Every Christmas – Michael W. Smith
***
Michael W. Smith returns with a new full-length Christmas album, his sixth Christmas project, titled Every Christmas. The album includes six songs from his 2022 EP Christmas at Home, along with six new songs. Smith co-produced the album with son Tyler Michael Smith. This is really a family project. Smith’s daughters Whitney Mooring and Anna Smith are featured throughout, along with his 17 grandchildren. The album features beautiful orchestration throughout.
Here are a few comments about each song on the album:
The Night Before… – This is a brief instrumental featuring piano and orchestration.
Christmas Is Here – This song was written by Smith and daughter Anna Bovi, and features piano, a chorus of all of his grandchildren, and an orchestral arrangement done by Smith’s son, Tyler.
Key lyric:
Ring, ring all the bells
Angels rejoice
Redemption upon us
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- Song of the Week Lyrics ~ Glorious Day by Crowder
Here With Us – This beautiful song begins and features an orchestra (strings and horns) and a choir. The song ends with a snippet from the traditional Christmas carol “Deck the Halls”.
Key lyric:
Hallelujah
A babe is born
Singing hallelujah
Be filled with awe and wonder
This Christmas morn
Emmanuel
Our God is here with us
Caroling, Caroling – This classic Christmas song was written by Wihla Hutson and Alfred Burt. The song is led by a choir backed by beautiful strings.
Key lyric:
Caroling, caroling through the town
Christmas bells are ringing
Sometime Every Christmas – This song was written by Smith and Tony Wood. The song has Smith looking back on past Christmases. Like many of us, looking back can bring back memories of those who are no longer with us. The beautiful song features strings, piano, backing vocals and a choir.
Key lyric:
Sometime every Christmas
Can’t say where or when or why
But some moment or some memory
Takes me by surprise
And something in the season
Wells up in my eye
Sometime every Christmas
I cry
How Great Our Joy – This is a traditional German Christmas carol. The song features a choir, strings and horns.
Key lyric:
How great our joy! Great our joy!
Joy, joy, joy! Joy, joy, joy!
Praise we the Lord in heav’n on high!
Praise we the Lord in heav’n on high!
Freeze The Frame – This song was written by Smith and Tony Wood. The song paints pictures of family moments around the holidays. The song features piano, percussion, strings, and daughter Anna Bovi on vocals.
Key lyric:
My only wish this Christmas Eve
Is that we could all remain
Forever here
The One – This song was written by Smith and Whitney Mooring. The song features piano, a choir and strings.
Key lyric:
The joy of Christmas morning
With family in our home
And all the children’s laughter
Remind us of the One
Newborn King – This beautiful song is about the newborn king coming tonight, features piano, and a choir.
Key lyric:
Every breath be a holy wonder
Darkness runs from the voice of thunder
I have heard your cries
Dry your weeping eyes
The new born King He comes tonight
The Star – This mostly instrumental song features vocals from Smith’s daughter Whitney Mooring, piano and orchestration.
God with God – This song is about God becoming incarnate in Jesus and coming to Earth to be with us. It was produced, orchestrated, and arranged by David Hamilton, and features the 200+ member Brentwood Baptist Choir.
Key lyric:
Then one holy chosen midnight
Something wild and wonderous
God with God in highest heaven
Suddenly now, God with us
As he promised, God with us
Christmas at Wildwood – This instrumental features Smith on piano.
Favorite songs:
Christmas is Here
Here with Us
Newborn King
God with God
Music News:
- Mercy. Enjoy the music video for “Mercy” by Trip Lee, featuring Kirk Franklin.
Glorious Day – Crowder
We recently attended the Mercy Me/Crowder/Andrew Ripp Together Again tour in Bloomington, Illinois. I’ve enjoyed Crowder’s music for several years. My favorite song of the evening was a song Crowder performed that I had not heard him sing previously. It was “Glorious Day”, which was written by Kristian Stanfill, Jason Ingram, Jonathan Smith and Sean Curran. Watch this video of Crowder performing the song at the 2018 Passion Conference.
[Verse 1]
I was buried beneath my shame
Who could carry that kind of weight
It was my tomb
Till I met You
[Verse 2]
I was breathing but not alive
All my failures I tried to hide
It was my tomb
Till I met You
[Chorus]
You called my name
And I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day
You called my name
And I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day
[Verse 3]
Now Your mercy has saved my soul
Now Your freedom is all I know
The old made new
Jesus, when I met You
[Chorus]
You called my name
And I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day
You called my name
And I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day
[Bridge]
I needed rescue
My sin was heavy
But chains break at the weight of Your glory
I needed shelter
I was an orphan
Now You call me a citizen of heaven
When I was broken
You were my healing
Your love is the air that I’m breathing
I have a future
My eyes are open
[Chorus]
You called my name
And I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day
You called my name
And I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day
