the cover, I knew something was different. I thought that’ s the way album art used to be. On first glance, your release could be a Yes album cover!( Chris smiles with a thumbs-up). But then your name’ s on it!
The ancient Celts acknowledged God’ s creation in their beliefs. And then you conclude the album with“ My Father’ s World”, which is an intimate and magnificent anthem for the church. What can you tell us about the backstory behind The King is Still the King and the time-period leading up to it? How did the project all take shape? I’ ll ask you about the song“ Still the King” next.
[ Chris ] I love that you brought up“ My Father’ s World” and the album cover. There’ s so much intention with how every song is placed with how good it is, opening the album to“ My Father’ s World”, ending the record“ My Father’ s World”. And you’ ll see this crown, which we’ ll speak to in a minute, this image that is on everything I’ m wearing on my hat right now, it’ s on everything that you’ ll see from me in the next year or so is this image of these two crowns, the crown of thorns and the crown of the King of Kings intertwined together. And I’ ve really not seen that together, that mark together, but I thought I wanted to create it. And I thought this tells the whole story … that mark tells the whole story. And we’ ll get to that in just a second when we talk about the song. But that mark over this cover and sits above overarching this artwork of the landscapes of the earth, the desert, the mountains, the highlands, the ocean, the trees, the forest … all of these landscapes of the earth saying that he’ s the king over all things king. And even ending with“ My Father’ s World”. It’ s funny you mentioned that song. My wife probably played it five times last night through the house.
She said,“ Chris, this would be in my top five of yours ever, ever”. And just obviously it’ s not. I didn’ t write the song. We adapted the hymn and I learned something about this hymn, Alex, you’ ll love this story. The Presbyterian minister who wrote to hymn in the late 1800s, he would say to his wife as he’ d go on a walk out into the woods, he would tell his wife every time he’ d say,“ Honey, I’ m going to see my Father’ s world”.
And he would go take a walk and he wrote in a journal, and he took and wrote in a journal all these verses. And when he died, she found that journal. It had 16 verses of what is now this hymn. We only sing four or five verses, but he had written down all these beautiful lyrics of the beauty of our father’ s world and the reality of what we live in and see and open our eyes to every day. And so, the album ends with this simple refrain I wrote to the hymn.“ He reigns. He reigns forever on his throne, he reigns, he reigns. This is my father’ s world.” And so, when you see that crown, that reigning crown above the landscapes of the earth, I’ m really speaking to that in a way, but I love that it’ s kind of an exclamation mark on the record. The King is still the King. He reigns over all things. This album has been a three-year process for me. It’ s the
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