Why I Changed the Lyrics to Deluge’s “Open Up the Sky”

Sep

Why I Changed the Lyrics to Deluge’s “Open Up the Sky”

Posted on September 1st, 2010 in Worship Leadership by Fred McKinnon

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The song “Open Up The Sky” (iTunes) by Jonathan Stockstill has been around a while now. I remember one of my best friends and mentors telling me about this song … I dunno … maybe 1-2 years ago. It was recorded on Deluge’s “Live From Bethany World Prayer Center” and released by Integrity Music.

I heard it a few times and was never blown away until I took part in leading it with Joel Klampert, Conner Byrd, Mike Mahoney, and some great friends at a mens’ retreat in New Hampshire earlier this year. It was during that retreat that the song hooked me.

I finally decided to introduce this song to our congregation here at SSCC and we started practicing away. Over and over, one lyric kept bothering me. I couldn’t shake it.

“We don’t want blessings, we want You”.

I believed that I understood the “essence” of what the writer, Jonathan Stockstill, was saying, but still … did it need further explanation? And was that truly the cry of MY heart?

The more I struggled with the lyric, the more I accepted that I couldn’t honestly sing it to God. The truth is, I *DO* want His blessings. I *NEED* his blessings. And wanting His blessings doesn’t automatically mean that I don’t also want the Giver of the Blessings.

I decided to change the lyric so that we sing this:

“Open up the sky. Fall down like rain. More than Your blessings, we want You”.

What’s that? The sound of the copyright police? No worries. I had an incredible email exchange with Jonathan and he was gracious enough to bless our new version with his approval. Even better, he offered his explanation of the lyric, which I’ll share with you below. His explanation is exactly what I’d anticipated and I totally ‘get’ what he is saying, and support it as well.

Here’s a portion of the exchange from Jonathan Stockstill:

… “What’s up man! I have no issue with you changing up the words.. I actually considered saying that line instead, but really wanted to say what I said. I was in a season that God was really pouring out blessing after blessing, but my walk with Him lacked intimacy. I felt like there were all these traces of God’s favor that manifested in blessings, but I didn’t feel close to him. I would have traded every blessing for a deeper walk with him. I wasn’t saying that I don’t appreciate the blessing or even want them for that matter.. I was simply saying “I am not pursuing you FOR blessings… It’s you that I want“. I can understand how that would be a tough line to sing, especially if you don’t know the heart behind it, but it is what I wanted to say, so I said it … “

———————

So there you have it … and a kazillion kudos to Jonathan Stockstill for being transparent and actually taking the time to reply. I appreciate your humility and the spirit you share with us!

So what about you … do you know this song? Ever struggled with that lyric? Other lyrics?

http://mikeymo1741.blogspot.com Mike Mahoney

I have trouble with “Above All” sometimes. The lyric “you lived to die, rejected and alone” is problematic for me, because I don’t see Jesus that way. He didn’t live to die, He lived to bring us life.

I understand the idea behind the lyric, but I still cringe a little when I hear it sung. We haven’t done that song in a long time, but we used to do it a lot.

And then there was the time while rehearsing for our Christmas cantata, when one of our singers flat out refused to sing “..where ox and ass are feeding…” !!

http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

Mike,
Ox and Ass – that’s stinking hilarious!

http://mikeymo1741.blogspot.com Mike Mahoney

Bro, you have no idea how much drama we had over that! We still laugh about it every Christmas!

http://www.facebook.com/erik.sansburn Erik Sansburn

I’m not gonna lie, I thought your feelings with Above All would have been about the next line. I heard a speaker talk about Above All as the worst song ever written. Here’s why:
“…You took the fall, AND THOUGHT OF ME, Above all….” Jesus was not thinking of you or I, He was being obedient to His Father and thinking of how He was glorifying Him. He took our sins and made the way for us to be saved, but out of obedience to His father. The father that loves and cares for each one of us and has our names written on the palm of His hand…… but that moment was a very personal time where God the Father turned His back on His son who had taken on the sins of the world. We were not a prat of that picture.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1324373358 James Wilder

I disagree and have heard the argument yo used here before by another friend. The picture of the cross — is BOTH a picture of perfect obedience and perfect love. That love has an object, it’s you and I that the cross benefited. “For God so loved the world, that He gave…” Unless you are not comfortable with saying Jesus and the Father are One, I can’t see anything wrong with the way the song is written. Jesus repeated his mission multiple times, and in many ways. In one way, He said, “to seek and save that which was lost.” It’s quite clear, that the cross was part of His mission, without it we remain dead and lost.

http://www.theclarionsound.org K Fields

I am so happy to see this post. It got so bad with me with that line in the song, that I just could not sing it. Which wasn’t so great while on the team back-up, and as a Worship leader I couldn’t sing the song at all cuz I couldn’t noticeably skip that line.

I feel we do want His blessings, we need the sun, the earth to live on, food, water and His favor etc. I changed the words to what you have, in my head, but never sang it out-loud officially!

I understand the artist’s heart, but I could not say I didn’t want the Lord’s blessings, expecially when I had my little 3 year old granddaughter (one of my many blessings) sitting next to me!

http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

K,
Exactly … how many times to we lead something corporately that we can’t really confess.

It’s still a great song, and I could even bring myself to sing the lyric “as is” within the context of Jonathan’s story … but overall, it’s a case where a personal plea all of a sudden becomes an international song … and it may not make sense for corporate worship.

