Against the Tide
Dedicated to Chris Anderson
Romans 12:1-2
Preview:
| Choral score: | $25.00 US | |
| Accompaniment track: | $10.00 US |
Romans 12:1-2 has received a pretty thorough representation in the Living Water Composition Project because it’s a very important verse in my own life. I don’t tire of its message, and think that no Christian ever should. After all, we’re always fighting against the attempts of the world to squeeze us into the shape it wants us to take.
This song is Chris’ because he was a highly-ranked swimmer in high school, and it took Amy Somes all of three or four seconds to make the association. The style is Fifties boogie rock (I suppose it harks back to an old, old, dance called “The Swim” too), and features an option for the tenor section to do an optional full voice stretch into the middle soprano range to attain the strident, tight sound characteristic of a number of male pop singers.
God has made this song to be consistently well-received; for instance, when we sang it at the 1992 Tri-Valley Choral Festival in Dublin, California, someone over to our left started clapping in time to the music during the second verse, and it was just a matter of seconds before everyone else there was rejoicing in the same way.
Curious historical event: When we first sang this at Valley Church on March 22, 1992, God engineered a little joke: It rained!
You’ve gotta swim, swim against the tide,
Don’t just go along for the ride,
You’ve gotta follow follow the Son of God
who died to buy eternal life for you,
You’ve gotta move, move against the flow,
Don’t go where all, all the other people go,
You’ve gotta live above the status quo
and follow God’s plan for you!
Now there’s a world that’s out there tryin’ to press you in its mold,
And there’s a devil who’s really dyin’ to twist your heart and soul,
He’ll pour temptation in your brain to lead your mind astray,
And send cascades of guilt and pain to push you off the way.
Now there’s a Lord who’s fully willin’ to make His life your own,
And have His Holy Spirit fillin’ the heart that is His home,
He’ll give you power to stand for right as on Him you depend,
And bring you vict’ry in the fight against the worldly trend.
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