Haddon began his recording career in the mid 90s with the Voices of Unity on the small Tyscot label. As the group leader for their three albums, Haddon expressed his forward looking musical view, merging elements of soul, hip-hop and funk in the group's Gospel music. VOU had some mild success on the Gospel charts, but by the late 90s Haddon was ready to move more clearly front and center as a solo artist. His first two solo albums, This is My Story and Chainbreaker continued his artistic development and made some moderate noise on the Gospel charts.
However, I’m not sure that even the devoted fan base he had been accumulating could have anticipated his late 2002 release, Lost and Found, his first on giant Gospel label Verity. A project as ambitious as Tonex’s noted debut, Pronounced Toe-Nay, Lost and Found is an exhaustive, inspired opus by a Gospel artist who, with its release, clearly declared himself a new Gospel star.
The disc begins sounding like a dance Gospel album, leading off with two funky numbers, “D.D.” and “Oh Yeah” (the latter featuring the ubiquitous Fred Hammond). From there it covers broad territory, including bluesy, southern soul (“Ain’t Got Nothing” and the radio hit, “Sinner’s Prayer”), Praise & Worship (“Worship Medley”), Prince-style electric soul (“It’s Me”), big ballads (“Stand Still”) and joyous calypso (“The Praises Go (Up, Up, Up)”). Haddon is literally bursting with musical ideas on the album and, amazingly, virtually all work. Equally impressive is the strong lyrical content of the disc – much of it autobiographical -- focusing principally on the power of redemption and the ability of faith to rescue lost or miscast souls.
It took me almost two months to review Lost and Found, mostly because it took so long to fully absorb such an ambitious project. Now I can clearly say that this stands, with Mary Mary’s “Thankful” and Tonex’s “O2,” as perhaps the definitive modern Gospel album of this decade, and is a must for both Soul and Gospel lovers.
excerpt from The Deitrick Haddon Page at Soul Tracks (www.soultracks.com)
© Copyright 2004-5 by Chris Rizik and Soul Tracks ™
Ungrateful
Deitrick Haddon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To be asking You again
You have proven yourself
To be more than a friend
And You've offered me
The perfect sacrifice
You paid it all
When You hung, bled, and died.
After all You did
How could I not be satisfied
It's nothing but greed
I should go somewhere and hide
Lord please don't strike me down
Have mercy on me!
And I'm so unworthy
How could I be
So ungrateful!
So unthankful!
After all that You've done
I'm so ungrateful
So ungrateful
Oohhhhhh...
Lord, I look around and I shake my head.
It's as if You're not alive, they act like You're still dead
You've given the gift of life, oh that's a fact.
What would we do, if You took it all back?
After all You did, how could I not be satisfied?
It's my selfish-ness.
I should go somewhere and hide.
Lord, please forgive us for being so unfaithful
Lord, how could we be so ungrateful?
So unthankful?
After all that You've done.
So ungrateful
Oh, So ungrateful
So unthankful
After all that He's done.
So unthankful...
So ungrateful...
I admit I get beside myself sometimes.
I don't deserve to be called Your son.
And I'm, always asking You for something else.
When there are children that's in need of help.
Lord, forgive meeeee !!!
I'm Sorry!!
So ungrateful!!!
When I should be thankful!!
Please forgive meee!!!
Lord, I'm sorry!!
I should be thankful!!
But look at me, I'm soo ungrateful!!
So unthankful.
After all that You've done.
So ungrateful!
Oh, So ungrateful!
So unthankful!
Deitrick's song Ungrateful is a poignant confession from a deeply ashamed individual who realizes their lack of gratitude towards God. The opening lines reveal the artist's sense of remorse for constantly asking God for things despite Him having already done so much for the artist. The 'perfect sacrifice' mentioned in the lyrics refers to Jesus' dying on the cross for our sins. This sacrifice is the ultimate display of love and sacrifice, and the artist acknowledges that they are unworthy of the gift of salvation.
The artist then goes on to reflect on how many people are ungrateful despite the enormous blessings they have received. The people around the artist seem to not be appreciating the gift of life, acting as if God is dead. The artist posits a sobering question of what would happen if God took it all back. The song communicates that gratitude is not just an emotion, but a way of life. Ungratefulness leads to feeling empty and unworthy; it creates a separation between God and us. The artist concludes the song by apologizing for their behaviour, asking for forgiveness, and vowing to be better.
Line by Line Meaning
I feel so ashamed
The singer is filled with shame for having to ask God for help once again.
To be asking You again
The singer is asking God for help again, which makes them feel even more ashamed.
You have proven yourself
The singer acknowledges God's reliability and faithfulness in the past.
To be more than a friend
God is seen as more than just a friend; a source of unconditional love and support.
And You've offered me
God has made an offer to the artist.
The perfect sacrifice
The perfect sacrifice is a reference to Jesus dying on the cross to atone for humanity's sins.
You paid it all
Jesus paid the ultimate price on behalf of humanity.
When You hung, bled, and died.
This is a reference to the crucifixion where Jesus was hung on the cross, bleeding and ultimately died.
After all You did
The artist recognizes all that God has done for them.
How could I not be satisfied
The artist should be satisfied with all that God has given them.
It's nothing but greed
The singer believes their lack of satisfaction comes from their own greed.
I should go somewhere and hide
The artist feels ashamed of their greed and wants to hide.
Lord please don't strike me down
The singer is seeking mercy from God.
Have mercy on me!
The singer is desperate for mercy and forgiveness.
And I'm so unworthy
The singer feels unworthy of God's mercy.
How could I be
The artist is questioning how they could be so ungrateful.
So ungrateful!
The artist realizes they are ungrateful.
So unthankful!
The singer is not thankful for all that God has given them.
After all that You've done
The singer acknowledges all that God has done for them.
I'm so ungrateful
The artist reiterates their feeling of being ungrateful.
Lord, I look around and I shake my head.
The artist is disappointed by the behavior of some people around them.
It's as if You're not alive, they act like You're still dead
The behavior of some people around the artist suggests they don't believe in God or His power.
You've given the gift of life, oh that's a fact.
The singer acknowledges God's gift of life to humanity.
What would we do, if You took it all back?
The artist ponders what would happen if God took away the gift of life.
It's my selfish-ness.
The singer acknowledges their own selfishness as the reason for their feeling of dissatisfaction.
Lord, please forgive us for being so unfaithful
The singer is seeking forgiveness for those who have been unfaithful to God.
Lord, how could we be so ungrateful?
The singer is questioning how people could be so ungrateful for all that God has done.
So unthankful?
The artist asks if people are unthankful for all that God has given them.
Look at me, I'm soo ungrateful!!
The artist admits that they are also guilty of being ungrateful.
I admit I get beside myself sometimes.
The singer acknowledges their limitations and tendency to stumble.
I don't deserve to be called Your son.
The singer feels unworthy of being called God's son due to their actions.
And I'm, always asking You for something else.
The artist feels guilty for always asking God for something else.
When there are children that's in need of help.
The artist realizes that there are more pressing needs in the world.
Lord, forgive meeeee !!!
The artist is seeking forgiveness from God.
I'm Sorry!!
The singer is expressing regret for their actions.
But look at me, I'm soo ungrateful!!
The artist admits to being ungrateful.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, Missing Link Music
Written by: DAVID HADDON, DEITRICK VAUGHN HADDON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind