[Intro — Silence, one acoustic guitar note, distant harmonica] [Bubba — spoken, male] Some prayers come out singing. Some come out broken. Psalm twenty-two begins with a cry. [Verse 1 — Bubba, male, barely above a whisper] My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why does Your help feel so far away? I cry in the daylight, I cry through the darkness, Still there's no answer I can hear today. Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises Of people You carried through sorrow and fear. Our fathers cried out and You brought them to safety, So I'm still calling, Lord, even from here. [Refrain — Darlene, female, soft] Even from here, even from here, I'm reaching for You through the tears. Even when silence is all I can hear, My God, I'm still calling from here. [Verse 2 — Bubba, male] They laugh at my trouble, they shake their heads, “Let his God save him,” the cruel voices say. But You knew my heartbeat before I knew breathing, You held me close from my earliest day. Trouble surrounds me like bulls in the pasture, Like dogs in the darkness, closing me in. My strength pours out and my mouth turns to dust, Lord, don't be far when the hurting begins. [Pre-Chorus — Darlene, female] They divide up my clothes and gamble for more, But You see every tear that falls to the floor. [Chorus — Bubba and Darlene, duet, aching] Don't be far away, my strength and my song, Come near to the weary who've waited so long. From the edge of the night, from the depths of the pain, I will call on Your name again and again. My God, my God, hear this heart's plea, Hold me close when I cannot see. [Instrumental — Weeping electric guitar answers harmonica] [Verse 3 — Darlene, female, hope beginning] Then the song turns a corner: You have heard my cry, And I'll tell all my brothers Your wonderful name. In the midst of the gathering I'll lift up Your praises, The hurting and hungry can join the refrain. He has not turned from the cries of the afflicted, He has not hidden His face from their need. The poor shall eat and be filled with thanksgiving; The ones who seek Him shall find joy indeed. [Bridge — Hammond B3 rises, drums begin to drive] [Bubba — male] All the ends of the earth will remember the Lord, Every family and nation will bow and adore. [Darlene — female] The kingdom is His, let the whole world proclaim, And the children yet coming will hear of His name. [Final Chorus — Full gospel choir, Bubba and Darlene] You were near to the broken, You heard every cry, Now Your praise rolls like thunder through the wide Georgia sky! From the edge of the night to the bright morning sun, We will tell every child what the Lord has done. My God, my God, my hope and my song, Your mercy will carry the story along! [Outro — Darlene, female, unaccompanied] He has done it. [Bubba — spoken, male] From one broken prayer to a whole world praising. Amen. [End — Choir hum, harmonica, last organ chord]
