Participants:
Series Code: YCWS
Program Code: YCWS200004S
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00:20 Hello and welcome to You Can Write a Song.
00:24 I'm your host, Ryan Day. 00:25 And, of course, it's always a blessing 00:27 to have you joining us, 00:28 you've taken time out of your busy day 00:30 to tune into this special program 00:32 in which we have one of the greatest gospel 00:34 songwriters of all time, 00:36 Mr. Lanny Wolfe, 00:37 who is going to be taking us 00:39 through another major 00:40 important aspect of songwriting. 00:42 And, Lanny, I have to say, 00:44 I'm locked and loaded, I'm ready to take notes. 00:46 And I know you're going to have a special problem. 00:47 Just give us a hook, kind of lure us into 00:50 what it is you're going to be sharing with us today. 00:52 Well, this is so exciting to me, 00:53 because songs come from someplace. 00:57 And people always ask me, 00:58 "Where did you get the idea for that song?" 00:59 Right. 01:01 So in this session, today, we're going to be talking about 01:03 all the places, all the ways 01:05 that ideas for songs come to Lanny Wolfe. 01:08 And I get excited when I just think 01:10 about all the ways that 01:11 God has done that in my songwriting. 01:13 Praise the Lord. 01:15 Well, I'm excited about this, 01:16 because I'm not a songwriter, but... 01:18 You are a great singer that sings the songs. 01:21 But according to this show, 01:22 according to this particular program, 01:24 you see, we've called it You Can Write a Song, 01:25 I'm convinced that I can. 01:26 Yes. 01:28 And I'm excited to jump right into this 01:29 and to learn exactly how we can receive inspiration 01:32 in writing powerful gospel songs 01:34 or any type of song that may inspire you. 01:36 So stay tuned, get your notepads, 01:38 get your pens, your pencils, 01:40 get ready to take some notes, 01:41 as Lanny takes us through on 01:42 how we also can write a song. 01:51 In this session of You Can Write a Song, 01:54 I would like to answer the question, 01:55 where do I get ideas for songs from? 01:59 Psalms 37:23 says, 02:01 "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." 02:04 And in one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible, 02:07 Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord declares, 02:10 "For I know the plans that I have for you." 02:12 So as a child of God and a gospel songwriter, 02:17 I believe that I get divine inspiration 02:19 from being at God's right place, 02:22 at the right time, with the right frame of mind. 02:26 So I get ideas for songs from anything I see, 02:30 anything I hear, anything I feel. 02:33 Let me first start 02:34 with the Department of Homeland Security's tagline, 02:37 if you see something, say something. 02:40 But if you're a songwriter, 02:42 if you see something, write something. 02:45 Seeing would include anything 02:47 I read from books, which could be 02:49 fictional, non-fictional, devotionals, etc. 02:53 Books that sell millions of copies 02:55 are successful because their writers 02:58 have what I call a way with words. 03:01 I have a handful of inspirational writers 03:03 that have the ability 03:04 to put on paper their heart inside illustrations, 03:08 and anointed writing expertise to provide readers 03:11 with a fresh spiritual inspiration. 03:14 One of many of these writers' literary techniques 03:17 and a favorite of mine is alliteration. 03:21 Alliteration is the repeating of consecutive words, 03:24 all starting with the same letter, 03:26 as in the title of one of my Christmas songs, 03:29 a season, a Savior, a star. 03:33 The inspiration for the song 03:35 Precious Lamb of God came from a chapter 03:38 in one of these inspirational books. 03:40 As soon as I read 03:42 the first sentence of a chapter, 03:44 I had a light bulb moment and knew that 03:46 I had to incorporate this writer's idea into a song. 03:50 The challenge was how to choose word pictures 03:54 that would elicit the emotion of the reader 03:56 to connect with the heart of Mary 03:58 as she prayed this prayer over the baby Jesus. 