The band’s recent history is pretty impressive. Since its 2008 debut album, Over and Underneath, Tenth Avenue North has become one of Christian music industry’s most successful acts, saturating Christian radio with such memorable songs as “Love is Here,” “Hold My Heart,” and “By Your Side,” a number one single that was Billboard magazine’s No. 3 overall Christian song for the decade. They won New Artist of the Year in 2009 at the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards and in 2010 “By Your Side” was named Song of the Year.
The band’s 2010 sophomore album, The Light Meets the Dark, debuted at No. 1 on the Nielsen Christian SoundScan chart and No. 15 on the Billboard 200. The album hit the No.1 Christian Album chart position at both iTunes and AmazonMP3, reaching Top 5 on iTunes’ Overall chart, propelled by the lead single, “Healing Begins.” The compelling ballad “You Are More” was 2011’s No. 1 Song of the Year on Billboard’s Christian Audience Chart.
As the band approached its third album, it would have been easy to take an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude, but the word complacency is not in its vocabulary. Band members Mike Donehey (lead vocals), Jeff Owen (guitars), Jason Jamison (drums), Ruben Juarez (bass) and Brendon Shirley (keyboard) took a totally different approach in how they wrote and recorded The Struggle. Instead of waiting until they got home to Nashville to begin recording demos, the songs were written and demoed on the road while the band was on tour.
“We wrote ‘Don’t Stop The Madness’ in January of 2011,” Owen says of the confessional anthem. “That’s when we first started writing as a band and we were recording demos as we were writing. On the last two records, Mike would write most of the songs with Jason, or on his own. He would show up and the song would have lyrics and melody and acoustic guitar, and then we’d take that and make it our own. We’d put a beat to it and shake it, but this time we started basically from scratch.”
Recording on the road led to some interesting sessions. “When we recorded, ‘Where Life Will Never Die,’ there was an amp in our bathroom,” Jamison says with a smile.
“Sometimes there were things on the demo that we couldn’t replicate in the studio,” Donehey adds, “so we ended up finding the files from the demo and putting them on it. We recorded drums in the front of the bus at one time. They sounded amazing.”
The Struggle is also the first album to include the two newest members of Tenth Avenue North-- Ruben Juarez and Brendon Shirley.
“Ruben and Brendon are more technically knowledgeable than Jason, Jeff and I are,” says Donehey. “They really added to the musical structure of these songs. Plus, we all get along so well creatively, I couldn’t see doing this record without them.”
In an innovative twist, Tenth Avenue North invited fans to be part of the creative process and invited them to sing on the record. “It started on the Third Day tour,” Owen says of the trek last fall. “We sent out Twitter and Facebook [messages] to our fans and said, ‘Hey, come sing on our record.’ We have people from Nebraska singing with people from Fargo and Albuquerque.”
In various cities on the tour, the band would invite fans to show up and then they’d record their voices to add to different songs on the album. “It’s cool,” Donehey says. “These are the people that support us and listen to this music. It is music that affects their lives and now they are actually a part of it.”
Working again with producer Jason Ingram (six-time winner of SESAC’s Christian Songwriter of the Year award), the members of Tenth Avenue North have crafted a sonically diverse record that mirrors the passion and intensity of its live show. “We got a lot of comments over the past several years about how our live show is much different than our recorded music,” says Donehey. “It has more energy and more of a rock edge to it. We try to be more musical and create different moments, so I think going into this we wanted to make sure we were aware of our live show and how these songs were going to play out live.”
As always, the band was ever mindful of the power of its songs and the messages in its lyrics. Though the word “struggle” tends to evoke thoughts of challenge and strife, leave it to Tenth Avenue North to illuminate the possibilities and show that struggle is ultimately a privilege. “Hallelujah! We are free to struggle. We’re not struggling to be free,” Donehey sings in the title track.
“We want to give people permission to struggle, to realize that there’s grace and you don’t have to be good enough,” says Donehey. “It’s the theme of a lot of our music, but we also want to challenge people to not stay there, to not stay in that place of struggling. There is power and there is grace, not only to forgive your struggle, but to redeem you from the struggle. . . We’re going to struggle until the day that we die, but we don’t have to struggle to earn what God has provided for us.”
The lead single, “Losing,” is a song that challenges believers to forgive because we’ve been forgiven. Offering forgiveness may sometimes make you feel like you're "losing" but only in showing others the grace God has shown us are we truly free. Such powerful yet poetic messages continue to populate every song on The Struggle. “Strangers Here,” inspired by Hebrews 11 reminds us of better things to come. As Donehey sings the emotional lyric he urges us to remember that this life is only temporary and one day we will touch the face of our God.
