Part of this song I came up with from a sermon I heard years ago about being a vessel for the Lord. Most of it comes from how many times I mess it all up and feel like David did in the Psalms, when he cried out to God please don't take your Spirit from me! Combined with the encouragement I find in Proverbs 24, where it says a righteous man can fall 7 times and rise again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity. Just a simple song, but it has meaning to me.

Let Me Be A Vessel

Let me be a vessel Lord, won’t you shine your light on me?
Keep me sanctified and pure, the way that I should be.
Let me be a vessel. Keep me walking in your light.
Let me be a good and faithful servant in your eyes.

Let me be a vessel Lord, won’t you shine your light on me?
Keep me sanctified and pure, the way that I should be.
Let me be a vessel. Keep me walking in your light.
Let me be a good and faithful servant in your eyes.

Oh Lord, you are the most-high God. I want the world to know
just how much you changed my life when you saved my soul.
You gave me new direction and you calmed my stormy seas.
And now, to be your vessel, well, it's all I want to be.

So let me be a vessel Lord, won’t you shine your light on me?
Keep me sanctified and pure, the way that I should be.
Let me be a vessel. Keep me walking in your light.
Let me be a good and faithful servant in your eyes.

‘Cause Lord I know that the day will come when I see the glory of the coming Son
and the angels shout “Oh, victory!” on the day Jesus comes back for me.
And Lord I know that you love me so …

Let me be a vessel Lord, won’t you shine your light on me?
Keep me sanctified and pure, the way that I should be.
Let me be a vessel. Keep me walking in your light.
Let me be a good and faithful servant in your eyes.

Yes, Lord I know that the day will come when I see the glory of the coming Son
and the angels shout “Oh, victory!” on the day Jesus comes back for me.
And Lord I know that you love me so …

Let me be a vessel Lord, won’t you shine your light on me?
Keep me sanctified and pure, the way that I should be.
Let me be a vessel. Keep me walking in your light.
Let me be a good and faithful servant in your eyes.

Let me be a vessel Lord, won’t you shine your light on me?
Keep me sanctified and pure, the way that I should be.
Let me be a vessel. Keep me walking in your light.
Let me be a good and faithful servant in your eyes.
Let me be a good and faithful servant in your eyes.

And the band is:

Drums: Brian Fullen, HKYTJON.STY
Bass: Dow Tomlin, HKYTJON.STY
Acoustic Rhythm Guitar: Jason Roller, HKYTJON.STY
Electric Rhythm Guitar: Darin Favorite, HKYTJON.STY
Slide Guitar: Steve Hinson, _EXTRANO.STY
Banjo: Pat McGrath, NRCKBST.STY
Dobro: Wanda Vick, _VOLTAGE.STY
Oohs/Aahs: David Wise & Shelly Justice, _LALAOOH.STY

This was my first venture into "the land of Aahs." I Didn't really know what I was doing, so maybe I should have first tried them out on the Scare-crow's song 'If I Only Had A Brain'.

I don't know if I hit the mark on this one at all, so all of your comments are welcome if you choose to give it a listen.

Brad

Hi Brad
Hope you are well
Great song
Well sung
I like all the details in the background track
And a great solo as well
The Aahs are cool, i like them
Very good work Brad
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

Brad,

Amen! What a great message! I appreciate your testimony here! Nice job putting that band together! Great vocals and harmonies!

Thanks, Torrey

Brad...I think you've just written a modern day (country) psalm...I agree with Torrey's comments about the band and vocals...what a sincere prayer put to words...there again that is my definition of a psalm..."a heart poured out to God in song"...I'll add my Amen!

A joyful noise indeed ... and for folks that are not familiar with that term -- it's a compliment!

All that's missing is a live crowd clapping and shaking tambourines.

Enjoyed it,

J&B

I really like this one Brad. Well sung and the band has been chosen with care. Particularly the banjo is highly functional in the arrangement!

That Joe Walsh-like guitar solo adds a nice dimension to it as well.

Rob

Hi, Brad.

I enjoyed the song - nice write, engaging arrangement.

Some random observations...

Overall, I think it's a great arrangement. But - to my ears - it sounds uneven, and there are places where it loses energy.

At 0:26, it feels like the drums are playing counter to the song, as if they are holding onto the fill a bit too long and not noticed they should be prepping for the chorus.

At 1:10, instead the energy going up a notch at the chorus, it feels like the song loses energy and the volume gets turned down.

I like the fake echo on "shout", but wish you'd also ping-ponged it a bit wider.

At 1:52 under the word "love", the bass sounds like it loses the timing.

I'd drop the final note the slide plays at 3:03... it doesn't sound connected to the rest of the solo, and sort of sticks out.

At 3:23, the chorus again ducks down in volume, and that again kills the energy.

Finally, I'd drop the "Aaahs" that you've got at the end. Sure, you've used them prominently in other parts of the song, but I think they just stick out here.

As I said, I think the arrangement is great - it's just not quite balanced.

Wow... I guess I had a lot more thoughts about this than I expected. Feel free to ignore them all!

Exactly what Janice & Bud said. Not much more to add - they pretty much covered it. Really nice work, Brad. Best to you ...

Alan

Brad,

Great song and a great vocal. Love the banjo!

Bob

"it has meaning to me." Ah, and surely the best kind of personal meaning --one that can't adequately be conveyed in words. Yet your lyrics are super. I really like your description of you inspiration. What a wonderfully happy way to turn that inspiration into this really uplifting song, Brad.

Brad,

Good BAND.

I enjoyed the energy that you put into the vocal - especially late in the song.

Keep 'em coming...

fj

Thanks for the comments and support Andi!

Thanks Torrey and Dan, your encouragement means a lot. The higher BGV was almost out of my range and I had to strain a lot - I thought the strain would be obvious. Maybe I got lucky and pulled it off.

Thanks for stopping by and giving it a listen Janice and Bud and Alan. I'm good at making noise, but I'm not sure it can always be described as joyful!

Hi David. It's great to see your name popping up again. I thought maybe you'd left the forum. I really appreciate your detailed listen and critique.

Thanks for loaning me your ears for a few minutes Bob.

Well Marty, if anyone knows anything about being uplifting it would be you - so that's quite a compliment. Thanks.

Floyd, it's always good to see one of your critiques - your the master. Thanks for taking the time.

I think I don't really get all the lyrics, but nevertheless I think it's a cool song, I like the general vibe and flow and of course I dig your vocal harmonies.

Well done!!! A nice, positive, catchy upbeat tune!! Take care. Greg

Excellent tune Brad. Super vocal and inspirational lyric. Well done...

Sometimes a song's simplicity is what makes it better than average.

David's keen ear has already dealt with the technical issues (most of which I missed). Good, positive message in those lyrics. Keep shining that light, brother!

Ghostgum.

Hi guys. Sorry for taking so long to reply B.D., Greg, Scott, and Ghostgum, thanks a lot for listening to the song and for the comments.

Brad