04:01 So I used an inspirational writer's idea, 04:06 but filtered it through a songwriter's lens. 04:09 My challenge in a sense was greater than 04:12 He is in writing a chapter for a book 04:15 because I needed to 04:16 put the song in 100 words give or take 04:19 and to be concerned with rhyme, melody and chords. 04:25 Rest tiny hands 04:31 Though you belong to a King 04:36 You will hold no 04:40 Royal scepter 04:44 Or wear royal ring 04:50 For your hands are reserved 04:56 For a Roman cross instead 05:01 Loving hands to heal the sick 05:07 And raise the dead 05:15 You are the precious Lamb of God 05:16 is the chorus of that song. 05:18 You are the precious Lamb of God, the Word 05:20 became flesh to fulfill redemption's plan. 05:23 Jesus, You are the precious Lamb of God. 05:27 When it comes to books as a source of inspiration, 05:30 the book, the Bible, 05:32 the inspired Word of God is the best one. 05:35 1 John 4:4 says, "Ye are of God, 05:38 little children, and have overcome them: 05:40 because greater 05:42 is He that is in you than he that is in the world." 05:46 I had read this scripture so many times. 05:48 I've heard it quoted many times, 05:50 but it wasn't until one special moment 05:53 when the trio was on our way to church service. 05:56 I was in the passenger seat, 05:58 and I pulled the Bible from the dashboard of the van 06:00 and opened it to 1 John 4:4, 06:04 and the scripture just leaped out at me. 06:07 It was what I call as a songwriter, 06:09 the moment of truth. 06:11 So I wrote the chorus of this song 06:14 in a matter of just minutes. 06:17 Greater is He that is in me 06:20 Greater is He that is in me 06:24 Greater is He that is in me 06:28 Than he that is in the world 06:32 Since the chorus was so simplistic, 06:35 the verses needed to include a lot of details 06:38 that would support the case for the one thought chorus. 06:41 Verses would take a lot more time 06:44 and tediousness of the craft 06:46 to make the complete song, 06:47 everything would need to be. 06:49 The Downings recorded 06:51 Greater is He, making it number one on 06:52 the gospel radio charts for weeks. 06:55 It was then pitched 06:56 to the Oral Roberts Organization, 06:57 became their official closing song 07:00 for their telecast for six years. 07:02 It was heard on 120 stations a week. 07:05 So out of 700 plus songs God has given me, 07:09 Greater is He has been one of the most popular 07:12 and to me the irony is that even though 07:14 I wrote the music to the chorus, 07:16 I did not write the lyrics, the Apostle John did. 07:20 So the song really was a co-write, 07:23 and because John's words are public domain, 07:26 because of when they were written, 07:28 they are owned by the public 07:30 and not an individual, the translation. 07:32 I don't have to share any of the royalties with John. 07:36 Matthew 2:10 states, "And when they saw the star, 07:40 they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy." 07:43 Like you that 07:44 I read this scripture many times, 07:46 but it wasn't until I received a Christmas card 07:49 from one of my students, 07:50 Dan Dean of Phillips, Craig and Dean, 07:54 with this scripture that the words 07:56 leaped off the card into my spirit in 07:59 what became a moment of truth for me that 08:01 ignited my writing pen to write rejoice 08:05 with exceeding great joy. 08:07 The chorus is what I call a one thought chorus 08:10 with lines one and three being the same, 08:13 and two and four almost identical. 08:16 Listen. 08:17 When they saw the star 08:19 They rejoiced with great joy 08:22 When they saw the star 08:23 They rejoiced 08:26 When they saw the star 08:28 They rejoiced with great joy 08:31 They rejoiced with exceeding great joy, great joy 08:36 They rejoiced with exceeding great joy 08:40 They rejoice with exceeding, I could just sing that forever. 08:44 This song was one of the favorites 08:45 in my first Christmas musical, 08:47 Noel Jesus is born, 08:49 and it's used yearly at 08:50 Disney's Epcot candle lighting service 08:53 in Orlando, Florida. 08:54 So, if you see something from billboards, 08:58 signs, cards, any visual, write something. 