Nelson's musical abilities were further cultivated while he was a student at the Baltimore School for the Arts and Morgan State University where he studied under the esteemed choir director Dr. Nathan Carter. Nelson was soon traveling the globe and conducting choirs his self and working in the music department at his father's church. About fifteen of his friends and he would also get together and sing at church. When Karen Clark-Sheard was coming to perform at his church, she needed some backing singers and his friends stepped in. "It wasn't a formal group," he recalls. "It was just something we did and after we did that service with Karen, we really enjoyed working together and that's when we became Purpose."
At the same time, Nelson had found a lucrative and comfortable income as an executive with a computer software company. Then, something happened to fuel Nelson's writing abilities. "Around 2001 when all of the dotcoms went down I was unemployed and that's when my passion for writing came alive," he says. "I began to write all these songs because I was living off of unemployment. That process took me through a whole thing because of my experience. The song `Healed' definitely came out of that."
Purpose had recorded the song "Healed" on their own self-financed CD in 2002. Nelson had met Grammy-nominated choir leader, Donald Lawrence, at a Washington, D.C. workshop in 2000. "When Donald heard `Healed' he said, `I'm gonna record that song.' He felt that message was what God was saying to the church at the time." Lawrence's words proved prophetic and his rousing rendition of "Healed" became a Top Ten gospel smash in 2005. The icing on the cake was that the song won Nelson the Stellar Award as Songwriter of the Year in 2006. He was presented with the award by the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. "I was so shocked that I won," Nelson laughs. "That I didn't even realize that it was Aretha who gave me the award."
Perhaps, the greatest award is that Nelson's songs were now in demand. "I met Troy Sneed at a Gospel Music Workshop of America convention. He said that he had heard a song Purpose recorded called `The Right Place' and that he wanted to record it." Sneed produced the song on Pastor Rudolph McKissick and it became a Top 5 Billboard gospel hit.
It was through Sneed that Nelson would enjoy his biggest song yet. "Troy called one day and said that he was coming to Baltimore to record a group of youth," Nelson recalls. "He called me on a Tuesday and I didn't have a song that night. I wrote `The Struggle is Over' in about ten minutes. The scripture for it comes from Deuteronomy 1: 6-8 in the NIV version. In that scripture, the Lord spoke to Moses to tell the children of Israel they could now come out of the wilderness and possess the land that God promised them in Canaan. So, for them, the struggle was over. So, during the recording that night, the kids were crying and Troy said, `This will be the single.'"
Indeed, it was the single. Released in the winter of 2006, the congregational ballad became the surprise hit of the summer when it spent 12 weeks at #1 on Billboard magazine's Hot Gospel Songs chart. "I never thought it was single worthy," says Nelson. "It didn't sound commercial to me but I apologize for that because obviously the song has resonated with many, many people and touched them."
It was that spirit of touching hearts and minds that permeated Nelson's self-financed concert recording in December 2006. "I undertook that whole project without even knowing if any recording label was going to release it," Nelson confesses. "I took a risk."
Then, Troy Sneed's publicist introduced Nelson to Integrity Music consultant Stacy Merida, who then brought Nelson to the attention of executives at Integrity Music and helped fashion his recording agreement. Now, that live recording which features cameos by William Murphy, Nikki Ross and Sheri Jones-Moffett is finally making its brilliant debut. "My whole concept is dealing with success, victory and triumph," says Nelson. "I expect supernatural success. This CD was in response to the success of `The Struggle is Over' in 2006. The theme of songs like `My Name is Victory' and `Champions' are all in response to the success that God has given us."
"Most songs I get from sermons," Nelson explains. "It comes from divine inspiration. The speaker might say one word but that one word goes into a whole thing. The song `Capacity' came during a service. My father was preaching and while he was preaching, I started writing that song." There was another time when Todd Hall was prophesying in a church service and "he said to turn to your neighbor and say `my praise causes things to look bettah' and instantly every word of that song `Bettah' was written right there in the service."
