Christians have always affirmed these.
… Read Full Bio ↴Goodness, truth and beauty.
Christians have always affirmed these.
Goodness educates our morality, showing us how to act.
Truth is the foundation of our theology, the source of our freedom.
But it is beauty that captures and expresses our affection, and it is beauty we often neglect.
Young Oceans is good and true but it's also beautiful.
It doesn't just inspire your mind and behavior but your passion and imagination.
In this way, it is a worthy triumph of Christian aesthetics.
- Jon Tyson, Trinity Grace Church (2014)
\\ YOUNG OCEANS //
YOUNG OCEANS is a neo-alternative worship project that evolved from hymns penned and arranged within the Trinity Grace Church community in New York City by songwriter Eric Marshall. The endeavor sprang up as a separate offshoot from TGC’s two live worship albums, Without End (2009) and We Sing As One (2011), when an eclectic gathering of musicians and parishioners began exploring artful re-renderings of Marshall’s songs in a SoHo apartment. Untethered from the expectations of a traditional congregational format, including both length and structure, a musical ethos emerged that was more a companion to reflective prayer and meditation than a typical church experience. Attendance at impromptu gatherings soon filled to overflowing, and led to the recording of a studio album that could be shared on a broader level. The resulting self-titled debut album was named Top 10 album of the year for 2012 by RELEVANT Magazine, and spawned a second release instrumental version titled BEFORE THE BEGINNING.
\\ ADVENT //
As awareness of the first album continued to spread by worth of mouth, the band explored some follow ideas, settling on an end of year EP. Originally conceived as a meditative companion for the Advent season, a shrugging off of expected traditions in favor of an Old Testament perspective of yearning, the scope and meaning of the collection was ultimately altered and expanded by circumstances surroundings it’s recording. The recording sessions were delayed by a number of events, most notably the massive destruction of Hurricane Sandy on Brooklyn and the greater New York area. With the band’s Red Hook, Brooklyn studio directly in the line of the storm, power was lost, commuting was suspended, and even the producer’s vehicle was abandoned for a time without enough gas to wait in line for this commodity that had become so rare and precious in the New York area. The resulting ADVENT, released first as an EP in December 2012 and then as an expanded deluxe edition with instrumentals and bonus tracks in March 2013, reflects the desperate expectation inherent not just in the Old Testament longing for the first Advent but also in the groaning of the current loaning for the second.
\\ I MUST FIND YOU //
The band’s fourth release and second full-length studio album I MUST FIND YOU will be released on September 30, 2014. Though still rooted deeply in understated confidence and pointed humility that defined previous releases, the songs are also distinctly more personal, doxologies derived from finding the height of hope amidst the depth of depression. Written and recorded under the duress of daily challenges and personal loss, including most notably the death of his mother-in-law, the album is accompanied by an author’s note by Marshall:
"I was sitting alone in St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in SoHo when this record first took shape. I had a melody recorded for what would become “To Hear Your Voice” playing over and over in my ears, desperate for a bridge lyric. Something fresh but classic. ‘Lord, what would you have us sing?’ my usual prayer. Suddenly, the roar of a bulldozer or a wrecking ball tearing into the church walls. Overwhelming volume. I yanked out my headphones. It was a flash flood on a clear summer day. Sheets of rain crashing onto the ancient roof...beautiful, heavy rain. And as quickly as it started, it was over. Out came the sun again.
Pour out Your Spirit like the rain
Teach me to dance with you again
That was it. I pictured the great King David dancing before the Lord. Undignified, he boasted and danced. Perhaps Samuel forgot to tell us it was storming that day. A man after God’s heart splashing around like a 4-year old...just him and his Lord. Stunning freedom. And there it was. I knew that rain was a gift.
Recording began January 6th, in Brooklyn. Mike Beck, our long-suffering producer working with us from his third studio in as many years. Nothing going right as usual. New and vintage gear falling apart, demons in the wires. About 10 degrees outside and the heat is shot in the studio. Everyone in hats and layers. Day 1, we barely got off the ground with 25 takes of a song that never made the record. Day 2 just as rough. All morning working on drums and bass for “Lead Me”. Slow going. During a break I glanced to see my phone had 15 or so missed calls. Not good. I hurried to the front room to call my wife and my heart hit my stomach. On the line, a tone you’ve never heard but instantly recognize. Her mother was gone. Taken her own life. I laid on the disgusting rug, phone to my ear, listening to my wife’s sobs and our girls playing in the background. A million thoughts. Where do you begin. Needless to say, this session was over.
I felt like the project was cursed. The last time Young Oceans recorded New York got slammed with a full blown hurricane. 8 feet of water and sea scum the floor below our studio. Of course, we knew we hadn’t caused these calamities. That’s not how it works. Perhaps it’s that the darkness is more intense if you’re looking toward the light.
Still, weren’t we just humble artists trying to do something of meaning? What is all this pain, death, trial? How do we form doxologies with this taste in our mouth? I didn’t need to look further than Psalm 13 for a glimmer of hope and precedent. How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? the Psalmist asks. Yet later, after the wrestling, I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
This was the way forward. It’s brutal and graceful irony that the way of Christ is death to life. And if these songs are about the struggle, the search, the brokenness and the ultimate Hope, then I’d be a liar if I told it differently."
- Eric Marshall (2014)
A Rising Fire
Young Oceans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bursting through the morning haze
Warming every stone and river
Turning every leaf to gaze
I see the flowers o'er the field
Lo they neither toil nor spin
Effortlessly clothed in splendor
O I sing
For my King
Hear this cry
Lord, to You I lift my eyes
You alone are my desire
O I sing
For my King
Hear this cry
Lord, to You I lift my eyes
You alone are my desire
In Young Oceans's song A Rising Fire, the singer describes a beautiful morning scene where the sun is rising and breaking through the mist. The sunlight warms everything it touches, making stones and rivers come to life and turning leaves towards its rays. The singer also points out the beauty of the flowers scattered throughout the field, clothing each petal with effortless splendor. The flowers do not toil or spin, yet they stand tall and majestic, glorifying their King.
The song then transitions to the singer singing a prayerful song to God, expressing that only He is their desire. The singer acknowledges that their God is the only One worthy to receive their adoration and worship, and that they lift their eyes to Him alone.
The lyrics of A Rising Fire show a deep appreciation for nature's beauty and magnificence, as well as a deep devotion to God. The singer focuses on the splendor of God's creations and expresses their love and worship for Him in humble admiration.
Line by Line Meaning
I see the sun, a rising fire
The sun is rising through the mist, illuminating everything in a warm glow.
Bursting through the morning haze
The sun is so bright that it's breaking through the foggy morning scenery with ease.
Warming every stone and river
The sun is warming up everything it shines on, including stones and rivers.
Turning every leaf to gaze
The sun is making leaves turn toward it as it shines, looking like they're gazing at it.
I see the flowers o'er the field
The singer sees the flowers that are growing in a nearby field.
Lo they neither toil nor spin
The flowers don't have to work hard, yet they still manage to look beautiful effortlessly.
Effortlessly clothed in splendor
The flowers look stunning, even though they didn't have to try to look that way.
Ever glorious for their King
The flowers are glorious and beautiful, which the singer believes is a tribute to their creator.
O I sing
The singer is feeling joyful and inspired to sing.
For my King
The singer is singing for their king, which is likely a religious reference to God.
Hear this cry
The singer is making a passionate plea or declaration that they want someone to hear.
Lord, to You I lift my eyes
The singer is looking up to God and addressing Him in prayer or worship.
You alone are my desire
The singer is declaring that their only desire in life is to have a relationship with God.
Contributed by Brayden V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.