Born in Waco, Texas, Hester moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he formed a jingle advertising company named MusAd. While in Las Vegas, Hester met now renowned music producer Brent Maher. Maher went on to produce Hester's first album, the self titled, Benny.... From 1991 to 1996 he was the music producer/musical director, songwriter and co-executive producer for the award winning MTV/Nickelodeon television series Roundhouse.
Rubber Canoe
Benny Hester Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Making up my mind to meet with you
I never thought we could see eye to eye
But now I find I've lived a lie
Drifting about on an angry sea
A storm was building over me
I never knew any other way
My happiness changed from day to day
Rubber canoe, rubber canoe
The ocean moved beneath me in my rubber canoe
To weather the rage, that's all could do
'Til, Jesus, I gave my life to you
I want you to know my change of heart is real
And it wasn't you that gave me a bad deal
Closing my eyes, I turned my back on you
And waves came and swamped me in my rubber canoe.
In the times I've thought it through
I can never feel I see the view
All of my plans, never gone afloat
So I was left standing in a rubber boat
Rubber canoe, rubber canoe,
The ocean moved beneath me in my rubber canoe
To weather the rage, that's all could do
'Til, Jesus, I gave my life to you
Want you to know my change of heart is real
And it wasn't you that gave me a bad deal
Closing my eyes, I turned my back on you
Waves came and swamped me in my rubber canoe
Rubber canoe, rubber canoe
The ocean moved beneath me in my rubber canoe
To weather the rage, it's all could do
'Til, Jesus, I gave my life to you
Rubber canoe, rubber canoe
The ocean moved beneath me in my rubber canoe
To weather the rage, it's all could do
'Til, Jesus, I gave my life to you
The lyrics to Benny Hester’s song “Rubber Canoe” are a metaphor for a person’s journey through life. The rubber canoe symbolizes one’s own capabilities and limitations, navigating the treacherous waters of life. Throughout the song, Hester reflects on his past struggles, his regret for not following the right path, and his eventual surrender to Jesus. He realizes that he was lost in the sea of life, without direction, until he found his faith.
The song also expresses the idea of change and growth. Hester acknowledges his past mistakes and how he was stuck in his own ways, but he realizes that he needed to make a change in his life. He found comfort and peace in his faith in Jesus, which helped him weather the storms of life. Hester’s lyrics are a reminder that we can all find our way through the rough patches in life, but it requires us to be humble and open-minded.
Line by Line Meaning
I feel the sunlight coming through
I'm starting to see things clearly.
Making up my mind to meet with you
I've decided to reconnect with you.
I never thought we could see eye to eye
I didn't think we could ever understand each other.
But now I find I've lived a lie
I've been fooling myself all along.
Drifting about on an angry sea
I've been aimlessly wandering through life's challenges.
A storm was building over me
Things were getting worse and I could feel it.
I never knew any other way
I was stuck in my old patterns of behavior.
My happiness changed from day to day
I was never truly content with my life.
Rubber canoe, rubber canoe
I was just trying to survive using weak and fragile tools.
The ocean moved beneath me in my rubber canoe
Life continued to go on, even if I couldn't always handle it.
To weather the rage, that's all could do
All I could do was try to survive the tough times.
'Til, Jesus, I gave my life to you
But then I found Jesus and everything changed.
I want you to know my change of heart is real
I want you to understand that I'm not the same person I used to be.
And it wasn't you that gave me a bad deal
It wasn't your fault that things didn't go well between us.
Closing my eyes, I turned my back on you
I deliberately ignored you and pushed you away.
And waves came and swamped me in my rubber canoe.
I suffered the consequences of my choices.
In the times I've thought it through
Since then, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on my life.
I can never feel I see the view
But sometimes it's hard to see the full picture.
All of my plans, never gone afloat
Many of my plans never worked out the way I wanted them to.
So I was left standing in a rubber boat
And sometimes all I had was a flimsy and inadequate plan.
Contributed by Miles F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jeffrey calhoun
He brings joy and guidance to me my whole life now. Many thanks.
hovanti
I had this album on cassette in high school, but that cassette is long gone...so good to hear this songs again! I used to listen to in on a cassette player late at night in the dark, when I was supposed to be sleeping...held the player close to my ear, LOL!
J J
When I was like 3 years old, I used to listen to this song over and over again. Glad I found it again.
Daily Ran
Saw him and this concert live at NNC-now NNU-- Nampa Idaho and all the bass lines in this song specially the opening of this song ** The WHOLE Gymnasium shook and vibrated as the stage speakers on the left and right almost touched the ceiling--long gone are the days of these concerts -glad i was there!!! I was 16..BTW He was one of biggest CCM artist and concert shows in the world at the time.
Deborah Martin
WOW! BLOW MY TUNAFISH BOAT RIGHT OUT OF THE WATER! WHITHOUT A DOUBT ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS EVER PRODUCED!
lechatbotte
I have this LP. Benny came to Calvary Chapel now Harvest Christian Fellowship. Great guy, great music. His kids were adorable all grown up now.
bobby7771117
I still have this great cassette downstairs, but it was ruined by my bad cassette-player system put in my car in the 80's! It kept eating my cassettes, so I stopped using it! This album was so important to me as a new christian back in 1985! Thanks for posting it! In Christ's Agape Love, BobbyK
Gregg Chapman
Must've been a K Mart special, the tape deck that is.Had one from there that did the same thing to my cassettes. Replaced it with a RadioShack version and never had another problem.
rob kinder
Thank you for the post. Haven't even thought of this in years. Takes me back to Campus Crusade days.
pete craig
Still great