The following albums saw large shifts in style. Much Afraid saw them releasing gorgeous - sometimes brittle - music, which the Band intended to have a "timeless" sound, while If I Left the Zoo is a quirkier but musically brilliant album, featuring considerably more keys and experimentation. The Eleventh Hour is their first true "rock" album. They returned to acoustic guitars for the "Furthermore" project, which featured two EPs - a live disc and an acoustic disc. The band's 5th album, Who We Are Instead continued some of the band's earlier sonic experiments and showcased some new gospel, bluegrass, and hymnsong influences. The hymnsong approach was continued on an album of new arrangements of classic hymns - Redemption Songs.
Good Monsters was released on Sept. 05, 2006. The album was hailed by CCM Magazine as "Album of the Year" - a controversial move considering that this announcement was made in August. "Good Monsters" further showcases the diverse style of the venerable quartet and is considered by the band to be their first true "rock" record. It is a rock driven record with electric guitars having prevalence on more of the songs than any previous albums. The album also has other stylistic influences and even includes a choir of African school children, while lyrically, it hits the darker side of their self-shaped genre.
In 2007, Jars of Clay announced that they were leaving Essential Records and were creating their own record label, Gray Matters. Jars of Clay released Christmas Songs through Gray Matters in 2007, and the Closer EP was released in the Summer of 2008.
April 21, 2009 marked the release of The Long Fall Back to Earth, containing two tracks from the Closer EP and 12 additional tracks. Two Hands is the first single from that release.
Love Came Down At Christmas
Jars of Clay Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love, a lovely love divine
Love was born at Christmas
Stars and angels gave the sign
Love will be our token
Love be yours, and love be mine
Love from God to all of us
Love for the 10 commandments
Love for the 9 that dress so fine
Love for the 8 that stood at the gate
Love for the 7 who went up to Heaven
Love for the 6 that never got fixed
Love for the 5 that stayed alive
Love for the 4 that stood at the door
Love for the Hebrew children
Love from the little babe, baby
The lyrics of Jars of Clay's song Love Came Down At Christmas describe the birth of love on Christmas Day. The song glorifies the divine love that was born with the birth of Jesus Christ. The first verse states that Love came down at Christmas, while the second verse mentions that Love was born at Christmas and the stars and angels gave the sign. The chorus talks about Love being the token for everyone and urges that Love be yours and Love be mine. The lyrics convey the idea that God's love is a gift that we all should cherish and share with each other.
The verse that follows the chorus mentions Love for the 10 commandments, which could imply that living by these commandments is an expression of Love. The next lines talk about Love for the 9 that dress so fine, Love for the 8 that stood at the gate, Love for the 7 who went up to Heaven, and so on. These lines allude to different biblical stories, and each line expresses Love towards a specific group of people. Finally, the lyrics confirm that Love came from the little babe, baby Jesus, who was born on Christmas Day.
Overall, Jars of Clay's Love Came Down At Christmas is a beautiful song that celebrates the birth of Jesus and the divine Love that he brought into the world. The song shares a message of love, compassion, and kindness that is relevant today as it was when the song was first released.
Line by Line Meaning
Love came down at Christmas
The embodiment of unconditional love arrived in the world during the festive occasion of Christmas
Love, a lovely love divine
Love is an unparalleled, exquisite feeling that originates from divinity
Love was born at Christmas
The personification of love took birth on the day of Christmas
Stars and angels gave the sign
Celestial beings and the twinkling stars announced the arrival of love incarnate
Love will be our token
Love shall act as a symbol of our affection and attachment
Love be yours, and love be mine
May you and I possess love in abundance
Love from God to all of us
God's boundless love encompasses every living being
Love for plea and gift a sign
Love serves as a request for compassion and also serves as clear evidence of its presence
Love for the 10 commandments
Love aligns and fulfills all the tenets of the divine commandments
Love for the 9 that dress so fine
Love recognizes and cherishes the elegance and beauty in everything and everyone
Love for the 8 that stood at the gate
Love embraces those who secure the entrance and exit points of our lives
Love for the 7 who went up to Heaven
Love commemorates the people who ascended to the abode of God
Love for the 6 that never got fixed
Love empathizes with those who have issues that never got resolved
Love for the 5 that stayed alive
Love acknowledges those who survived despite insurmountable odds
Love for the 4 that stood at the door
Love honors those standing by to provide help and support
Love for the Hebrew children
Love extends to every ethnicity and race, including the Hebrews
Love from the little babe, baby
Love emanated from the vulnerable, innocent form of a child
Lyrics © DistroKid, Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PETER PINDAR STEARNS, CHRISTINA ROSSETTI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@peaceandallgood6300
The original poetry of Christina G. Rossetti (c. 1885):
Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, Love divine;
Worship we our Jesus:
But wherewith for sacred sign?
Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.
Christina Georgina Rossetti, was born in London, Dec. 5, 1830 (d. 29 December 1894), and received her education at home. Miss Rossetti was an English poet who wrote romantic, devotional, and children's poems and also published several prose works. She has written very few hymns avowedly for church worship, but several centos have been compiled from her poems, and have passed into several hymn-books. Another famous Christmas composition in England is "In the bleak midwinter." She was a sister of the artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti and features in several of his paintings.
"Miss Rossetti's verses are profoundly suggestive and lyrical, and deserve a larger place than they occupy in the hymnody of the church. Her sonnets are amongst the finest in the English language." --Rev.W. Garrett Horder
@erikathomas2657
I love everything about this song and the video is brilliant! What a great story! ❤
@hawksdcc
This video is AWESOME! It took me a minute to figure what the images show, but then I started laughing out!! Seriously, even for one who has heard the story of Jesus is not easy to get it from the beginning. Note: I will hear this song so much more due to this video :)
@Helen-rv9qy
I loved it! So contemporary, and it added a freshness to the Christmas Story that I think will appeal to many of different ages. Thank you, JARS of CLAY!
@cherylsimpson5899
Thank you very much 🌹. This is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I love this one the best 😍. The cute animation makes it so special. I'm going to send a link to it for my friends to see and hear it🙏💞🙏.
@GavinMc80
I never get tired of this song or this video. More Christmas stories should have flying tacos in them.
@YankeeCountess
I love this video so much; the children's drawings and the "reimagining" of the Nativity with unicorns and dinosaurs and God working a crane machine and the baby coming down on a rainbow
@abeycee7427
Didn't realize how long ago this was... great rendition of a great song
@spiked200
The truth sometimes hurts....you keep spreading the word and let no one dissuade you!
@outerspaceoutpost
Love this animation. Jars Of Clay=Great group. God bless you Jesus our love came down loves you.& Peace be with you.
@parkspot22
this song popped in my head yesterday. i love it and the video. I love the baby Jesus!