Donald Lawrence studied at Cincinnati Conservatory, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in music. While in Cincinnati, he was also the Minister of Music at the Southern Baptist Church on Reading Road. To his credit, Donald's musicality has seen many incarnations, as vocal coach to the R&B group En Vogue, musical director for Stephanie Mills, songwriter for The Clark Sisters, and producer for a host of artists including Peabo Bryson and Kirk Franklin.
Lawrence took on The Tri-City Singers after a friend vacated his position as musical director.[1] (NOTE: The three cities that The Tri-City Singers come from are Spartanburg, SC, Gastonia, NC, and Charlotte, NC.) The group debuted in 1993 with A Songwriter's Point Of View on a then-brand-new independent record label called GospoCentric Records. The set debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top Gospel Charts.[3] The group's follow-up release Bible Stories would top those same charts when it arrived in 1995.[4] It was the first to be billed as Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers and featured black church-ubiquitous hits such as "A Message For The Saints", "I Am God" and "Stranger". The album was released on Lawrence's newly minted label Crystal Rose Records which was distributed through Sparrow Records.
In 1997, Donald Lawrence produced the live portion of Karen Clark Sheard's Grammy-nominated Finally Karen debut. Lawrence & Tri-City also released the seasonal Hello Christmas the same year. Later, Lawrence signed a contract with the Island Records imprint Island Inspirational. Though a live recording did take place for release, the album never materialized.
In 2000, Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers signed to EMI Gospel. To promote the new album, a maxi CD of the lead single "Testify" to the mainstream. House remixes by Junior Vasquez sent the song to #33 on Billboard's Mainstream Dance Charts. When tri-city4.com was finally released in 2001, the set peaked at #2 on Billboard's Top Gospel Charts and #13 on Billboard's Heatseekers Charts. The album also got a profile boost from the all-star standout "God's Favor", featuring vocal turns from Karen Clark Sheard, Kim Burrell, and Kelly Price.
Lawrence only waited a year before delivering the follow-up Go Get Your Life Back in 2002. "The Best is Yet to Come", a song sonically much in the vein of the previous smash "Testify," was chosen as the album's lead single. This release featured guest appearances from Ann Nesby (formerly of Sounds of Blackness) and gospel pioneer Walter Hawkins. The momentum continued with the 2003 release of Restoring The Years, a greatest hits album featuring two new songs.
The next album would mark a fresh start for Donald Lawrence. I Speak Life was his first solo album, the debut for his newly inked recording contract with Verity Records, and also the first release under his new sublabel Quiet Water Entertainment. Though the album was without The Tri-City Singers, guest appearances were plenteous. Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Faith Evans, Richard Smallwood, and Carl Thomas all contributed to the album. Even jazz notables Ramsey Lewis and Lalah Hathaway were on hand for a remake of the Bible Stories classic "Don't Forget To Remember". The effort earned Lawrence a total of 7 Stellar Award nominations, and 6 wins.
In March 2006, The Tri-City Singers announced that they would retire, but not before one last live recording. Finale: Act One and Finale: Act Two were released simultaneously on April 4, 2006. Each release was a CD/DVD set that chronicled the audio and video of one half of the concert, with packages that locked into one another respectively. A special edition of Finale was later released with both CDs and DVDs. The blowout concert included guest appearances from Karen Clark Sheard, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Daryl Coley, LaShun Pace, Darwin Hobbs, and many other gospel luminaries. The album's lead single "The Blessing Of Abraham" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance in December 2006. His sophomore solo album, The Law of Confession Part I was released in February 2009. Donald said in an interview that The Law of Confession, Part II will be released soon, but he's focusing on other projects.
Giants
Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do die.
The bigger they are,
The harder they fall.
Giants,
They die.
Just walk around
Your Jericho Wall.
Now we
Come in Your Name.
And we
Stand on Your Word.
What is
Loosed in the Heaves.
Will be
Loosed on Earth.
Now we
Come in Your Name.
And we
Stand on Your Word.
What is
Loosed in the Heaves.
Will be
Loosed on Earth.
Let God Arise-
Giants
Die.
Giants,
Do die.
The bigger they are,
The harder they fall.
Giants,
They die.
Just walk around
Your Jericho Wall.
Now we
Come in Your Name.
And we
Stand on Your Word.
What is
Loosed in the Heaves.
Will be
Loosed on Earth.
Now we
Come in Your Name.
And we
Stand on Your Word.
What is
Loosed in the Heaves.
Will be
Loosed on Earth.
Let God Arise-
Giants
Die.
Your praise,
Will bring down strongholds.
When you praise,
You will see miracles.
Just praise,
When things
Seem impossible.
And the King of Glory
Will show his glory.
Let God Arise-
Giants
Die.
Giants,
Do die.
The bigger they are,
The harder they fall.
Giants,
They die.
Just walk around
Your Jericho Wall.
Now we
Come in Your Name.