09:02 Wise Men Still Seek Him 09:04 became a song for me, 09:06 but it came from a bumper sticker. 09:08 Only One Life came from a plaque on the wall 09:11 at my grandmother's house. 09:13 Only one life will soon be passed 09:15 only what's done for Christ will last. 09:19 While on tour, the Lanny Wolfe Trio 09:21 would stop at Stuckey's, remember that? 09:23 Fill up the Silver Eagle bus with gas and pecans. 09:26 At one of these Stuckey's pit stops, 09:29 I passed by revolving rack 09:31 that had wooden plaques displayed. 09:33 One caught my eye and it's simply said funny 09:37 how I keep falling in love 09:39 with you over and over and over again. 09:43 I pulled the plaque from the rack, 09:45 I took her to the register, took out $1 paid for it. 09:49 Well, I've gotten my money back 09:50 on that transaction many, many times over. 09:53 The chorus came so easily. 09:56 And I just keep falling in love with Him 10:01 Over and over and over and over again 10:06 I keep falling in love with Him 10:10 Over and over and over and over again 10:15 He gets sweeter and sweeter 10:18 As the days go by 10:21 O what a love between my Lord and I 10:24 Just keep falling in love with Him 10:27 Over and over and over and over again 10:33 Over and over again. 10:37 Over and over again. 10:39 And that becomes the hook in this song that 10:41 hopefully stays in people's mind 10:43 and keeps them wanting to sing 10:45 it over and over again. 10:47 Okay. 10:49 It was my first time to visit 10:50 the largest cathedral in the world, 10:52 St. Peter's in Rome, Italy. 10:54 It holds 96,000 people on the inside 10:57 and on the basilica outside, 450,000 people. 11:02 Can you imagine? 11:04 The abs where the dome is located 11:06 inside is two football fields in height. 11:10 Michelangelo's masterpiece was filled 11:12 with overpowering statues 11:14 and massive marble columns 11:17 that left me overwhelmed and speechless. 11:22 The child in me couldn't help 11:23 but wonder how could heaven outdo this? 11:28 But quicker than I could put 11:29 the question mark on the question, 11:31 the man inside of me 11:33 reminded the child of the scripture, 11:35 "Eye have not seen, nor hear, heard, 11:39 neither have entered into the heart of man, 11:41 the things which God hath prepared for them 11:43 that love Him." 11:45 It was at that moment 11:47 standing in the middle of St. Peter's Cathedral 11:50 that God gave me this song, A Little Taste of Heaven. 11:53 Heaven, I've had a little taste of heaven 11:57 I've had a little touch of heaven 12:00 I've had a little glimpse of heaven 12:02 Want to go where the milk and honey flow 12:05 No more sorrow pain or woe 12:07 I've had a little taste of heaven 12:09 And I want to go there 12:11 I want to go there 12:14 It happened at Lanny Wolfe 12:16 Trio concert in Kingsport, Tennessee, 12:17 actually, the bus broke down, 12:20 and we didn't get there till 10 to 9. 12:23 And the people waited patiently for us to set up equipment 12:26 and started the concert. 12:28 So in the concert, we were singing an upbeat song, 12:31 and most of the audience was clapping along. 12:33 As I looked out over the audience, 12:35 I noticed a little lady clapping, 12:37 but there was something different 12:39 about how she was doing it. 12:41 I looked more closely and realize that 12:43 her right hand was 12:45 clapping against her left elbow, 12:47 because she had no left hand to clap with. 12:50 So she used what she had. 12:53 After the concert was over, I got back on the bus, 12:56 I couldn't help but write this song. 12:59 I'm going to praise the Lord any way that I can. 13:03 I'm gonna praise the Lord 13:05 Any way that I can 13:10 I'm gonna praise the Lord 13:12 Any way that I can 13:17 I'm gonna pat my feet 13:19 Lift my voice, clap my hands 13:22 I'm gonna sing and rejoice 13:24 I'm gonna praise the Lord 13:26 Any way that I can 13:32 So I get great inspiration 13:34 from greeting cards. 13:37 I love to go to card shops, and look at cards. 13:43 Card writers make great salaries for their skill 13:45 and putting emotional phrases 13:46 and ideas in a few words. 