Following are the lyrics to their latest hit song.

By Your Side – Tenth Avenue North (Chords)

Key G

Intro: G Em D C

Verse 1:
G
Why are you striving these days?
Em
Why are you trying to earn grace?
D C
Why are you crying? Let me lift up your face
G
Just don’t turn away

Verse 2:
G
Why are you looking for love?
Em
Why are you still searching as if I’m not enough?
D
To where will you go child?
C
Tell me where will you run?
G
To where will you run?

Chorus:
Em C
Cause I’ll be by your side wherever you fall
G D
In the dead of night whenever you call
Em C G
And please don’t fight these hands that are holding you
D G
Yeah My hands are holding you

Verse 3:
G
Look at these hands, and My side
Em
They swallowed the grave on that night
D C
When I drank the world’s sin so I could carry you in
G D
And give you life, I wanna give you life

Bridge:
D Em
Cause I, I love you
C D
I want you to know
D Em
That I, I love you
C D
I’ll never let you go

Below you can listen to one of their most amazing songs called Times. Listen to it and enjoy in praise and worship with Tenth Avenue North.

TIMES – Tenth Avenue North

Songs Theme:

This song beautifully portrays the call of a desperate person, searching for God in times of struggle and hardship. It expresses the need to tangibly experience God by feeling and hearing. You hear the writers struggle with feeling worthy of God’s touch and his inability to share with God the inner workings of his life, because he is too ashamed.

But the response by God in this song is what really makes this song such a refreshing and healing, as God responds to this persons cry with an amazing chorus going into great detail that His love is ALWAYS there, and NEVER FAILS!

Song Writing Style:

I love the creativity in the writing of this song. As you read the first verse you will notice a pattern evolving of each emotion being carried to the next emotion. This really draws the listener to the lyrics and really effectively communicates the emotions that the song writer is feeling.

The structure of this song is very unique also. It doesn’t seem to have a bridge, and seems to be very similar throughout, but this does not come across as a bad thing, but instead allows you to focus on the chorus (which happens to be quite long!)

The depth of the chorus is one other thing that I really like. While most writers would cut the chorus to 4-6 statements, you will find that the chorus is 15-20 statements long. This allows the writer to really express the love of God and cover all bases, without having to leave a time (where God’s love is present) out.

Conclusion:

This is a beautifully written song, and sounds fantastic. I believe this song truly shows off the depth, talent and also worshippers heart of Tenth Avenue North, and I would strongly suggest that you at least check out this band.

Times – Tenth Avenue North (Lyrics)

I know i need you
I need to love you
I love to see you, and its been so long
i long to feel you
i feel this need for you’
and i need to hear you
is that so wrong?

now you pulled me near you
when we’re close i fear you
still im afraid to tell you
all that i’ve done
are you done forgiving?
or can you pass my pretending?
Lord i’m so tired of defending
what i’ve become
what have i become?

i hear you say “my love is over,
its underneath, its inside, its in between
the times you doubt me, when you can’t feel
the times that you’ve questioned ‘is this for real?’
the times you’ve broken, the times that you mend
the times you hate me and the times that you bend

well my love is over, its underneath
its inside, its in between,
these times you’re healing
and when your heart breaks
the times that you feel like you’ve fallen from grace
the times you’re hurting
the times that you heal
the times you go hungry and *are tempted* to steal
in times of confusion and chaos and pain
im there in your sorrow under the weight of your shame
im there through your heartache
im there in the storm
my love i will keep you by my power alone
i dont care where you’ve fallen, where you have been
i’ll never forsake you
my love never ends, it never ends

Sometimes as song writers we go through dry spells, where no matter how hard we try or how long we sit at our piano or guitar – nothing comes out. It is like we have run empty of creativity and can’t seem to find inspiration anywhere.

But then again, sometimes it is the complete opposite. I can go through times where I can write a new song each day for a whole week (not saying they are all good). This got me thinking about why this happens. Why do we seem to through these cycles of constant inspiration then no inspiration. Why can I sit down with my guitar and write the majority of a song in 20min, where everything seems to flow so easily, and then not be able to write anything new for a month?

It all comes back to inspiration, so I put the question out to the @IHeartWorship Twitter followers, to see where they drew they inspiration when it comes to song writing.

Where Do You Get Inspiration For A Song?

LaCyn@IHeartWorship anywhere and everywhere. God can inspire me no matter what I’m doing.

Alejadukes2006@IHeartWorship personal time with God, relationships, people, just people in the street.

ViMad@IHeartWorship the inspiration source is God but the nature, the society ,the situations inspires us to write songs with content to worship

emmanuelgee@iheartworship I get it from moments in my life, and/or what God has spoken to me. Just pray

The thing that I love about all these answers is that it always came back to two things, LIFE and GOD.

