Mark Heard released 13 studio albums in his lifetime (as Mark Heard & Ideola) also 1 album with Infinity Plus Three), and produced and performed with many other artists as well, such as Daniel Amos, Sam Phillips, Pierce Pettis, Phil Keaggy, Vigilantes of Love, Peter Buck of R.E.M., John Austin, The Choir, Randy Stonehill and Michael Been of The Call. Heard produced part of Olivia Newton John's The Rumour, which also included a cover of Heard's "Big and Strong".
On July 4, 1992, Heard suffered a heart attack on stage while performing with Pierce Pettis and Kate Miner, at the Cornerstone Festival, near Chicago, Illinois. Heard finished his set and went to the hospital immediately afterwards. Two weeks after being released from the hospital, Heard had a cardiac arrest and died in August of 1992. Sadly, this happened at a time when Heard's musical career never looked brighter. Not only had he just released three albums (Dry Bones Dance in 1990, Second Hand in 1991, and Satellite Sky in 1992) that many hailed as his best work to date, but he had also just been included on a sampler from Windham Hill's High Street label.
Heard's early work was often marked by strong, poetic lyrics; but musically he lingered in a generic folk/folk-rock style. But Heard continued to experiment musically; his most extreme was perhaps the elaborately-produced electronic rock on the album Tribal Opera, which he released under the name iDEoLA. With Dry Bones Dance, however, Heard's music blossomed into an intense folk-rock fusion, marked by driving rhythms, virtuosic instrumentals, passionate vocals, and interwoven elements borrowed from styles such as Appalachian folk, zydeco, bluegrass, and country (though Heard's music is none of those). Second Hand returned to a more acoustic guitar-based folk sound, but retained the energy and creativity discovered through Dry Bones Dance. His final official album, Satellite Sky, was again more like the latter.
Mark Heard's lyrics are deeply grounded in a Christian view of the world, though explicitly so only half the time. He was often critical and had an eye for emotional pain and spiritual desolation, yet he remarkably avoided cynicism. When his lyrics turned to expressing hope or joy, they were powerful. As a poetic lyricist, Heard cultivated verbal sound (e.g. with internal rhyme), strong images and elaborate personae, while avoiding the cheap punch-line metaphors popular in much contemporary folk music. Some of his images, most notably "bones," can be found repeated and richly varied in their meaning across years of songwriting.
In 1994, many artists came together to record a tribute album called Strong Hand of Love. Artists lending their talents to the project included Victoria Williams, Chagall Guevara, Buddy Miller, Julie Miller, Daniel Amos, The Choir, Rich Mullins, Bruce Cockburn, and the Vigilantes of Love. The project was later reissued as a 2 CD set with additional tracks and retitled Orphans of God.
All
Mark Heard Lyrics
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That's not been said in times past
I see You darkly through a glass again
And I can't think of no way new
To sing about Your kindness
When hymns are prayers You hear the last "Amen"
Jesus, Precious Savior
Won't You hear me
Won't You heal me
Won't You help me love You more
If there's a million melodies
And time enough to sing them
I know they'd never be sufficient praise
And I've a million less than these
And fewer words to bring them
And all hat I can do is ask Your Grace
Jesus, Precious Savior
I have prayed it all before
Won't You hear me
Won't You heal me
Won't You help me love You more
The lyrics of Mark Heard's song 'All in' convey a sense of humility and reverence towards God. The singer acknowledges that he has nothing new to say or sing about God's kindness, as everything that needs to be said has already been said in the past. He sees God vaguely, like looking through a glass, and his limited human understanding falls short of fitting words to express the limitless grace he experiences. The singer prays to Jesus, expressing a desire for him to hear, heal, and help him love him more.
The song is a prayer, personal and intimate, expressing the singer's heart towards God in a lyrical manner. It speaks to the human condition of finite existence and limited understanding. The repetition of the chorus highlights the singer's longing for more in his relationship with Jesus.
Mark Heard was a singer-songwriter who recorded this song on his album, Satellite Sky, in 1983. He is known for his lyrical depth and poetic style, which he combined with a rock and roll sensibility, blending elements of folk and rock to create his unique sound. He was a Christian artist who often infused his music with spiritual themes and insightful lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Lord, what can I say to You
Oh, my Lord, words fail me as I try to express my feelings for You
That's not been said in times past
Nothing new I can say that has not been said countless times in the past by others
I see You darkly through a glass again
I have a blurred vision of You, my Lord, as if looking through a dimmed glass
And I can't think of no way new
I am trying hard to think of a new way to worship You, but my mind draws a blank
To sing about Your kindness
How do I sing about Your infinite kindness, Lord?
When hymns are prayers You hear the last 'Amen'
Even when my hymns become prayers that end with 'Amen,' You hear them all, my Lord
Jesus, Precious Savior
Oh, Jesus, my precious Savior, have mercy on me
I have prayed it all before
I have prayed to You in every way I know, Lord
Won't You hear me
Please listen to my heart's cry, my Lord
Won't You heal me
Heal my wounded soul, You who are the great physician, my Lord
Won't You help me love You more
I long to love You more and more, please help me do so, my Lord.
If there's a million melodies
There may be millions of melodies to sing, Lord
And time enough to sing them
Though there may be time enough for me to sing them, it's never enough to praise You sufficiently, my Lord
I know they'd never be sufficient praise
Even if I could sing all those melodies, they'd fall short of praising You enough, my Lord
And I've a million less than these
I have far fewer melodies to sing than a million, maybe barely a handful, Lord
And fewer words to bring them
I have even fewer words to express my feelings to accompany those melodies, my Lord
And all that I can do is ask Your Grace
All I can do in such a situation, Lord, is ask for Your Grace.
Contributed by Charlotte B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.