The only song that Nelson and his frequent songwriting collaborator, Justin Savage, didn't write
is Chris Tomlin's "How Great is Our God." Nelson says, "I heard it at a worship service and it spoke to me. It's an intoxicating song. A whole church no matter what race, creed or color can sing along to it. It became an anthem at my church."
An anthem for Nelson's personal life is the title song, "Right Now Praise." He says, "I wrote that during a difficult time in my life back in 2003. I was on the verge of losing my home and my car. I was working as a substitute teacher. I was in a very low place. My car is my mediation place. I was crying down the road and started singing a melody to the Lord and that's when `Right Now Praise' came to me. I had to rush into school and get to my tape recorder and put it down before I forgot it. Everything with this project is timing. I feel like its time for whatever God has for me to do right now. This is my God ordained time for my life.
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Free
Jonathan Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh oh
I'm free I'm free
God has set me free
Oh oh
I'm free I'm free
Oh oh oh
I'm free I'm free
God has set me free
Oh oh
I'm free I'm free
Jesus has set me free
I'm walking in God's liberty, yeah
All bondage and yolks released
Living life abundantly, indeed, yeah
Oh oh oh
Oh oh
I'm free I'm free
God has set me free
Oh oh
I'm free I'm free
Jesus has set me free
I'm walking in God's liberty, yeah
All bondage and yolks released
Living life abundantly, indeed, yeah
Oh oh oh
Oh oh
I'm free I'm free
God has set me free
Oh oh
I'm free I'm free
Broke the chains off now I'm free
I'm walking in God's liberty
Now nothing can control me
Because I'm free
Free, I'm free
Free, free
I'm free, I'm free
Free, free
Free, free
Free, free
Free, free
Nothing can ever stop me
With Christ I have been set free
I'm walking in my liberty, I am free!
The song "Free" by Jonathan Nelson is a song about the singer's liberation from bondage and the yoke that held him down. The song is characterized by its lively tempo, catchy beats, and repeating chorus of "I'm free, I'm free."
The opening lyrics of the song express the singer's newfound freedom and the fact that God has set him free. It is not clear what the singer is being set free from, but from the following lyrics, it can be assumed that he is referring to the emotional and spiritual chains that once held him down.
The following lyrics are an expression of the singer's gratitude to God for his liberation. He declares that he is "walking in God's liberty," and that all "bondage and yolks" have been released. The singer is living life "abundantly, indeed," which suggests a sense of joy and fulfillment.
In the latter part of the song, the singer explains that he has broken the chains and is now free. He states confidently that nothing can control him because he is free. The chorus then repeats, emphasizing the theme of freedom and liberty.
Overall, the song "Free" is an uplifting and joyful expression of the singer's spiritual freedom. It encourages listeners to trust in God and to believe that they too can be liberated from whatever "bondage and yolks" hold them down. It is a song of hope, courage, and faith.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh oh oh
The beginning of the chorus of the song
Oh oh
The continuation of the chorus of the song
I'm free I'm free
The declaration of the singer being free
God has set me free
Acknowledgment of God's role in the singer's freedom
Jesus has set me free
Acknowledgment of Jesus Christ's role in the singer's freedom
I'm walking in God's liberty, yeah
The singer is enjoying the freedom that comes from God
All bondage and yolks released
There is no more bondage or slavery because of God's freedom
Living life abundantly, indeed, yeah
The singer is living a full and happy life because of God's freedom
Broke the chains off now I'm free
Acknowledgment of being free from slavery and being released from bondage
Now nothing can control me
The singer is now free from anything that could enslave them
Because I'm free
Assurance that the singer is truly free
Free, I'm free
Celebrating the state of being free
Free, free
Assurance of the singer's freedom
Nothing can ever stop me
The singer is confident that they cannot be stopped
With Christ I have been set free
Acknowledgment that Jesus Christ is responsible for the singer's freedom
I'm walking in my liberty, I am free!
The singer is living in freedom and enjoying the benefits of it.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: JEAN-LUC LAJOIE, PETER VERN NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind