[Spoken — easy, conversational; acoustic guitar being handled in the background] Sitting here in Luke-in-bock, underneath these old oak trees, listening to people pass guitars around and trade songs and stories… It got me thinking about where music started for me. I grew up at my grandparents’ house, back when our address was just a rural route and box number. I was the youngest one around for miles, so I spent a lot of time with the animals. The horses were my best friends. The dog and cat got part of whatever I was eating— one for you, one for you… two for me. [laughs softly] I thought that was fair. And every few hours, you’d hear a train coming or going somewhere off in the distance. Sitting here tonight, with these guitars and stories floating around underneath these trees, I realized something. long before I knew the words to a hymn… long before I knew His name… I was already hearing the music. And now I think I understand. Maybe all those years, I wasn’t just listening to life. Maybe I was listening to Him. This is “Before I Knew His Name.” [brief pause] [Acoustic guitar begins] [Verse 1] We had a rural route and a number on the box, Gravel in the drive and no reason for a lock. I was the youngest one for miles around, So I made my friends with whatever I found. A horse in the pasture, A dog at my feet, An old barn cat waiting Every time I’d eat. One for you, one for you, Two for me— We had our own kind of company. [Verse 2] I’d spend all day where the pasture rolled, Sun on my shoulders, mane in my hold. Didn’t need talking, They didn’t either, Just horses breathing, In the summer heat together. And when that Indiana sun sank low, I’d head for the front yard to watch the show. Little lights rising out of the grass, I’d hold one gently, Then let it pass. [Pre-Chorus] I didn’t know the Maker Had written through it all. I only knew the quiet, And the wonder when I’d look. I didn’t know the Word Was speaking through creation. I just knew something in my heart... Was listening. [Chorus] Before I knew His name, I knew how a song could feel. Cicadas in the treetops, A train beyond the fields. Hooves shifting in the pasture, Fireflies in the night— The whole world seemed to whisper, There’s Someone here tonight. Before I ever knew the Word, Before I understood, Jesus was the music In the heart of all I loved. [Verse 3] Evening came slow in Southern Indiana, Heat hung around like it had nothing to do. The bugs tuned up when the daylight faded, And somewhere far off, That old train whistle blew. I’d stop what I was doing just to listen As the sound rolled over everything I knew. Never wondered where that train was going Back then, where I was, Was enough to do. [pre-chorus] But somewhere underneath that summer sky, Something deeper than the sounds was calling me. I didn’t have the words to say it then, I just knew my heart was listening. [Chorus] Before I knew His name, I knew how a song could feel. Cicadas in the treetops, A train beyond the fields. Hooves shifting in the pasture, Fireflies in the night— The whole world seemed to whisper, There’s Someone here tonight. Before I ever knew the Word, Before I understood, Jesus was the music, In the heart of all I loved. [Bridge — emotional lift] Then somewhere down the road, The little girl grew older. The sounds that once surrounded me Started calling something deeper. And one day I heard the story Of a Word who became flesh— Not just a sound, Not just a song, But God who came to dwell with us. And suddenly the pieces All began to fall in place. The One I heard in wonder Was the One who called my name. The One behind creation Was reaching out to me. The music I had carried Was the Savior I had sought. And the quiet voice I'd heard so long Was Jesus. The Word. [Final Chorus — fullest arrangement] Now I know His name, And I know how a song can heal. I hear Him in the quiet, I hear Him in the fields. I hear Him in the laughter, In the stories that we share. I hear Him in the silence When I know that He is there. In the beginning was the Word, And the Word was with God. The Word became flesh And came to live among us. And now He lives within me, And my heart has found its song. Jesus is the music That has been there all along. [Outro — strip back to acoustic guitar] So now you know where my music comes from, I wasn't just hearing the country sing. I was hearing the Word. And the Word was Jesus. He was there before I knew His name. He is… The song.