“Worn” is a tender ballad that acknowledges our human frailty and the rest that awaits in our heavenly Father’s arms. As a young father, balancing the responsibilities of music ministry and raising two young daughters, Donehey is well acquainted with physical and emotional exhaustion; and in the song, he shares one of the most vulnerable vocal performances on the record. Yet even in the midst of struggle, fatigue and alienation---all emotions every human battles---the songs celebrate the sovereignty of God in every aspect of our lives. Song after song, the band offers up the kind of lyrically substantive lyrics people have come to expect from Tenth Avenue North wrapped in the most adventurous music they’ve ever crafted.
“Grace” boasts a vibrant melody and some of the record's most compelling lyrics as Donehey sings: “Grace, only grace can roll your dead heart's stone away. Grace only grace can move us to a rhythm that can changes our ways.” “We’re going to struggle until the day that we die," says Owen of the song's message, "but we don’t have to struggle to earn what God has provided for us.”
“All the Same” acknowledges the fact that though we might appear very different on the surface, at the core we are all the same, desperate for the love of God. “You Do All Things Well” is yet a soothing prayer that celebrates the power of God to meet our every need. The worshipful chorus is a soaring celebration of God's majesty.
Tenth Avenue North has come a long way from sharing the Gospel with students at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida to playing for more than a half a million people in concert last year. It’s a platform and privilege they take seriously. “When I’m playing, I look out and I can see people’s eyes,” says Donehey. “I’ve always carried an ache for people. I want people to experience the freedom I’ve experienced. I want people to experience the forgiveness I’ve experienced.”
Music can provide a healing balm to those breaking hearts and through its music, Tenth Avenue North continues to shine a light not only on the struggle, but the hope that changes lives forever.
Members:
Mike Donehey - Lead Vocals/Guitar
Jeff Owen - Guitar/BGVs
Jason Jamison - Drums
Ruben Juarez-Bass Guitar
Brendon Shirley-Keys
Former Members
Bryan Homan
Daniel (Danny) Zayas
Scott Sanders - bass guitar, keyboard
Andrew Middleton
Genre:
Rock/Christian/Religious
Hometown:
West Palm Beach, Florida
Record label:
Reunion Records
forgive me
Tenth Avenue North Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I can't look you in the eye
So I, I just stay away
I tried and tasted what's forbidden
And it filled me with delight
But now I'm still hungry inside
Forgive me, forgive me Lord, for living, like I'm not yours
You are light for my foolish heart
(my heart, my heart, my heart)
You are the light of my heart
(my heart, my heart, my heart)
You are the light of my
Oh God, I let intruders into
The garden of my soul
Foxes are running wild
I thought you were holding on me now
To keep me from being free
How could I have been so wrong
Forgive me, forgive me Lord, for living, like I'm not yours
I forget, how kind you are
You are light for my foolish heart
(my heart, my heart, my heart)
You are the light of my heart
(my heart, my heart, my heart)
You are the light of my
Like a runaway, always runnin', runnin' from the pain
Tried my own way to live
To steal what you already give
I gave you the truth for a lie
Trade the sun in for the moonlight
Oh don't let me sleep here tonight
I wanna see you here with new eyes, new eyes
Forgive me, forgive me Lord, for living, like I'm not yours
I forget, how kind you are
You are light for my foolish heart
(my heart, my heart, my heart)
You are the light of my heart
(my heart, my heart, my heart)
You are the light of my
Father forgive me, I forget that I am yours
No other Savior is as kind as you are, so kind to me Lord
Your my light in yours
Your my love and I'm yours [repeat]
In "Forgive Me" by Tenth Avenue North, the singer is expressing their inner turmoil and shame to God. They hear God call out to them, but feel unworthy to face Him directly. The singer has indulged in forbidden pleasures that have left them feeling empty and unfulfilled. They ask for God's forgiveness and acknowledge that they have been living as if they are not His. The singer recognizes that God is the light of their heart and they have been foolish to try and live outside of His love.
The lyrics in the second verse suggest that the singer has allowed negativity and harmful thoughts to enter the "garden of their soul." They feel like they have been taken away from God's hold, but realize how wrong they were in thinking that way. In the bridge, the singer acknowledges that they have been running away from their pain and have tried to live their life on their own terms, but have found no success. They confess their mistakes and ask God to let them see Him with new eyes.
Overall, the song is about the singer recognizing that they have been living their life without God and asking for His forgiveness. They realize that God's love and mercy are always available to them and that without it, they will remain empty and lost.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear you calling out my name, Lord
Although I can hear you calling for me, Lord, I cannot bring myself to meet your gaze.
