Heavily influenced by funk, much of Culbertson's material is funk-based instrumental, but in recent years has called upon vocalists such as Trey Lorenz, Kenny Lattimore, Will Downing, Faith Evans, and Avant, to add to his pieces.
Culbertson has released twelve albums so far. The first three were on the Blue Moon label: Long Night Out (1994), After Hours (1995) and Modern Life (1995). After moving to the Atlantic label, three more albums followed: Secrets (1997), Somethin' Bout Love (1999), and the critically acclaimed Nice and Slow (2001). Come on Up (2003) was released on Warner Jazz, and Culbertson then moved to GRP for his next albums It's On Tonight (2005), A soulful Christmas (2006), and Bringing back the funk (2008). Then Culbertson moved to Verve for his next album Live from the inside (2009). His latest work XII was released by GRP (2010).
Brian Culbertson also works with many other musicians in the smooth jazz arena, often as a composer and arranger. Culbertson is credited with working with Dave Koz, Peter White, Richard Elliot and Michael Lington to name but a few.
Joy To The World
Brian Culbertson Lyrics
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Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love
The lyrics of Joy to the World speak of the arrival of the Lord as the King of the earth, and encourages all to welcome Him and prepare a space for Him. The repetitive nature of the lyrics emphasizes the joyous nature of the occasion, with even nature joining in song. The second verse speaks of how the Savior reigns and encourages all men to join in song with fields, floods, rocks, hills and plains. This verse makes clear that there is no longer room for sins and sorrows to grow and that He has come to make His blessings flow wherever the curse has been found.
The final part of the song speaks to the reign of the Lord with both truth and grace. It is His righteousness that is said to be glorious, and the wonders of His love are also highlighted. This is a reminder that the arrival of the Lord brings blessings and love that is beyond measure.
Line by Line Meaning
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let us all rejoice, as the Lord has arrived!
Let earth receive her King;
We must welcome our king onto this earth;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
We need to open up our hearts and make space for Him to reside within them;
And heaven and nature sing,
Both heaven and nature sing out in celebration of His arrival, overjoyed at His coming;
And heaven and nature sing,
Again, both heaven and nature sing in jubilation;
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Once more, all of heaven and nature sing in exultation.
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
We must rejoice, for our savior has begun His reign!
Let men their songs employ;
All of us must use our voices to sing out in honor of Him;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Everything in the world should join us in celebration;
Repeat the sounding joy,
We must continue singing praises, repeating the joyful noise;
Repeat the sounding joy,
Once again, our songs must resonate loudly and joyously;
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
We must continue to sing with joy and enthusiasm, repeating the sounds until they fill the earth.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
We will no longer allow sins and the sorrows that come with them to thrive;
Nor thorns infest the ground;
The ground will no longer be infested with the thorns of despair and hopelessness;
He comes to make His blessings flow
He has come here to bless us and make His presence known;
Far as the curse is found,
His blessings will extend as far as the curse of sin reaches;
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
Repeated twice, this emphasizes that His blessings will reach every corner of the earth where sin has cast its grip.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
He reigns over the entire world, bringing truth and grace to all who believe in Him;
And makes the nations prove
The nations of the world will come to see and experience for themselves;
The glories of His righteousness,
The majesty and glory of His righteousness;
And wonders of His love,
The marvels of His love;
And wonders of His love,
Once more, the wonders of His love will amaze us all;
And wonders, wonders, of His love
Repeated twice, this highlights that the wonders of His love are beyond measure and comprehension.
Lyrics © DistroKid, CONSALAD CO., Ltd., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Isaac Watts
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind