I changed the key to one that was best for my voice rather than one that was lowered for an assumed common denominator . I improved the melody . I altered some of the chords and voicings . I added a refrain that hadn ’ t existed before . And I replaced many of the lyrics with more deliberate poetry and prayer — the original lyrics now sounding more cliché , more trivial , and more based in Christianese than I would allow in my writing today .
And when I brought the song back at a service , it hadn ’ t been played live for years . As far as most people were concerned , it was brand new . For a handful of others , they remembered it and were happy to see it make a return . To a select few , the journey the song had taken had a particular resonance for them . They remembered the original version well and could see more distinctly where changes had been made and how the song had evolved . And that was an added bonus for me as an artist , knowing that people in my sacred community who had been on the path with me could appreciate those changes too .
For my song to be a part of anyone else ’ s process — not just once , but twice — that was something truly special .
I was struck later by the fact that , if I had not been willing to make significant changes or allow the song to evolve with me , I simply never would have played it again . It would have just been another relic to the past . And as much as I love nostalgia , it suddenly felt so silly to keep something from being useful to me right now just to honor a past that was dead and gone . Whatever positive work the song had done five years earlier in its original incarnation would not be diminished by my changing it now . Five years ago still happened . Therefore , my hesitance to revisit a song wasn ’ t doing anything for God , or for me , or for anyone else . And denying my impulse as an artist to renew and reinvent a song would in no way “ honor ”
its past . All it would do is forever relegate that song to the past .
All it would do is give me one less song that I believed in and wanted to play right now .
And why would I ever want that ?
A song that no one ’ s singing isn ’ t telling the story of the past anyway … But if you could do what it takes to bring that song back to life and make it worth singing now , that same song would be telling a powerful story of the past AND the present .
Kevin MacDougall Worship leader , published and recorded songwriter , engineer and producer . macdougall . k @ gmail . com