Growing up in a poor family living and hand-to-mouth in central Wisconsin, Glenn eventually gravitated to Milwaukee’s local music scene where he fronted over a dozen bands, and wrote and performed solo acoustic music-—all before turning nineteen years of age.
With his adolescence plagued by drug and alcohol abuse, Glenn got clean through following Jesus after a life-changing spiritual confrontation around his eighteenth birthday. During this time his music got heavier and in many ways, deeper. His former song writing motif celebrating drugs, sex and other vices gave way to lyrics about spiritual struggle, personal temptation, institutional sin, poverty, exploitation, racism, materialism and other issues that few musicians seemed willing to tackle.
Now, after more than three decades of making original music, Kaiser is known for his raw, bluesy vocals, fiery guitar playing, bottleneck slide and harmonica work on thirty recordings and innumerable live shows. Glenn and his family have lived in Chicago’s inner city for over thirty years doing mission work with people not unlike he once was. Kaiser has released several acoustic-based CDs between his electric blues and blues/rock albums. His seminal delta blues projects Trimmed and Burnin’ and follow-up Slow Burn (both with harp player/singer Darrell Mansfield) established him as a singular and authentic Christian bluesman.
Three contemporary worship albums, along with the folk-pop Time Will Tell, fill out the acoustic discography. Acoustic cuts also comprise half of Kaiser’s critically acclaimed Ripley County Blues project which was recorded in a log cabin lodge in rural Missouri.
Glenn’s most recent recording, the acoustic-based Bound For Glory features his unique arrangements of old hymns and spiritual choruses done mostly in the blues tradition he so loves.
Through The Night
Glenn Kaiser Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I did not know my left from my right
And all I wanted baby
Was to just get through the night
Too many clouds, fog in the daytime
Took so long for me to see the light
And all I ever wanted
Though I had eyes, I could not see
Though I could walk, I stumbled blind
Until you came and rescued me
Lord, the world can be so unkind
There was a day, there was a vision
It came and I finally got my sight
God of mercy
You brought me safely through the night
Glenn Kaiser's song Through the Night talks about the hardships and struggles of a person. The song beautifully describes the time when the singer was lost and confused, not knowing the right path to choose. He had clouded thoughts, and everything seemed to fade away. His ultimate desire was just to make it through the night. The lyrics suggest that the singer seems to have gone through a tough phase in his life and was looking for guidance and enlightenment. However, he couldn't find it until someone came into his life and rescued him. The song is a beautiful representation of the idea that when people go through a tough and dark phase in their life, they sometimes feel lost, with no way out. They just want to hold on to something that can provide them with hope, some light, and the strength to keep going.
The song's lyrics reflect a deep sense of gratitude towards the Almighty for bringing him out of the rough times that he was going through. The song's message is that no matter how hard life gets, one should hold on to hope and keep going because the light at the end of the tunnel is soon to come. Sometimes people just need someone to help them get through the night, and the song beautifully highlights the idea that if we trust in a higher power, we will never be lost.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a time, there was a season
In the past, there were moments of difficulty and challenge
I did not know my left from my right
Things were so hard that I lost my sense of direction
And all I wanted baby
All I desired
Was to just get through the night
Was to simply survive until the next day
Too many clouds, fog in the daytime
Obstacles and confusion that lasted the entire day
Took so long for me to see the light
It took a while before I understood what was really happening
And all I ever wanted
All I ever desired
Was to make it through the night
Was to survive until the next day
Though I had eyes, I could not see
Although I had the ability to see, I was unable to perceive the truth
Though I could walk, I stumbled blind
Despite being able to move forward, I was lost and confused
Until you came and rescued me
Before you entered my life and saved me
Lord, the world can be so unkind
The world can be cruel and unforgiving
There was a day, there was a vision
One day, I had a revelation
It came and I finally got my sight
Through this revelation, I was finally able to see and understand
God of mercy
Merciful God
You brought me safely through the night
You kept me safe and brought me through my struggles
Contributed by Kaitlyn W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.