13:48 Hopefully, that connects 13:50 with the person buying the card and the person receiving it. 13:54 I love to spend time in card shop 13:56 pursuing through cards, looking for any lines 14:00 or phrases that get my attention. 14:02 A few years back, I was looking 14:04 for Christmas cards in a card shop. 14:06 Notice that there were 14:07 just a few that said Merry Christmas. 14:10 Many more said Happy Holidays or Season's Greetings. 14:13 I got riled up in my spirit, I went to the clerk 14:16 and I was asking, "Why aren't there more cards 14:19 that say Merry Christmas?" 14:21 His reply was simply that 14:22 there was a growing social trend to do away 14:25 with the word Christmas. 14:26 Can you believe it? 14:28 And so the card companies were cooperating 14:30 with that philosophy and putting cards 14:32 on shelves that would play 14:34 into the demand from the public. 14:36 As I walked out of the card shop that day, 14:39 I was more determined than ever to write songs 14:42 about keeping the word 14:43 Christmas in this favorite season of the year. 14:46 I wrote the song, Keep Christ in Christmas, 14:49 which became the centerpiece song 14:52 of a Christmas musical 14:53 I wrote called Jesus, The Heart of Christmas. 14:56 Had I not been in that card shop that day, 14:58 this song or this musical would never 15:01 have been written. 15:03 Keep Christ 15:08 In Christmas 15:13 Don't ever take 15:18 Him out 15:23 Keep Christ 15:28 In Christmas 15:32 For He's 15:35 what it's all about 15:44 Remember, Show and Tell from elementary school. 15:46 Today I'm going to show you 15:48 some cards that have caught my eye 15:50 with some kind of inspiration for me to write a song. 15:53 But I'm not telling you what the inspiration is. 15:56 And I don't want you to steal my idea 15:58 and write the song before I do. 16:00 So, I want you to start spending your own time 16:04 in your card shops, 16:06 looking for some special card that gives you 16:09 some special moment of inspiration. 16:11 I get inspiration from anything I hear, sermons, conversations. 16:16 In Cleveland, Tennessee for a meeting 16:18 with my publishing company, 16:20 I was having breakfast at a restaurant in the hotel. 16:23 At the table next to mine, 16:25 I could hear some businessmen talking rather loudly. 16:28 I wasn't trying to overhear the conversation. 16:31 But they were so loud. 16:33 It was hard for me to tune it out. 16:35 I overheard one of the men say, 16:38 "And they made me an offer so good that 16:41 I just couldn't turn it down." 16:43 At that moment, I put my fork down, 16:46 took out a pen and wrote on the napkin 16:48 at my place setting, Jesus made me an offer 16:51 so good that I just couldn't turn it down. 16:54 I finished my breakfast as well as the chorus 16:56 of this nugget of inspiration. 16:58 Listen. 17:00 Jesus made me an offer so good 17:02 That I just couldn't turn it down 17:05 I just couldn't turn it down 17:08 No, I just couldn't turn it down 17:13 Jesus made me an offer so good 17:15 That I just couldn't turn it down 17:19 Jesus made me an offer 17:22 And I just couldn't turn it down 17:26 So I believe that I was sitting beside 17:28 this particular table 17:29 with loudmouth businessmen 17:31 for a reason in God's divine economy. 17:34 During a church service in Jackson Mississippi, 17:36 preacher gave a message which included this sentence, 17:39 "My house is full, but my field is empty." 17:43 The contrast was so impacted, I scribbled the words down 17:46 on a piece of paper, 17:48 and I completed the song within two weeks. 17:51 Writing this song illustrates to me an important principle 17:54 as a songwriter and that's what I call 17:56 the moment of truth or a light bulb moment. 18:04 My house is full 18:09 But my field is empty 18:15 Who will go and work for Me today? 18:26 It seems my children all 18:32 Want to stay around my table 18:38 But no one wants to work in my field 18:50 No one wants to work in my field 19:00 It wasn't until years later in a songwriting class that 19:03 one of my students 19:04 called my attention to the fact that 19:06 nothing in this chorus rhymes. 19:08 And I was shocked 19:09 because I'm such a stickler for rhyme. 19:11 But in reviewing it God was so forcibly speaking to me 19:14 that I just wrote what He told me. 19:17 I get inspiration from when God speaks of chorus. 19:20 Wall Street heavyweight EF Hutton's advertising slogan 19:23 you remember it possibly. 19:24 When EF Hutton talks, people listen. 19:28 But to this songwriter when God talks, 19:30 I want to make sure I'm always listening. 19:33 For six years while teaching 19:34 at Gateway College in St. Louis, Missouri, 19:37 every Monday night I would drive 20 miles 19:39 to Southern Illinois University, 19:40 Edwardsville, Illinois, 19:42 working on a second master's degree, 19:44 this one in music education. 19:46 On one of these Monday nights 19:47 as I was walking from my class to my car 19:50 through the Student Union, 19:51 I heard over the PA system a song with a line in it, 19:55 there's something in the air. 19:58 I thought to myself, "That tune sounds familiar. 20:01 Where have I heard it?" 20:02 So from the Student Union, all during the 20 miles home, 20:07 that phrase just kept playing over my mind 20:10 and it just started spinning out to. 20:12 There's something in the air, I can feel it everywhere. 20:17 So I asked friends of mine, 20:19 if they had ever heard this song, 20:21 there's something in the air. 20:22 And they all agreed, no, 20:24 but told me that the tune reminded them 20:26 of rainy days in Monday's, always get me down. 20:31 So it finally dawned on me that 20:34 what was playing through the PA speaker, 20:37 sorry, in the Student Union was the carpenter song, 20:41 rainy days in Monday's, always get me down. 20:44 But God was speaking to me with, 20:47 there something in the air. 20:50 So I finished the song. 20:51 The Lanny Wolfe Trio recorded it 20:53 and became the title song of our first project 20:56 that was picked up by the Benson Company. 20:58 Listen. 20:59 Could it be that this would be 21:02 The day that starts eternity 21:06 The day that we've been waiting for so long 21:14 Could it be that yet today 21:17 The King of kings will turn and say 21:21 Pick up that trumpet 21:23 Blow it loud and strong 21:29 Could it be the soul of me 21:32 Can sense that soon it will be free 21:35 Is that my soul that's telling me 21:39 To look up in the sky and see 21:43 There's something in the air 21:46 I can feel it everywhere 21:49 I know there's something 21:52 In the air 21:57 Writing this song underscores to me being at the right place 22:01 at the right time with the right frame of mind. 22:03 I could have gone through 22:05 the Student Union 15 minutes later 22:06 and that particular 22:08 cut would not have been playing, 22:09 and this song would never have been born. 22:11 Her name Loretta Bernard, 22:13 she and her husband, Elton, 22:14 they spent 20 years as missionaries in Korea. 22:17 She relays the story of a time when in Korea, 22:19 she was so sick that 22:21 she couldn't even pray for herself. 22:24 About a year later when she was back 22:25 in the States on furlough, 22:27 she talked about her ordeal in a congregation in Michigan. 22:32 After the service, a dear sister came up 22:34 to Sister Bernard and asked her 22:36 if she could remember generally the date 22:39 when she was so sick. 22:41 As Sister Bernard responded with a date, 22:43 the woman said, 22:45 "That was the very day 22:48 that God woke me up 22:49 in the middle of the night and said, 22:50 'Get out of bed and pray for Loretta Bernard.'" 22:55 And the woman said, 22:56 "I heard and I got out of bed and I prayed for her." 23:00 Upon hearing about this story, 23:02 I was so deeply moved that I wrote this song, 23:06 someone is praying for you. 23:09 Someone is praying for you 23:20 Someone is praying for you 23:30 So when it seems you're all alone 23:35 And your heart would break in two 23:41 Remember someone 23:44 Is praying for you 23:51 This song reminds me of many songs that 23:53 God has given me that 23:54 I categorized as no pain, no gain. 23:57 Had Sister Bernard not been sick 23:59 or even so sick that she couldn't pray for herself, 24:03 this song would never have been born. 24:04 But of equal significance, 24:07 had Sister Bernard 24:08 not told her story in the States, 24:10 and had I not heard about it, likewise, 24:13 this song again would never have been born. 24:15 When God wants to speak, 24:18 it's when He wants to speak and not necessarily 24:21 at some right convenient time in our schedule. 