Part-Time Christians

I've been a bit lazy this summer. This is only my second song for the season. I tried something different with having no intro and having the verse and chorus in a parallel minor and major key.

Sorry that the vocal isn't the best. It's all I've got in me right now, but I did enough electronic trickery to make it passable and palatable.

I think the lyrics a pretty much self-explanatory. However, regarding verse 2, it is approximately 1,000 miles from the border of Guatemala to the border of Texas. The last line of the bridge refers to Hebrews 13:2, "Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

The BIAB style is BEATS and I added Native Instruments Electric Mint to give the song its drive.
RealGuitar 3645 Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm FingerIndieFolk
RealStrings 691 Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming AcRockBright
RealBass 1008 Bass, Electric, ElecRock
RealDrums-NashvilleEven8^5-HiHat,Ride
Synth Pad, PopUplift
UJam Symphonic Elements Striiings
Native Instruments Electric Mint


Lyrics:

See the man
waiting at the gate
Let him in
before it gets too late

Tear down the wall
Around your heart
Faith, Justice, Mercy
Must play a part

We can’t be part time Christians
And hear only what we think should be heard
We can’t be part time Christians
We need to see every word

See the woman
who’s walked a thousand miles
Just to feed
the hunger of her child

Tear down the wall
Around your heart
Faith, Justice, Mercy
Must play a part

We can’t be part time Christians
And hear only what we think should be heard
We can’t be part time Christians
We need to see every word

I was hungry, and you gave me food
I was thirsty, and you gave me drink
I was cold and naked, and you clothed me
Entertain angels unawares

See the boy
with eyes much too old
Searching for
a kindness he can hold

Wow! This is good!

Is this really Band in a Box?
If so, it's even better than I thought .

I have one small nit, your excellent vocal (which always fondly reminds me of Uriah Heep's David Byron) could be mixed in a bit hotter and you might want to bump up the high frequencies (EQ) a little.

Rob

A very good arrangement of dynamics - particularly the intro.
Good melody- really good vocal - personally I like the level though I'm infamous for that I suspect.

The lyric is good though "Hebrews 13:2, "Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.", does suggest another type of Christian - the sort who do what they do because of potential ultimate reward as opposed to altruism.

BUT that's a matter of interpretation.
Well done sir.

Scott,

Great song. Love the vocal and the production is crystal clear. Very nice job!

Bob

Nice one, Scott!

Good write and arrangement, love what you did at 2:27, very effective.

Your vocal sounds great to me, so your electronic trickery did the job

Thanks, Rob. I made some slight adjustments to the vocal based on your suggestions.

Thanks, Ray. My interpretation, of course, is different, based on all the other Biblical passages I quoted or paraphrased in the song. I was aiming at certain American Christians who wear their faith on their sleeves but turn their backs on those in need.

Thanks Bob! Much appreciated!

Thanks, Dave. I appreciate your assessment of the vocal, but there are aspects of the performance I'm not happy with.

Great job all around, particularly lyrically given the divisions in the US today.

First of all, Scott, your vocals are always such a big part of every song you present. Always so good, and this one is not excepted. Electronic trickery. Ha Passable? More like bar-setting. Anyway, this is such a good write, man. I like the melody and the lyrics are perfect.

Strong message, although those who need to see every word, won't probably see.

Nice structure, minor/major division works well and the chord progression is very pleasant (although I would have ended the song with a minor chord). I like the "straight to the business" intro. Very nice break.

I always enjoy your voice and this is no exception, good work.

I see you have used Electric Mint, I really like its sound, creates a nice vibe and works very well together with RT guitars.

Janne

Scott...first off great song with a valid and appropriate message...love the total feel and tempo of the song...the band was stellar and your vocal the same (not sure what you were concerned about?) I hope that everyone who authentically follows Christ will be reminded and challenged by this "love song"...great job lyrically, melodically and musically!

Super song

Great vocal, you have a great voice!

Super mix

Two thumbs up

Great song - worth the wait. I think the lyrics are the strongest part, a very good write. Good job of challenging folks to consider things from a biblical perspective. I also liked your vocal, did you do the harmonies too? I thought they were great.

I'm not a Christian so it's obviously not so easy for me to get all the finer details of the lyrics...that being said, I like your song. A lot!

It's a strong song with a very good arrangement.
2 thumbs up!

Hi Scott
Absolute Top Song
I like it from the beginning
Sound, melody and singing everything fits perfectly
Really good work Scott
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

Scott,

Powerful.

Excellent write. Speaking truth to (supposed) power.

GREAT use of BIAB. Super production.

Good vocal. Good mix.

Truly powerful. This is really good.

fj

Thanks so much, Mr. Thumper!

