River Flow

I'm going to take this opportunity to be honest and say that this is the song on my EP I'm least happy with.

In fact, I seriously considered not including it.

In the end, I put it in mostly because of the theme of the project.

I wanted to have two songs about rivers.

It's probably not as bad of a song as I think it is.

I've had people tell me they liked it.

I just don't like it myself,

Which isn't that uncommon, really.

I'm not particularly fond of most of my work.

Still, this is an earlier song,

One I wrote longer ago,

And I feel like I've improved since then,

So I wasn't certain I should include it on this project

Because it made me feel kind of like I was going backwards instead of forwards.

I'm also not sure about the style.

Something about it doesn't quite fit me as well as I'd like it to.

Oh, well.

Like I said, it's probably not as bad as I think it is.

I wrote the song on a bus,

Going on some school trip,

Riding for hours and hours.

We drove past quite a few rivers.

I thought about how beautiful they were

And decided to write a song about it.

It's not as "depressing" as some of my other songs are,

It's not about any kind of deep hurt,

It's just about letting go of the general troubles

And finding peace.

Well, here are the lyrics.

I hope you like it more than I do.

River Flow

Spark'ling, shining water sweet,
Flow, river, flow.
Crisp and clean, fresh and neat,
Flow, river, flow.

River flow, river flow.
Take my troubles with you where'er it is you go.
River flow, river flow.
Leave behind this peace that you know.

Sun shine down upon your face,
Flow, river, flow.
Gentl' and swift with quiet grace,
Flow, river, flow.

River flow, river flow.
Take my troubles with you where'er it is you go.
River flow, river flow.
Leave behind this peace that you know.

Bending, twisting long and wide,
Flow, river, flow.
Your beauty makes me stop and sigh,
Flow, river, flow.

River flow, river flow.
Take my troubles with you where'er it is you go.
River flow, river flow.
Leave behind this peace that you know.

Through mountains and 'cross rolling plains,
Flow, river, flow.
Let me sail with you a ways,
Flow, river, flow.

River flow, river flow.
Take my troubles with you where'er it is you go.
River flow, river flow.
Leave behind this peace that you know.

River flow, river flow.
Take my troubles with you where'er it is you go.
River flow, river flow.
Leave behind this peace that you know.

Flow on, river, flow.


The italicized, bold words are the lyrics to the song "River Flow" by Mary Schieferstein, ©2010 Mary Schieferstein.


This post contains the "Artist's Notes" for a song from the EP Pour: Songs of Rain and Rivers.  To view the artist's thoughts about other tracks on this EP, use the links below.
      1. Pour
      2. With Me
      3. River Flow
      4. Peace Like A River
      5. Still Holding Me

     

With Me

I distinctly remember the night I started writing this song.

I had just gotten back from a Sara Groves concert.

Some of the things she said got me thinking,

Wondering how I would handle being in a difficult situation,

How I would get through the hard stuff,

Now that I'd started writing again.

My overactive imagination suggested that I'd sit down at a piano,

Start to play,

Come up with words and melodies to go along with the accompaniment.

I thought it was an odd idea,

Completely opposite how I normally write.

I always write the lyrics and the melody first,

The accompaniment always comes later,

Or sometimes not at all.

Still, I went with it,

Curious.

I thought about what I would sing,

Sitting at that piano,

What the first words out of my mouth would be.

It kind of just came to me,

"Teardrops fall like rain upon my pillow."

I then discovered that I could turn that idea around,

Switch the rain and the tears,

And still have it rhyme.

"Raindrops fall like tears upon my window."

I felt rather proud of my creative abilities

And spent the next half hour or so trying to come up with a song.

I remember quitting before I had all of the verses in,

Going to bed,

Waking up the next day,

Getting the composition book out,

And erasing most of what I'd written.

I didn't erase the first two lines,

I don't think I erased the refrain,

Though I'm not entirely sure.

I rewrote the first verse,

Wrote the rest of the song,

And decided it was good,

Decided I liked it,

Which is very rare, as I am my worst critic and rarely have good opinions of my songs.

To this day, this is the song I consider to be my favorite.

It was the first I specifically wrote to have a background vocal part.

It was the first I did not finish all in one day.

It was the first I liked.

I showed it to one of my friends at school

Not too long after I'd written it.

She'd asked if I had any special talents.

She read the lyrics and said that it could be a powerful song,

With the right melody and accompaniment.

I don't know if I got the melody and accompaniment right,

But I'm very happy with how it turned out,

And I'm very glad that I finally had the opportunity to record this song.

With Me

Teardrops fall like rain upon my pillow.
Raindrops fall like tears upon my window.
I never wanted to know.
I never wanted to know.

Falling, falling, falling, falling down.
Falling, falling, I can't stop it now.
Will I ever reach the ground?
Will I ever reach the ground?

Are You there? Do You care?
Are You listening to my prayers?
Can You understand somehow?
Are You with me, even here, even now?

This rain is beating on my heart.
These tears are hard to stop once they start.
I never thought I'd be so scarred.
I never thought I'd be so scarred.