And we
Stand on Your Word.
What is
Loosed in the Heaves.
Will be
Loosed on Earth.
Now we
Come in Your Name.
And we
Stand on Your Word.
What is
Loosed in the Heaves.
Will be
Loosed on Earth.
Let God Arise-
Giants
Die.
When you praise,
When you praise.
When you praise,
They gotta come down.
When you praise,
When you praise.
When you praise,
They gotta come down.
When you worship,
When you worship.
When you worship,
They gotta come down.
When you worship,
When you worship.
When you worship,
They gotta come down.
When you shout,
Just shout.
When you shout,
They gotta come down.
When you shout,
Just shout.
When you shout,
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
When you shout,
Just shout.
When you shout,
They gotta come down.
When you shout,
Just shout.
When you shout,
They gotta come down.
When you shout,
Just shout.
When you shout,
They gotta come down.
When you shout,
Just shout.
When you shout,
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
They gotta come down.
Let God Arise-
Giants
Die.
The lyrics to "Giants" by Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers talk about overcoming obstacles and breaking down barriers through faith and worship. Giants are used as a metaphor for any opposition that one may face in life. The song encourages listeners to walk around their Jericho Wall, which is a reference to the biblical story of Joshua and Jericho. In the story, Joshua and the Israelites marched around the city of Jericho seven times before the walls came tumbling down, giving them a great victory. This encourages the listener to have faith that even the toughest obstacles can be overcome through faith, prayer, and worship.
The second verse of the song emphasizes the power of prayer and faith. The song acknowledges that the power of prayer can bring down strongholds and lead to miracles. The song encourages listeners to continue praising and worshiping even when things seem impossible because the King of Glory will show up and help them overcome their challenges. The chorus repeats the idea that giants will fall, and then the song lists various ways that victory can be achieved through prayer, worship, or shouting.
Overall, the lyrics to "Giants" convey a message of encouragement to keep fighting through the challenges of life and to trust in the power of faith, prayer, and worship.
Line by Line Meaning
Giants,
Challenges that seem insurmountable
Do die.
Can be conquered and overcome
The bigger they are,
The more daunting they may appear
The harder they fall.
But with determination, they can be defeated
Just walk around
Simply move forward
Your Jericho Wall.
Impenetrable barriers that seem insurmountable
Now we
With faith and conviction
Come in Your Name.
We acknowledge and rely on God's power
And we
Together as a community
Stand on Your Word.
Have confidence in and live by God's teachings and promises
What is
The positive outcomes that result from our faith and devotion
Loosed in the Heaves.
Are boundless, limitless and powerful
Will be
Manifested and revealed
Loosed on Earth.
In our lives and in the world around us
Let God Arise-
God is the ultimate power and authority
Giants
Our challenges, obstacles and difficulties
Die.
Can be defeated and overcome
Your praise,
Acknowledging God's greatness and goodness
Will bring down strongholds.
Overcoming any obstacles, barriers, or difficulties
When you praise,
When we express our gratitude and faith
You will see miracles.
We will witness divine intervention and positive change
Just praise,
Continue to express gratitude and remain faithful
When things
Especially when difficulties or challenges arise
Seem impossible.
When it appears there is no solution or answer
And the King of Glory
God, who is the ultimate power and ruler
Will show his glory.
Will manifest his divinity and power in our lives
When you worship,
When we honor and praise God
They gotta come down.
Challenges, obstacles and difficulties can and will be overcome
When you shout,
When we express our joy and faith through vocal praise
Just shout.
Continue to vocalize your faith and joy
They gotta come down.
Challenges, obstacles and difficulties can and will be overcome
They gotta come down.
Challenges, obstacles and difficulties can and will be overcome
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: Donald L. Lawrence
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nikeshajones4781
This song cant get old, when you're feeling down these are the songs that lift up your spirit, to worship and you will see the move of God 🙌🙌
@sherricoffman
ThankYou 4Sharing!!! ❤ 🕊 MuchLove!!! AMEN !!! HALLELUJAH!!!
@yariss1997
My giants have to come down in the name of jesus. This song has blessed me greatly.
@shellymckend9180
Hallelujah!! All my giants fall at my worship
@holymoutain
praising God in unity especially in difficult times brings down the enemy. Praise you, Lord.
@Sheba85
MAGNIFICENT!!! Ain't nothing bigger than God, greater than his Promises or more awesome than his Love 💜
@louannrandall424
Yes Amen nothing
@heartcoco9089
That's right on
@Consumed2424
I LOVE THIS SONG!!! Old school praise.
@doubleddon9598
Yes! I'm only 5'5 but a giant in the spirit. So, Giants of trouble, lack, defimation of character, sickness, disease, racism, predjudice, and oppression, you have to come down. I don't care how big the obstacle seems, no one or nothing is Bigger then My Lord, My Abba, My everything, My Jehovah Jireh, My vindicator!!!!