Green took to music at a young age, and his talents were noted by major newspapers by the time he was only eight years old. Following a performance of Arthur Laurents' The Time of the Cuckoo, the Los Angeles Times wrote that "roguish-looking, eight-year-old Keith Green gave a winning performance," one that "stole the show". Green went on to play "Kurt Von Trapp" in a major production of The Sound of Music.
At the age of eleven, Green became the youngest person ever to sign with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) when he published, recorded and released the song "The Way I Used to Be".
In his early teens, with more than 50 original songs under his belt, Green was signed to Decca Records. Decca had plans to make Green a teen-idol, regularly getting the young man featured in fanzines like Teen Scene and on popular television shows like The Jack Benny Show and Steve Allen's show. Time Magazine called Green "a prepubescent dreamboat". His dreams of stardom were shattered, however, when Donny Osmond stole his short-lived spotlight and Green was quickly forgotten.
By his mid-teens, Green became heavily involved in drug use, eastern religion, astrology, and mysticism. After experiencing a really horrifying "bad trip", he abandoned drug use and also became bitter towards philosophy and theology in general. In the midst of his skepticism, as Green described it, God's love 'broke through' his 'calloused heart'. He began on a new path 'with Christ as his guru', but had many 'spiritual struggles' and hardships along the way. He married his wife Melody in 1973, and the two became involved in the Vineyard fellowship in Southern California, where they were introduced to Bob Dylan.
The Greens began an outreach program to their community by purchasing two homes (and renting five) to provide housing and care for prostitutes, drug addicts, and homeless people. Eventually, the couple and the rest of their group relocated to Lindale, Texas, where the Greens founded Last Days Ministries.
Green began to release a series of albums in the new Contemporary Christian music market in 1977, after being signed to Sparrow Records and working on their Christian musical album Firewind (1976) with 2nd Chapter of Acts, Terry Talbot, John Talbot, and Barry McGuire. Two years later, Keith would shock many in the industry by refusing to charge money for concerts or albums. He insisted that his new label, Sparrow Records, let him out of his contract. The Greens then mortgaged their home to privately finance the album So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt? (with a guest appearance by Bob Dylan), which was then offered through mail-order and at concerts for "whatever you could afford". As of May of 1982, Green had shipped out more than 200,000 units of his album - 61,000 for free.
Last Days Ministries also began publishing a self-described "small, colorful magazine" called the Last Days Newsletter. The magazine featured articles by Keith and Melody as well as contemporary authors such as David Wilkerson, Leonard Ravenhill, and Winkie Pratney, all of whom lived in the area, as well as reprinting work by earlier Christian workers such as Charles Finney, John Wesley, and William Booth and his wife Catherine. The newsletter had such an impact on the Christian community at the time that many of the articles were reprinted as tracts.
Green was killed on July 28, 1982, when a small airplane owned by Last Days Ministries crashed on takeoff. Green had planned to give visiting friends an aerial view of the Last Days Ministries compound. Two of Green's children, three year old Josiah, and two year old Bethany, were also on board the plane, as was pilot Don Burmeister, and friends John and Dede Smalley and all six of their children. All passengers were killed in the crash. Crash investigators determined that the aircraft was nearly 500 lb (230 kg) overweight with 12 passengers and only 6 seats. Keith, Josiah, and Bethany Green are interred at Lindale Cemetery.
In 1992, several artists joined together to re-record many of Green's most well known songs for a tribute album called No Compromise: Remembering the Music of Keith Green, on Sparrow Records. Artists contributing to that record included Charlie Peacock, PFR, Susan Ashton, Margaret Becker, Michael Card, Rich Mullins, and Russ Taff. BEC Records released a second, more modern, tribute record Start Right Here: Remembering the Life of Keith Green, in 2001. That tribute was produced by Derri Daugherty and included performances by MxPx, Joy Electric and others. In 2002, upon the twentieth anniversary of Keith's death, Sparrow Records released another tribute album. Your Love Broke Through: The Worship Songs of Keith Green contains re-recordings by Rebecca St. James, Michelle Tumes, Chris Tomlin, Twila Paris, Darlene Zschech, Jason Upton, Martin Smith, Charlie Hall, Joanne Hogg, Matt Redman, Paul Oakley, and Sarah Sadler. This album also includes "There Is One" performed by Michael W. Smith, which was an unfinished work completed by Michael W. Smith and Martin Smith.