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Thanks, Janne. I experimented with both major and minor at for the ending, but I chose the major because I wanted to end the song on a positive note (pun intended).

Scott,

Thus sounds really good. Vocals are exceptionally good! Harmonies also! What a super message. You really nailed it with this one!

Thanks, Torrey

Great job, Scott. That forward driving pulse got me hooked right away.

Thanks, Firesong. I guess I'm too critical, that's what my wife tells me. I don't like the tone of the vocal in some parts and there is strain too, but I think I covered most of it up.


thank you Mario the Magical Composer!



Thanks, Brad. I did the all the vocals.

Hey Scott,

Great song man!! Loved it. The words are certainly true. And we do entertain angels unawares, all the time. Sometimes the guy asking for food is Christ himself and we must always be aware of that.

We must also be aware that we are living in a world of phenomenal, mind-boggling, and mind-twisting corruption, darkness and evil and our eyes must be open to that as well.

There are other things going on that will require a level of courage in standing up to evil that is beyond anything anyone I know has seen in their lifetime, unless they happened to be a young person living in Europe in 1933.

Remember, Jesus only got angry once or twice, and on one occasion when he did he overturned the tables on the money changers and chased them out of the temple. He also went on a long rant about the leaders of his time in an entire chapter in the book of Matthew and called them the children of Satan.

That was "Christian," too, I think.

Yep,
I caught your point and interpretation right away.
The previous Australia Prime Minster, (Scott Morrison, fan of Trump, lover of Hillsong, lover of letting everyone know he's a "Christian", known for lying, failing, abuse of power and rorting & now found to have secretly appointed himself as co minister of various portfolios without telling anyone, including the actual minister, & making policy decisions overriding the known minister that benefited his own election campaign), is one of those your lyric is aimed at.
The problem with many of that ilk who quote the bible is that the text is easily "interpreted" to allow all sorts of things.

Hi Ezekiel's Storm

I find your composition very pleasant. Your voice is expressive and fits perfectly with your composition. Well done.

Kindly regard
Derochette alias JaniJackFlash

I didn't realize that the Made-in-America virus (aka trumpism) has spread to other countries. Hopefully it will not infect your churches as it has infected ours. It's one thing to hi-jack a political party, quite another thing to hi-jack a faith. Maybe music can help save the day.

Scott,
Neat tune. Very cool arrangement and not sure what you mean by vocals "not being best"? They sound great to me. Cool use of synths. Structure... as wise man said, fuggedaboutit, I didn't even noticed until I read comments. Solid message. Good mix. Liked it, and thank you for sharing.
Misha.

Ezekiel.

well what can i say ? another song from a song jedi master...sincerely.

loved the paceing of the song and the sound pictures you always build in your songs and how you really know
'the need for hooks'.

every happiness.

om

Yes, Boris, Donald & Scott all played the buffoon card while the latter two used religion as well. Boris wasn't game because his past is as mired and unspiritual as Trump's but he didn't have fevered believers to do the 1984 maths thing.
Hillsong uses music as the flux to do the capturing & spread the prosperity gospel...sad but true.

Fevered believers he does have and I can't understand why. With all the song writing talent here, maybe someone can write lyrics and a catchy melody that will state the truth and ring the alarm that democracy may be at risk. Where is Neil Young when we need him?

That’s a powerful lyric and performance, Scott. Your electronic trickery on the vocals seemed awesome to us.

Good band and arrangement too.

We saw a sign in a front yard the other day that read: “HUMANKIND, be both”
and wouldn’t the world be a better place if there were more kindness.

You may not have been making much music lately but when you do it is quality!

Kudos!

J&B

PS Bud is fond of saying the only thing worse than a liar is a hypocrite.

You have a distinctive voice that I always look forward to hearing. This was fully on par with previous efforts. Loved that guitar arpeggio, sounded a little like Sweet Child of Mine but much better. Good production, worth several listens.

EXCELLENT

Excellent song - pop with a message.

NI Guitar on the intro gets my attention, and the bass and drums keep my attention. Good build into the chorus - catchy too. Good singing on your part - it fits the song.

Nice write. As you said, much of it is a paraphrase, but I especially liked:

See the woman
who’s walked a thousand miles
Just to feed
the hunger of her child

The hold and reentry of the guitar works really well. Sort of a U2 sound without being derivative. Synth on the chorus gives a nice lift.

Engaging throughout!

Thanks for the support, BD!

Vielen Dank, Andi!



Thank you, Floyd!

Thank you for the positive feedback, Torrey!



Thanks, Ed. Glad to hear the the music hooked.


Thanks for the listen and comments. Jesus' anger was righteous anger for the corruption of the temple. The religious leaders of his time sound parallel some of the religious leaders and followers of our time when He says to them, "you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things."