I’m just glad Jonathan was so cool and gracious about changing the lyric.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1324373358 James Wilder

I can understand both Stockstill’s intent with the song, and other’s hardship with the lyrics. The lyric is in a context, not a meaning by itself. Like that, it is poetic and is “getting back to the heart of worship” where “it’s now about us” or what we get but “all about Him.”

http://shawnyoder.blogspot.com Shawn Yoder

I’m not alone! As soon as I saw the title of this blog I wanted to shout “Hallelujah”. One of our pastors has been pushing me to do this song for awhile now and I haven’t known what to do. I try to be submissive to our pastors when they ask something of me but I really felt that that line was extremely unhelpful. Like you said I understood and appreciated the thought behind it but I felt if I did the song I would need to explain some things everytime we did it. Thank you so much for this post and the lyric change. I’m excited about doing this song at our church in the near future now.

http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

Shawn,
Man, reading your post just makes me all the more glad I took the time to write it … it’s an awesome song, and with that little tweak, it works for you guys now, which is awesome

Pingback: What Worship Song Lyrics Really Bother You? | FredMcKinnon.Com
http://www.onevoiceworship.org Harold Forbis

I’m glad we live in a day where we can “personalize” lyrics for the current season for our congregation and have enough relationship to not judge or be judged in the process! It’s great to ‘know each other after the spirit and not after the flesh.’

As a songwriter, I understand the difficulty of choosing the right way of expressing what’s in your heart (especially challenging when fitting to music). I sometimes change my own lyrics after coming into a new season with our congregation where a different, or maybe just clearer, focus comes.

David must have had this difficulty as a psalmist as well. I mean, how many people do you think wanted to sing “Moab is my washpot, and over Ammon I cast my shoe,” the first time out (Ps. 60:8)?

http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

Harold,
Come to think of it … I haven’t sung that one … ever!?

http://www.worshipcity.wordpress.com Conner Byrd

Great post Fred! It’s funny, I got an email just this week from a guy on our worship team asking me about Tomlin’s line “Who has told every lightening bolt where it should go” from Indescribable. He was really bothered by it while at the same time tongue-and-cheek made his point about how violent lightening bolts are, destroying trees, setting things on fire, electrocuting someone, he asked me if I ever had trouble singing that line and what I thought about it. Then I see this post and I find it funny we’re having this conversation.

http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

oh man, the lightning bolts … that’s a long conversation there, ain’t it!

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http://www.facebook.com/gangaivictor Gangai Victor

Well, if I have the One who blesses, on my side, praying for His blessings becomes secondary. In that sense, I like that line a lot.

Ultimately, we need the Giver of the gifts more than the gifts.
http://www.facebook.com/erik.sansburn Erik Sansburn

Well, We moved churches 6 weeks ago and our 3rd week there, the worship team sang “Open Up The Skies”. I am a worship leader and musician and My wife and I talked about it on the way home. We both felt uneasy about that line. not the song. just that line. But after learning it, reading it, studying the source and praying about it, I have to say, not to be condescending or rude, but to leave that line out is down-right selfish and cowardly.

I have had times in my life where I only wanted blessings. I had an idea of what would bless me most, but God had a bigger plan. His blessing would come, but not how I thought best. To be fearful is to not trust God fully and to fear saying that we don’t want blessings is fearing that God won’t bless regardless.

I don’t believe that any of us NEED God’s blessings, but we always do NEED Him. To make it through the toughest times in life I needed God and His strength and patience, but I wished so much and prayed for His blessing to return. It has, but not how I prayed or wished. Even better.

I pray that you can be as transparent as David was, Making this song a real, longing prayer. Obviously not a stumbling block for anyone, but an honest cry for God alone

Also, Jonathan Stocksill is the lead singer of Deluge. Just saw somebody somewhere say that it was written by someone else

http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

Erik,
You hit the nail on the head – “after learning about it, studying about it” etc … once I heard straight from the source what that line meant, I appreciated it – but I had to dig. How many people just accept what we sing, and don’t ask?

Despite the context making the line better, I have to disagree with your accusation that I’d “down-right selfish and cowardly” by changing the line … that’s pretty harsh, bro.

The line can be taken quite literally:
“We don’t want blessings”. That’s a definite statement …

I think anybody that says that, and truly means it, in the literal sense, is kidding themselves. That’s why I changed it to “MORE THAN YOUR BLESSINGS” … it’s a way to say “yes, God, we want your blessings, but MORE THAN THAT, we want YOU, for who YOU ARE”.

I didn’t change the line to say “we need Your blessings” … although I did say in my own personal comments that I need God’s blessings. That’s a whole separate topic I suppose – but I do want GOd’s blessings. Do we need them? Well, God directed the Priests and the fathers to “bless” us throughout the Old Testament. From the priestly blessings, all the way to the important act of a Father blessings his son … there is something powerful in the blessings of God. Jabez’ prayer asked for God’s blessings. “Oh that You would bless me indeed”. The Psalms are full of it.

Just my $.02. I don’t think God is offended one single bit when I say “God, I want Your blessings”. Not unlike any of my 4 wonderful kids asking me to bless them … I delight in it. Not because of how perfect they are, but because of how much I love them.

http://www.davidnevue.com David Nevue

Always loved the song, but that line always bothered me as well, so I’ve never led it. Never knew what to replace it with… now I do!

BTW, there is another song on that same album that I do lead and that’s “Worshiping You”. Love the song, and it’s favorite at our church.

http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

David,
Awesome – great to hear from you. I’m ashamed to say … after all these years, I don’t think I ever realized you were also a Worship Leader in your church! How awesome. God bless you and your incredible music and gifts in 2011!

Dcgilley

I have no prob with singing it as is. I actually do not want God’s blessings I WANT HIM. The song is a crying out for God not a day to day theology. It is about crying out ABBA ABBA. Dont over think it sing it with confidence the lyrics add up people get it.

FredMcKinnon.Com

Why I Changed the Lyrics to Deluge’s “Open Up the Sky”

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