LIFE and GOD

Everywhere that we look, every moment of our day, we encounter people, problems, beauty, love, hope, despair, rejection, affliction, persecution, hope, justice, injustice, the joy of a new friendships, the loss as someone departs from our lives. Everyday we are given countless opportunities to see not only the result of man’s sin and the impact that it has had on our world, but also the beauty of seeing God’s grace, His mercy, His love and His hope shining into these situations as His people carry on the work that He started. There is inspiration for songs everywhere, but are you open to seeing them? You have to allow God to open your eyes and soften your heart to what is going on around you.

My Story Of Inspiration

I great example of this was recently when I was in Canada. I was watching a documentary on MTV about the poverty in Africa and my heart just started to break seeing the lack that they had. How whole countries were starving while we sit in the comfort of our homes.

So as I am watching this documentary, I start crying out to God, “What can I do? I need to do something!” As I am praying this they do a close up of this one young African boy and something just grabs me. Now I have seen a lot of ads and documentaries about Africa as it’s a passion of mine, but never has an image been so burnt into my mind. The hurt in his eyes burnt into my soul, and suddenly these lyrics start pouring into my head and by the end of the documentary I had the majority of this song written with music!

So Far Away

[v 1.]
As I look into your eyes my heart is breaking
I am moved,I am moved
Standing on the outside looking in
What can I do, What can I do

[chorus.]
You’re so far away
It feels like there is world’s in between us
But I see your pain and I know I must try
To reach out to you

[v 2.]
As I look and see you smiling despite your pain
I am moved, I am moved
The face of countless millions needing us now
But what can I do, what can i do

[chorus]
You’re so far away
It feels like there is world’s in between us
But I see your pain and I know I must try
To reach out to you

[bridge]
I can’t sit in comfort while millions are dying
I can’t pretend everything is alright
With young children fighting and so many dying
This injustice has gone on to long

[chorus]
You’re so far away
It feels like there is world’s in between us
But I see your pain and I know I must try To reach out to you
You’re so far away
But my heart won’t let you go

Now I know that this song won’t help feed that young boy, but what God did was allow me to express exactly how I was feeling at that time so that every time I come back and read those lyrics, or jump on my guitar and start playing that song, I will be taken straight back to the place that I wrote it and remember the promise that I made that day and know that even though I probably can’t reach that one boy, he is the face of millions that I can help.

Have you ever been inspired so strongly to write a song? I’d love to hear your story. So please leave a comment below!

Meet Us Here, the song above, is the first song that I have ever had even semi-professionally recorded (all the rest have been home recording jobs).

I wrote this song with my fiance Fiona a couple of weeks ago and last week we had the opportunity to show our worship pastor – who allowed us to come into church to record a sample of the song on the digital sound desk – so that it could be work shopped further!

I am really happy with how it turned out and would love to know your thoughts on everything about the song – lyrics, music and singing

Vocals: Fiona Steele
Guitar: Thomas Sinfield

Meet Us Here Lyrics

VERSE 1
I will lift my face
As I look to You
Come meet me here

VERSE 2
I will reach my hands
Up to You
Come and meet me here

PRECHORUS
Show me all that You are
I want to know You
I want to know You

CHORUS
Come and meet us here
Where we are
In this place
Come touch our hearts
Show me love
Show me everything You are

BRIDGE
Show me Your love
Show me Your love
Show me Your love
Pour it out

Copyright Thomas Sinfield & Fiona Steele 2009

Being as the game was so late, concentration was difficult – and my mind started to wander. I starting thinking about how passionate true supporters of sporting teams actually are. Have you ever been to a sporting event live to see the fanatics – you know, the group of people who all dress in team colours, love a good chant and seem to get really passionate about their team? I have! In fact this picture is of me at one of the earlier World Cup qualifiers that I actually got to see live.

Fanatical Supporters Know How To Celebrate

Now you would think that during the game that the supporters got as crazy as they could and then when the game finished they would all just quieten down and head home – not so! When their team scores – there is celebration, when an opposing attack is thwarted -there is celebration and when their team wins, sleeping is the last thing on their mind.

They will billow into the streets dancing and singing, being loud and uninhibiting – AND THEY DON’T CARE! They tell everyone one they meet what has happened – they can’t help it.

Do You Show This Much Passion For ‘Your Team’?

I find it funny, actually quite sad, that as Christians we can get so excited about our local sporting team. We will dance and cheer, scream and yell. But when it comes time to praise God in church, we think we are going over the top with a bit of foot tapping (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration, but you get the point).

We are a part of God’s team! And you know what?

Our Team Has Already Won!

Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?
It was sin that made death so frightening
and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage,
its destructive power.
But now in a single victorious stroke of Life,
all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone,
the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!

- – 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 (MSG)

Try and tell me that isn’t something worth shouting about? How can you stand still and not want to jump up and down and dance like crazy when you read those words!

I don’t believe people when they say, ‘That’s just not me. I’m praising on the inside.’

Personally I would consider myself very reclusive. I prefer to keep to myself and am not that out going. But, when it comes to God and singing out what He has done for me and how great He is, I cannot help but to shout. I cannot help but to jump around. It is like something inside of my sparks and suddenly I’m not dancing and shouting in a room full of people, I am worshiping and praising my God at His throne – and that is all I care about.

David Got This

This has to be one of my favourite stories in the bible, and really highlights the two types of people when it comes time to praise God corporately. It is the story of David bringing the Ark of The Covenant back to Jerusalem.

¹² Now King David was told, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. ¹³ When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets. – -  Samuel 6:12-15 (NIV)

David had seen the power of the Ark, and how it had blessed Obed-Edom’s household. He was so excited to bring this power and blessing back to Jerusalem. (Something worth getting excited about. Wouldn’t you agree?) And David definitely got excited! He started dancing before the LORD – in his under garments! The Message versions says that David “Danced with great abandon before the LORD”

I love the picture that this scripture paints, because it takes me back to the image of the fanatical supporter after their team has won – running down the streets, dancing and shouting. Letting everyone know that they are celebrating.

That is exactly how we should be!

Acting Like This Will Upset A Few People…

As you continue to read on from that passage another person comes into play, David’s wife Michal.

Let’s take a look at how she reacts to Davids praise:

16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart… vs16

20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”  vs20

Michal didn’t grasp a hold of this at all (Who knows…maybe she is a two-tapping praiser). As she watched David dancing, she couldn’t see his heart behind it all. Instead all she could think was how this was going to affect her reputation, she can already hear her friends gossiping about this.

I think that this is a major reason why a lot of people cannot give God their uninhibited praise. They are too worried about how it makes them look – but it’s not about them. This is why I love Davids reaction.

21 David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” vs 21

He knew that the offering of praise that he was giving was only what God deserved, and he was willing to ‘become even more undignified’ to the point of humiliation to praise his God for all that He has done.

David understood that people would not look at him strange, or considering him weird (well not those who understood). Instead they would look up to him for praising God so freely. And I think that as you step into passionate praise that you unknowingly give those around you permission to do the same.

This is one thing that I really struggled with when I first started writing songs for my local church City Church – Sunshine Coast. I would sit down and start writing and come away with something I was proud of, but I would always stop and think – but this doesn’t sound like the kids praise and worship songs that I have been listening too! The thing is, you just have to find what works in your local church – because the songs of mine that we have introduced to our kids ministry have quickly become favourites.

Today I wan’t to take a look at a couple of things that I have learnt about writing kids songs, that will hopefully help you.

Tips To Writing Kids Praise And Worship Songs

1. Instill Biblical Truths

   “Train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they shall not depart” (Proverbs 22:6)

   As leaders, and especially as kids praise and worship writers, we have the amazing privilege of providing a solid biblical foundation for children to base their lives on. This is especially important with our songs, because kids may hear a message once, but a great song sticks in their head – and they will find themselves singing it all through out the week. What is the message that we want playing in their heads? What is it that we want these children to be meditating on?

   Turning scripture into songs is great, but that is not necessarily what I am talking about. I believe that songs should be used to shape kids image of God. He is a big God. He is a loving God. He is our friend. Simple truths taken out of the bible  that they will remember for the rest of their lives – because who doesn’t remember the songs that they learn in sunday school?

2. Keep The Lyrics Simple

   You will notice that with kids songs ( Christian and secular) that the ones that are popular are extremely simple. Sometimes when we as adults try to write kids praise and worship, we try to make them to complex. Look at the lyrics of probably the most popular kids worship song ever:

   Jesus loves me this I know
   For the Bible tells me so
   Little ones to Him belong
   They are weak but He is strong

   Yes Jesus loves me
   Yes Jesus loves me
   Yes Jesus loves me
   The bible tells me so

   Jesus Loves Me is one of the most simple songs – no big words, no complex structure. Just one concept being portrayed (that Jesus loves me). There is no need to get all theological with Kids (this could be said for church praise and worship songs) – simple is usually better!

3. Don’t Be Too Wordy

   I am sure that you have probably noticed, but kids do not usually understand big words. I think we get this point, however one thing that you also need to keep in mind is that they usually have a short attention span. So don’t overload their brains with a heap of verses and long choruses. Continue along the lines of keeping the lyrics simple, with keeping the song simple.

   Don’t say with 10 words, what you can say with 2 or 3! Kids praise and worship songs need to be short and have one continuous theme throughout.

4. Have A Catchy Melody

   This is important with any type of song that you may be writing, but extremely important with kids songs. Kids praise songs are usually very ‘boppy’ and fun, while your style may be different, if you are missing a catchy fun melody, the kids will not enjoy your song.

I wish you all the best with your kids praise and worship writing, it is a fun and rewarding process, that is also very challenging. The most joy comes when you see all the kids jumping and doing actions, or standing and worshiping to a song that you have written – knowing that you have helped them enter into God’s presence.