Since the time of his death, the only known unreleased Christian song recorded by Keith was "Born Again". This song was finally released 17 years later in 1999 on the First Love compilation video and CD, which also features a two-song tribute to Keith by other artists. Keith was working on other songs at the time of his death, but these are in the sole-possession of his widowed-wife, Melody Green, and not available to the public. Melody inherited Keith's writings as well, and she has released many excerpts of these as books: Cry In The Wilderness (Sparrow, 1993), If You Love the Lord (Harvest House, 2000), and Make My Life a Prayer (Harvest House, 2001).
On November 27, 2001, Green was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Keith's mother, Char Green was present with a heavy heart but very proud of her son.
Since 1982, Melody Green has continued to operate Last Days Ministries from Oceanside, California, and has "become an internationally known speaker and author". She now ministers as a Christian prophet and a touring evangelist.
The land in Lindale, Texas (more specifically, Garden Valley, Texas) where Last Days Ministries was once located is now occupied by Teen Mania Ministries. Teen Mania has dedicated one of its dormitories, Green Hall, in memory of Keith.
There is a biography of Keith Green's life written by Melody Green with David Hazard called No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green (Harvest House Publishers, 1989; revised and expanded in 2000) and a documentary film called Your Love Broke Through: The Keith Green Story (available from www.keithgreen.com and serialized on youtube.com).
Your Love Broke Through
Keith Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All my hopes would come tumbling down, and I never knew just why
Until today, when you pulled away the clouds that hung like curtains on my eyes
Well I've been blind all these wasted years and I thought I was so wise
But then you took me by surprise
Like waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemed
Until your love broke through
Until your love broke through
All my life I've been searching for that crazy missing part
And with one touch, you just rolled away the stone that held my heart
And now I see that the answer was as easy, as just asking you in
And I am so sure I could never doubt your gentle touch again
It's like the power of the wind
Like waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemed
Until your love broke through
I've been lost in a fantasy, that blinded me
Until your love, until your love, broke through
In the song Your Love Broke Through by Keith Green, the lyrics describe a person who has been lost and blind for many years. They have been trying to reach an unattainable goal, but every time they try, they fail. They never understand why they cannot achieve their desires until someone special breaks through the clouds of blindness that were covering their eyes. This person's love was so powerful that it woke the song's protagonist up from the longest dream. Once they were awake, they realized that the missing part of their life was love. The love they found was so powerful that it broke through all of the barriers that were preventing them from being whole.
The lyrics of this song are deeply emotional and touching. It speaks to the heart of anyone who has struggled with finding love and direction in life. The song reminds us of the power of love and how it can change our lives in a moment. It taught us that sometimes, what we are searching for is right in front of us, and all we have to do is ask.
Line by Line Meaning
Like a foolish dreamer, trying to build a highway to the sky
I have been foolishly pursuing an unattainable goal, like trying to build a path to heaven.
All my hopes would come tumbling down, and I never knew just why
Despite my efforts, every hope and dream I had fell apart, and I didn't understand why.
Until today, when you pulled away the clouds that hung like curtains on my eyes
Today, you helped me to see things clearly by removing the barriers that blocked my vision.
Well I've been blind all these wasted years and I thought I was so wise
I have been foolishly ignorant for so long and mistakenly believed that I was intelligent.
But then you took me by surprise
You surprised me by revealing the truth to me in a way I was not expecting.
Like waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemed
Realizing the truth feels like waking up from a very long dream.
Until your love broke through
Your love is what made me see the truth.
I've been lost in a fantasy, that blinded me
I have been consumed by a false reality that kept me from seeing the truth.
All my life I've been searching for that crazy missing part
I have been searching for something that I thought was missing from my life for as long as I can remember.
And with one touch, you just rolled away the stone that held my heart
With a simple act, you removed the obstacle that was preventing me from feeling and recognizing love.
