After moving from Chicago to California at the age of ten, he was involved in various high school bands playing guitars and keyboards, playing baseball in his spare time. He studied music in college and started a progressive rock band named after himself, but he soon discovered the music of Kitaro and was heavily influenced by it. Arkenstone was influenced by writers such as J. R. R. Tolkien and Ian Fleming, and grew up listening to bands like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Deep Purple, and Yes, as well as listening to classical music.
Arkenstone went solo and found his own sound in New Age music. He says that has been greatly aided by technology: "Technology has produced some wonderful tools for making music. The computer allows me to fully orchestrate my pieces and really fine tune them". His music is primarily instrumental. His albums, typically fantasy themed, often come packaged with literature and art. He worked with fantasy novel writer Mercedes Lackey on a few of his albums. Arkenstone and his ex-wife, Diane, created their own record label called Neo Pacifica. In addition to releasing their own music on the label, they have included other bands such as Earth Trybe, Enaid, and the Marquis Ensemble.
He has also composed music for television; channels such as the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and NBC Sports include his music. He has also written music for trailers and film soundtracks, including the independent film PRISM, as well as computer game soundtracks such as World of Warcraft, Lands of Lore 2 and 3, Earth and Beyond, and Emperor: Battle for Dune; and Starlight Inception. He also features on 20 Years of Narada Piano.
Arkenstone has earned four Grammy nominations for his work: In the Wake of the Wind in 1992, Citizen of the World in 2000, and Atlantis in 2004. 'Fairy Dreams in 2020.
Arkenstone has learned to play a variety of musical instruments, including bouzouki, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar, harp, cello, flute, electronic keyboards, piano, Turkish saz, pennywhistle, melodica, and pan pipes. He also plays drums and percussion and has performed some vocalizations on his albums.
Arkenstone is also involved in the band Troika; their sound is similar to his solo work. The band members like to remain anonymous, although the compositions are credited to Arkenstone.
His theme "The Journey Begins/Kyla's Ride" was used for the FIFA World Cup France '98 broadcastings intro by the Mexican television network Azteca.
His song "Papillon (On the Wings of the Butterfly)" is used as background music in Future World at Epcot in Walt Disney World. His song "The Palace" was once used as background music in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom as well. "The Palace" also used to play in Tokyo Disneyland's Tomorrowland, and another one of his songs, "Valley in the Clouds" was also used.
He signed with Domo Records and re-released the album Echoes of Light and Shadow in 2010.
Arkenstone was a member of the composing team who developed the music for Blizzard Activision's World of Warcraft videogame's Cataclysm expansion. Along with Arkenstone, the team consists of Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, and Neal Acree.
Be Thou My Vision
David Arkenstone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art
Oh...
The song "Be Thou My Vision" by David Arkenstone is a beautiful hymn that highlights a deep reverence for God. The opening verse emphasizes the importance of God's presence in the singer's life - nothing else should matter to them except for the Lord, who is their everything. The singer refers to God as their "best Thought" and acknowledges that they rely on His presence every moment of the day, whether awake or asleep. The second verse speaks to the singer's desire for God's wisdom and truth to guide them, wanting to be in constant communion with the Lord. The singer sees themselves as God's child, recognizing God as their Father and themselves as His true son. The verse ends with a beautiful statement of unity, expressing the singer's desire for God to dwell in them and for them to be united with Him.
The final verse is both poignant and powerful, as the singer states that they do not place any value on worldly riches or the praise of others. In contrast, their inheritance is with the Lord - not just in the future, but always in the present. The singer acknowledges that the Lord is the first and most important thing in their heart, the true King of Heaven and their greatest treasure. The final "oh" serves as a beautiful recognition of the depth of the singer's devotion and the significance of their words.
Line by Line Meaning
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Lord, may You be the guide of my heart.
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
May nothing else matter to me besides Your presence.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
May my mind be filled with thoughts of You at all times.
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
May Your presence be the light that shines in both my waking and sleeping moments.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
May You be the source of my wisdom and truth.
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
May I always be with You and You with me, my Lord.
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son
May I be Your true son and may You be my great Father.
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one
May You dwell in me and may we become one.
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
I do not care for riches or the empty praise of men.
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
May You be my only inheritance, both now and always.
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
May You be the only thing in my heart, and be placed before everything else.
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art
You are the High King of Heaven, and my true treasure.
Writer(s): John Rutter
Contributed by Carson L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
janice simon
1 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art -
thou my best thought, by day or by night;
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
2 Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father; I thine true One.
thou in me dwelling and I with thee One.
3 Riches I heed not, nor mans, empty praise;
thou mine inheritance, now and always;
thou and thou only first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.
4 All other ground is sinking sand;
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
On Christ the solid Rock I stand.
{Marcus} Thee Encourager
This has become my favorite him to sing to the Lord, I don't care what version it is. So peaceful and draws the presence of Jesus.
curiosity 2022
My fave too.
janice simon
1 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art -
thou my best thought, by day or by night;
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
2 Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father; I thine true One.
thou in me dwelling and I with thee One.
3 Riches I heed not, nor mans, empty praise;
thou mine inheritance, now and always;
thou and thou only first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.
4 All other ground is sinking sand;
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
On Christ the solid Rock I stand.
楊莉莉
thank you so much for your considering
curiosity 2022
Thank you!
Elena LePera
most heartwarming and uplifting version. filled with Spirit
楊莉莉
so meaningful lyrics and the melody is yearning our Jesus.
Moacir Portera
Seja minha visão, Senhor do meu coração, de dia ou de noite.
Samuel Matz
Very nice, .".thy presence my light." Saint Patrick would be proud, Hymn says a lot .
eennymo
very sweet song, very touching - beautiful voice!