24:24 So if you want to be a songwriter, 24:26 you need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. 24:29 Maybe God wants you to stop at Burger King today 24:31 instead of McDonald's. 24:33 Maybe He wants you to stand in the long line 24:35 and not the short line because there's somebody 24:37 that's going to be there 24:39 behind you that's going to say something that 24:42 he wants you to hear. 24:44 I also get inspiration from anything I feel. 24:47 As a part of a crowd of some were 24:49 close to 20,000 people 24:51 at a General Conference for a church. 24:54 I was sitting there and I just felt... 24:58 I love the thrill that I feel 25:01 When I get together 25:02 With God's wonderful people 25:06 Sitting in the congregation at Brooklyn 25:08 Tabernacle in Brooklyn, New York, 25:11 it was a divine feeling. 25:13 And I had to take pen and paper out and write... 25:17 I feel heaven in this place 25:21 I feel heaven in this place 25:23 I feel heaven all around me in this place 25:28 As I returned to my seat at a SESAC banquet 25:31 after receiving SESAC Songwriter of the Year, 25:34 for two years in a row, 25:36 I just took out a pen so and wrote... 25:39 Thank you, Lord 25:40 For giving Your song to me 25:45 Some years back, 25:46 I'd look for a car, a special kind of car, 25:49 umpteen car lots finally saw it. 25:51 And when I did... 25:53 It's a wonderful feeling 25:55 When you know you've found 25:56 What you've been looking for 25:59 Overcame with emotion, 26:01 so I took this physical situation, 26:04 and wrote a spiritual song about that feeling. 26:07 Your assignment, beyond a spiritual alert, 26:11 to see something, to hear something, 26:15 or to feel something that becomes a song. 26:18 Go! 26:25 Wow! 26:27 I can't believe that we've already come 26:28 to the end of this particular program. 26:30 But I know there's probably hopefully many more to come. 26:32 Lanny, I have to say I was writing notes as you 26:35 were going through that particular lecture. 26:37 And it's just amazing how we can look 26:39 and see that there's so many different aspects that 26:41 we can gain inspiration in how to write a song. 26:43 I made some notes here, 26:45 what we see it's important that we look out 26:47 and watch for the things, you know, 26:48 inspiration from the Bible. 26:50 I never would have thought billboards, 26:51 looking for billboards and signs 26:52 and architecture as you told that 26:54 wonderful story there, 26:55 greeting cards and anything that we hear and listen to, 26:58 conversations, statements, sermons. 27:01 Again, you want some inspiration, 27:02 start listening to the preacher preach. 27:04 Because again, one of my favorite songs 27:05 that I grew up singing Lanny Wolfe songs 27:07 with my house is full. 27:08 When I hear you tell that story about my house is full, 27:11 it just makes it so much more special. 27:13 And, of course, anything that we feel, 27:16 sometimes we may feel a certain feeling 27:18 and it may give us that inspiration to write a song 27:20 and so I'm just... 27:21 Capture. Exactly, capture that moment. 27:23 And I'm just so thankful for this, 27:25 to be able to spend the time with you to listen, 27:27 to get into your head to pick your brain 27:30 on how we can write a song. 27:32 We want to encourage you again to take these things, 27:35 don't just let them pass by 27:37 because learning from the grades, 27:38 learning from someone 27:40 who God has given a special gift 27:41 is definitely special indeed. 27:43 So again, we thank you for joining us here on 27:45 You Can Write a Song, and we hope that 27:47 you again take that pen out, 27:49 take that paper out, listen, 27:50 watch so that you also can indeed write a song. 27:54 God bless. We'll see you next time. 27:56 Just do it. |
Revised 2021-12-16