And now I see that the answer was as easy, as just asking you in
The solution was simple all along, but I couldn't see it until I asked for your help.
And I am so sure I could never doubt your gentle touch again
After seeing the truth, I am confident that I will never doubt your kind and loving touch again.
It's like the power of the wind
The effect of your love on me is like the power of the wind.
Until your love, until your love, broke through
Your love was the catalyst that allowed me to see the truth and find happiness and fulfillment in my life.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KEITH GORDON GREEN, RANDY STONEHILL, TODD FISHKIND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anthony
+Aspieman Aspergers The Scripture says that every good and perfect gift comes from our Father in heaven. I promise you that he never desires to see any of his precious children abused and murdered. Our Father has never caused these things to happen but he has sent the solution to the cause of all this wickedness. When Jesus took the cross for you and I, he provided the Love Solution for our willfully wicked hearts (Mark 7:20-23). 
The truth is that all of the motivations of God's heart towards us have been displayed for us in everything Jesus did and said while he was among us. In light of this reality we can see that he does not approve of anything evil or wicked because he is holy and pure. So he sent the innocent man Jesus to be guilty in our place. Even though I was guilty of great sin in my heart, Jesus willfully chose to suffer in my place the punishment I deserved from God. The only man to ever be tempted like the rest of us but never give in became the one who God poured out his holy wrath on. This is so you and I don't have to bear God's wrath. This innocent man took our punishment so we could come to God and know him personally. God took the just punishment of evil upon himself for you and I.
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.(Isaiah 53:4-6)
ChristTheBlessed Hope
Like a foolish dreamer, trying to build a highway to the sky
All my hopes would come tumbling down, and I never knew just why
Until today, when you pulled away the clouds that hung like curtains on my eyes
Well I've been blind all these wasted years and I thought I was so wise
But then you took me by surprise
Like waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemed
Until your love broke through
I've been lost in a fantasy, that blinded me
Until your love broke through
All my life I've been searching for that crazy missing part
And with one touch, you just rolled away the stone that held my heart
And now I see that the answer was as easy, as just asking you in
And I am so sure I could never doubt your gentle touch again
It's like the power of the wind
Like waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemed
Until your love broke through
I've been lost in a fantasy, that blinded me
Until your love, until your love, broke through
John Harris
Fall of 1988, I go to this bible study at my friends house. There is this girl there and we start talking. I tell her I play the piano and she asked me if I knew any songs by Keith Green, I gave her a coy smile and said "Pick one" hoping she picked one of the four I could actually play. She asked if I knew "Your love broke through" which I did. That girl liked Keith Green, Piano players and the Raiders, and we have been married for 30 years.
Daughter of KING JESUS
Best comment ever! Laughing so hard! Yes!!!!
Bear Kiels
Awwww... what a sweet story ❤. Wishing you so many more years together. I have loved Keith Green since my sister brought his music home. It's one of my happy childhood places.
Adrian Romero
What a wonderful story. I just discovered Keith Green a few months ago and I've been listening to him to this day.
John Harris
The rest of the story is she would not go out with me for 6 months.
John Harris
@Bear Kiels My Aunt and Uncle lived in Costa Mesa California right in the middle of the Southern California Jesus Movement. My Uncle tells the story of going to Chuck Smith's Calvary chapel and there was some wild hair hippie beating a piano to death. My brother brought back Keith's album in 1977 to our house. The 8 track in our Chevy Monte Carlo had 2 tapes Andre Crouch and Keith Green.
Daniel Fishkind
This is awesome! My Dad and Keith wrote this song together along with Randy Stonehill.Yes they were once upon a time "lost" hippies "seeking" the truth in all the wrong places,but both soon fell deeply in love with Jesus and were transformed, and very sober by this time(:Keith asked to be my God father shortly b4 I was born at last day's ministries,and when I was almost one the plane went down and although I wish I grew up with Keith I truly think he might be making more of an impact from heaven
Josh Gore
Very cool story, Keith is still ministering to people today
JALEMAVO
Wow, nice story! Im sorry, is your father still alive making music for the Lord!!😊🙏
Brian Ross
This song says it so well. It was the first record I bought in 1985 after ditching atheism. Still makes me cry.