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Servant King

from Servant King by wade baynham

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I wrote new lyrics to this old Irish melody from ‘Star of the County Down,’ which is also the melody for ‘Canticle of the Turning’ and Loreena McKennitt’s ‘The Seven Rejoices of Mary.’ I have been learning to play a hurdy gurdy this summer and fall, and wanted to record it on a melody that I have some familiarity with.

But I also wanted to write some new lyrics while spending time with a few different books: ‘Simply Jesus’ and ‘Evil and the Justice of God’ by N.T. Wright, and ‘We Cry Justice’ from the Poor People’s Campaign. All three in their own way speak to elements of Mary’s song, or ‘the Magnificat,’ a text often referenced during Advent and Christmas that also informs the lyrics of ‘Canticle of the Turning,’ which I’ve sung and played for years. I wanted to focus on the uncommon idea I talked about in the introduction to the record, that Jesus is the King and Lord of All, but that He is in no way our kind of king-- the kind of king that we are used to, the kind that normally comes to mind with the usual royal or kingly language.

A ‘servant of all’ is not how most people refer to a king. That is precisely upside down and backwards to the systems of our world, and to most normal ways of thinking. It seems to be utter foolishness and folly in the face of the empires, racism, billionaires, nuclear weapons, guns, competition, apparent scarcity and the endless pursuit of power and wealth that seem to rule our world. And, with a few substitutions related to technology, these things ruled the world of Jesus’ day, too.

But, as I said, he offers us another way. And do not misunderstand, Jesus is no door mat, and he takes an incredible and very powerful stand against evil, cruelty and oppression. He clearly asks the same of us-- but again, he doesn’t ask us to use the tools we normally use. He asks us to follow him into humility, meekness, courage, love, kindness and faithfulness, and then to watch for the fruit to develop in the process. He does not deny the cost of living this way, but against the odds, he leads the way, this way, toward healing, redemption and hope.

lyrics

Lyrics: Wade Baynham
Music: Irish traditional melody Star of the County Down

In Bethlehem town in Herod’s land the morning of Christmastide
He was born in a cave, with no room in the inn and animals laying nigh
And shepherds came to see this boy of whom angels had come to sing
Such a lowly way to begin his reign, surely like no other king

From Moscow all the way to Capetown, from Washington to Beijing
He’s the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Life, He is our Servant King


Soon his family fled, a price on his head, to the shelter of Egypt land
As Herod killed male children under three, with a wave of his cruel hand
When he did return we are told he was learned in God’s heart and healing ways
‘Til he was ready one day to announce to the world the dawn of a brand new day

And as prophets all go, you surely know, he offended those with power and might
His friends did not belong, He sang the wrong songs, to the downtrodden’s pure delight
And after false arrest and a sham of a trial, on a cross they killed him there
Yet after three days, He rose to new life, hope for all of us everywhere

credits

from Servant King, released November 25, 2021

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wade baynham Durham, North Carolina

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