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LYRICS
VERSE 1
Born a preacher man
Gettin’ on in years
Never preached enough
My end is drawin’ near
Here at the end
I ain’t got nothin’
Just an old black book
And a second-hand guitar
CHORUS
Dear God, wanna lay this body down
Dear God, I'm comin' home
Dear God, let me come on home
VERSE 2
My guitar an' the book
Full a comfort and hope
They called to me
An' they helped me t' cope
Baptized married an' buried
All together with song
Held the hand of a child
As his daddy moved along
CHORUS
Dear God, wanna lay this body down
Dear God, I'm comin' home
Dear God, let me come on home
VERSE 3
Sitting alone
Nobody around
Let my thoughts go free
As my body lets me down
Playing a song
Full a wonder an’ delight
The sun goes down
Turns to blackest night
CHORUS
Dear God, wanna lay this body down
Dear God, I'm comin' home
Dear God, let me come on home
VERSE 4
I lay this body down
Set aside the book
Grab my guitar
Take one final look
I’ve come a long, long way
Thank God I’m home
Finally home
Thank God I'm home
LAY THIS BODY DOWN – SONG CREDITS
Songwriter - ©Eric Wise (music and lyrics)
First write - August 28th, 2019
Last Edit - November 6th, 2020
Recorded - Sept, 2020, April 2021, Dec 2022 Released - May 12th, 2023
Vocalist - John Long
Guitars and Bass - Mike Kelly
Production - Eric Wise
Mixed & mastered - Mixed Emotions Music
LAY THIS BODY DOWN – Song Diary
I decided I wanted to write a song about a person’s last day alive. It seemed to me it would be more interesting if the person was a Christian and looked forward to going to Heaven. The story flowed naturally after those decisions were made.
A songwriter friend heard an early rendition of the song at a songwriters group and said “what if the chorus was to be a prayer to God. And so it became.
I do admit, being a guitar playing songwriter, that the character made sense to have a guitar as well as a Bible. Music for me is also spiritual.
The guitar part in the verses is in an open tuning. Open G. I love open tunings. I find that open tunings can make for a larger sound and less fretted notes add to that sort of melodious sound. The organ in the choruses works well for the prayer section pulling us into the emotion nicely.
My favorite part is in verse 3, the lines: “The sun goes down, turns to blackest night.” That is when I feel the emotion the most in the song. I also really like how at the end of the choruses the organ falls away and the beautiful guitar riff returns us to the verses. Melts me!
Eric Wise
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