Saturday, August 02, 2008

Sara Groves- "When the Saints"

Last month my family and I attended a Sara Groves concert in Memphis, TN, and we all really enjoyed it. Sara Groves is my wife's favorite Christian musician, and Brandy (my wife) introduced me to Sara's music. One song in particular is very powerful. It is called "When the Saints." The song tells the story of saints who have gone before us, who lived a faithful life, and who encourage us onward. She mentions Paul and Silas in prison, and Moses in Pharaoh's court. Then she turns to our contemporary period. Here are the lyrics from that section of the song:

I see the long quiet walk along the Underground Railroad
I see the slave awakening to the value of her soul

I see the young missionary at the angry spear
I see his family returning with no trace of fear

I see the long hard shadows of Calcutta nights
I see the sisters standing by the dying mans side

I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
I see the man with a passion come and kicking down that door

I see the man of sorrow and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

It is a powerful song, reminding us of the sacrifice of saints who have gone before us, as well as the ultimate sacrifice of the "man of sorrows." The song is a call to pick up our cross and follow him. I encourage you to listen to it at Sara Groves' MySpace page. You can also visit her home page here.