But I can't look you in the eye
I am so ashamed of my previous choices that I find it difficult to meet the Lord's gaze.
So I, I just stay away
I have been staying away from the Lord, even though I know He is calling me.
I tried and tasted what's forbidden
I knew what I was doing was against the Lord's will, but I persisted and indulged in sin instead.
And it filled me with delight
Even though I knew it was wrong, I enjoyed the temporary pleasures and satisfaction of sin.
But now I'm still hungry inside
Despite indulging in sin, I still feel unfulfilled and incomplete.
Forgive me, forgive me Lord, for living, like I'm not yours
Lord, please forgive me for living my life as if I am not yours.
I forget, how kind you are
I often forget how kind and forgiving the Lord is.
You are light for my foolish heart
Lord, you are the light that illuminates my foolish heart and shows me the right path to follow.
(my heart, my heart, my heart)
A repetition that emphasizes the heart's importance in this song.
You are the light of my heart
You are the one who dispels the darkness and illuminates my heart.
Oh God, I let intruders into
I allowed unwelcome thoughts or actions into my heart, causing chaos and confusion.
The garden of my soul
The place where I store the most intimate parts of myself is where I let evil grow.
Foxes are running wild
The problems in my soul have multiplied, and I cannot control them anymore.
I thought you were holding on me now
I was under the impression that the Lord's grip on me was tight, but I was wrong.
To keep me from being free
I thought that the Lord held me back from being free, but I was ignorant that it was the exact opposite.
How could I have been so wrong
I am in disbelief how, despite knowing the Lord's teachings, I still deciphered things wrong.
Like a runaway, always runnin', runnin' from the pain
I have been running away from the pain that accompanies the Lord's teachings and the healing process.
Tried my own way to live
I tried to live my own life without the guidance of the Lord or the Bible scriptures.
To steal what you already give
In doing so, I stole what the Lord had already given me: love, guidance, and faith.
I gave you the truth for a lie
Instead of accepting the Lord's truth as the only truth, I replaced it with lies and deceit.
Trade the sun in for the moonlight
I traded the light of the Lord, which illuminates everything, for the gentle, faint light of the moon.
Oh don't let me sleep here tonight
Lord, do not abandon me on this path I have chosen.
I wanna see you here with new eyes, new eyes
I want to open myself up to the Lord's truth and see with new eyes guided by the Lord.
Father forgive me, I forget that I am yours
I ask the Lord for forgiveness, for forgetting that I belong to Him and should live my life following His teachings.
No other Savior is as kind as you are, so kind to me Lord
I acknowledge that no other savior can be as kind to me as the Lord.
Your my light in yours
You are my light, and I belong to you.
Your my love and I'm yours
You are the one who loves me deeply, and I am yours to command.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRENDON SHIRLEY, JASON JAMISON, JEFF OWEN, MIKE DONEHEY, RUBEN JUAREZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nancy Foix
Just as the father was waiting
for his prodigal Son to return;
Our heavenly Father is waiting
for us to return
when we have wandered away from His fold..
He's right there waiting with open arms
because He loves us
and does not want us to drown in our sorrows,
nor perish in our sins.
He loves us so much,
He sent is Son to die in our place,
to pay the penalty for our sin:
mine the sin, His the sacrifice;
mine the sin, His the pain;.
mine the sin, but His death.
"The wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord."(Romans 6:23)
Katie Bergman
This song is so relatable ! I was thinking about how Jesus wouldn't forgive me, but now I realize he will ALWAYS .
Creative Me
yes
Daniel D
Ignore the sole person
Lauren Booker
Saw them in concert last night and this song had me in tears.. I've not been a very good Christian and this song really spoke to me and I know what needs to change now in my life. I have a lot of decisions to make now. Prayers would be much appreciated, thank you!
Jesse Kohler
Relapsed a couple months ago, distanced myself from everyone, my family, friends, church, completely turned my phone off that whole time, they came looking and I hid... Couldn't talk to God even tho I can hear him calling.. this song... Hits hard, couldn't make it 10 seconds in before hitting the ground.
Just texted my pastor to pick me up and he's on the way... Lord forgive me.
Sam Gatukui
hello Jesse. I hope you are fighting on. Grace and peace.
christopher weiner
This song cuts deep. Out of all of my struggles, living my life like I don't know Christ. I'm thankful for the steadfast love of Christ, for when I wander so far from God, still he calls me back.
Xeon Light
Amen.
Allison Blackwood
Amen. I'm still struggling.
Ermelinda
Wow your comment made me cry. It cut through me