:

(i) No Christian jargon!
So much of the vocabulary in today’s Western church songs is not accessible to the outside world; we need words – and themes – they can really understand and relate to; words used in everyday life today. So words like ‘redeemer’ are out (but I might just about get away with ‘saviour’). Also banned are: glorious, rejoice, Gospel, grace, mankind, exalted, all of which can be replaced by more contemporary alternatives. But still allowed are: faith, hope, wisdom, love, sacrifice, everlasting, Prince of Peace.

(ii) No more clichés, please!
Although many of these start out as innovative phrases, they are copied by other composers and become overdone. So, no more: “it’s all about you” “Bow the knee” “Before your throne” “He has made me glad” “It’s your blood”. There is so much more out there there we could be using!

(iii) Make use of vocabulary currently in the media
Like it or now, Harry Potter, Doctor Who and even some pop songs use words of spiritual significance. Use them in church and there will be an instant identification with these. For example, “Praise Him” was used in Dr Who and words like “sacrifice”, “curse”, “dark powers”, “soul” – and many many others, are to be found in Harry Potter. The word “halleluia” was recently made known again in the Leonard Cohen song, but we need to use it in it’s true sense. The same is true with the phrase “Oh my God”, which desperately needs to be reinstated with its original meaning or awe and wonder.

(iv) Use new or different harmonies
If you at current ‘worship songs’, way too many use a I,V,VI,IV chord sequence (or VI, IV, I, V, which boils down to the same thing). This makes church music into a sub-culture of its own and, again, less accessible to the outsider. What we should do is:

(v) Draw musical inspiration from the secular world
Over 100 years ago, William Booth said: “Why should the Devil have all the good tunes?” I’ve got news for you: in most cases he still does! Booth, Wesley and many others took popular tunes of the time for their songs, yet we have got into our own rut of Christian sub-culture, musically speaking.

There is no ‘church music’, there is just music used (or not) in church. Any style can – and should – be used. So, if you’re writing a new song, try not to get your influences from other worship song writers; this will only perpetuate the ‘inbred-ness’ of these. Why not listen to some current pop, rock, reggae, jazz, latin, R & B music and use those styles? These needn’t be overly complicated, but at least we will have a balanced musical diet in church.

(vi) Tied to Scripture
Every song I compose will be linked to Bible passages, from which at least some of the lyrical content will come. I recently read the statistic that 75% of church-goers in the UK do not open their Bible once between Sunday services (if that’s you, do something about it now!) If this is the case, how can we expect an hour or two a week to bring enough spiritual growth? If out songs contain more than “God you’re great” or “Jesus I love you”, then there’s a chance some of the truth and doctrine will stay in people’s heads and touch their hearts and minds during the week.

Now, I know I will fail at the above, but I can at least try (and you should too!) If you could make it your New Year’s resolution to try out at least one of the fifty songs in your church at some point this year, that would be wonderful (and when you do, let me know how it goes!) Some of the songs will be quite good, others less so. This is a kind of experiment. I figure that even if one person reads one song and is touched by it, I will have served a purpose. I’m also happy for you to send your opinions or suggestions about the songs.

It’s been a good – and busy – year, with plenty of travelling! Here are fourteen highlights from the year – just click on the titles below to see the posts:

(i) Rob does research in Bozo country (including a 19 hour trip on the Niger river, on the roof of a boat which broke down four times in the middle of the night).

(ii) Song-writing workshop in Dogon Country.

(iii) Seeing a troop of wild baboons running across the road in Western Mali.

(iv) Bamako gets an 8 lane bowling alley!

(v) Rob turns forty.

(vi) Teaching ‘Music and the Arts’ in Jos, Nigeria.

(vii) Pasteurized milk is now available (and cheap!) in Bamako.

(viii) Finding a white Hummer stretch limousine in Bamako (why, I mean, why?!?)

(ix) Bamako gets its first decent icecream parlour.

(x) Harvesting our first ever crop of home-grown bananas (174 in total!)

(xi) Vacation in the Gambia (3 days’ drive each way!)

(xii) Bamako gets a third brige (almost a mile long!)

(xiii) Rob attends and teaches on the Arts in Missions conference in the UK.

(xiv) Chilling out at the Hotel Woloni in Selingué.

(xv) Conducting “Handel’s Messiah” in Bamako Cathedral (December). No post, but here’s a picture for you:

Well, belated Merry Christmas to all my readers and all the best for 2012!

I recently painted the cupboards red and white, ready for Christmas (and because they were dark brown and dreary before that). Bit different from your average Western kitchen I guess, but also very different from the average African one too!

It’s a big problem in Africa, and you can really taste it in any cake, cookie or pizza made with weevil-infested four! I’m pretty sure that ingesting a few of the wee beasties (especially when cooked) would not be harmful, but it’s a bit disgusting! Look again at the picture and you can see the larve too, which were wriggling around in the flour when I took the picture!

If you have a good sieve, you can probably get rid of them, but the taste is likely to remain. Best way is to find a supplier who’s flour doesn’t usually have weevils in. There you go!