Pouring, pouring, pouring, pouring down,
Pouring, pouring, I can't stop it now.
Can I get out from under this cloud?
Can I get out from under this cloud?

Are You there? Do You care?
Are You listening to my prayers?
Can You understand somehow?
Are You with me, even here, even now?

Falling, falling, falling, falling down.
Pouring, pouring, can't stop it now.
Falling, falling, falling, falling down.
I can't stop it now.

Are You there? Do You care?
Are You listening to my prayers?
Can You understand somehow?
Are You with me, even here, even now?

Are You there? Do You care?
Are You listening to my prayers?
Can You understand somehow?
Are You with me, even here, even now?

Even now.
Are You with me now?

(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
Teardrops fall like rain upon my pillow.
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
Raindrops fall like tears upon my window.
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
Are You crying, too?
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
I think You are crying, too.

Oh.
Crying, too.

With me.
(Falling, falling, falling, falling . . . )
You are with me.
(Catch me, catch me, catch me, catch me . . . )
With me.
Stay with me.



The italicized, bold words are the lyrics to the song "With Me" by Mary Schieferstein, ©2010 Mary Schieferstein.


This post contains the "Artist's Notes" for a song from the EP Pour: Songs of Rain and Rivers.  To view the artist's thoughts about other tracks on this EP, use the links below.
      1. Pour
      2. With Me
      3. River Flow
      4. Peace Like A River
      5. Still Holding Me

 

Pour

There is a disclaimer on the inside cover of my EP:

      Please keep in mind that some of the songs on this EP are not about how

             we are supposed to be,

      Rather, they are about how we often are.

The main reason (although there are other reasons) for this disclaimer is the first song,

The title track of the project,

"Pour".

The verses are the main problem.

They tell of duplicity,

Of trying to act like everything's okay

When, really, it feels like the entire world's falling apart.

This is not how we are supposed to be.

Honestly, though, it is how we are.

The refrain and the bridge tell of something else,

Of learning to accept the hard things because they can help us depend more on God,

Draw us closer to Him.

Honestly, I'm not sure why I wrote it this way.

Maybe it's because this is the way it sometimes has to be.

Maybe we need to learn to accept the hard things as gift

Before we can learn to tell others of the pain in our hearts.

Maybe understanding that it's an opportunity to draw closer to God

Has to come before understanding that it's an opportunity to trust in others.

Maybe we just can't do it in our own strength.

Maybe the strength to live transparently has to come from Him. 

It isn't the way we're supposed to be,

But maybe it's one way we can learn.

I'm proud of this song,

In spite of the fact that it tells of how we are not supposed to be,

Or maybe because of that fact,

Maybe because of the honesty,

And it came out so well,

Thunder rumbling in the background,

Accompaniment gently tinkling,

Words speaking of learning to trust,

Learning to draw close,

Even in the hurt.

Pour

On the outside I am trying to pretend that I'm okay.
On the inside I am screaming. God, please make it go away.

On the outside I am trying to pretend I understand.
On the inside I am fighting to remember there's a plan.

On the outside rain is falling and I'm standing here alone.
On the inside You are calling, “I will not let you go.”

So let it pour,
Let it pour.
Pull me closer than I've ever been before.
Let it pour,
Just let it pour.
I wanna be closer than I've ever been before.

On the outside I am trying to pretend I like the rain.
On the inside I am crying. Help me make it through this pain.

On the outside I am trying to pretend I'm well-informed.
On the inside I am fighting to hear You over the storm.

On the outside falling water is melting solid land.
On the inside, somewhere deep down, I know I am in Your hands.

So let it pour,
Let it pour.
Pull me closer than I've ever been before.
Let it pour,
Just let it pour.
I wanna be closer than I've ever been before.

You are God.
You're big enough
To hold my fears,
To hold my tears.

I'm so small,
Still You let me fall
Into Your arms,
Your loving arms.

You are God.
You're big enough
To hold me up,
You hold me up.

I'm so small,
Still, when I fall,
You lift me up,
You lift me up.

You are God.
You love me and
You have a plan,
You have a plan.

I'm so small,
Still You said
You'd help me stand,
You help me stand.

So let it pour,
Let it pour.
Pull me closer than I've ever been before.
Let it pour,
Just let it pour.
I wanna be closer than I've ever been before.

So let it pour,
Let it pour.
Pull me closer than I've ever been before.
Let it pour,
Just let it pour.
I wanna be closer than I've ever been before.

You are God.
You are God.
You are God,
So let it pour.

You are God.
You are God.
You are God,
So let it pour.

Let it pour.
I wanna be closer
To You.

You said, “I will not let you go.”

Closer, closer
To You.

On the outside I am trying to pretend that I'm okay.


The bold, italicized words are the lyrics to the song "Pour" by Mary Schieferstein, ©2010 Mary Schieferstein.


This post contains the "Artist's Notes" for a song from the EP Pour: Songs of Rain and Rivers.  To view the artist's thoughts about other tracks on this EP, use the links below.
      1. Pour
      2. With Me
      3. River Flow
      4. Peace Like A River
      5. Still Holding Me