It's Not Hard to Love Card With These Soothing Tunes

Whenever I write a review for Epinions, I know that at least four people will read it: my mom, my dad, and my grandparents. I’m very grateful for their support, but once in a while it means them reading a review of something potentially unsavory. I’m afraid I may have rattled my grandparents just a bit with my recounting of the raucous concert I attended, and I mean to salve the shock by following it up with a discussion the softest, most inoffensive album I can find. And hopefully this review will inspire me to finally get around to all the other Michael Card albums I’ve been meaning to write about for five years.

I sometimes feel a bit guilty that essentially my entire musical repertoire consists of “secular” music. I put the term in quotes because it has such a negative ring to it, and I don’t think it should. You don’t have to be singing to a specifically Christian audience in order to have lyrics consistent with Christianity. I find God present in the songs of John Denver, Simon and Garfunkel, Don McLean, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot and many, many others whose music would not be featured on a Christian radio station. But while I’m hopelessly devoted to VeggieTales, most of the music sold in Christian bookstores leaves me rather cold.

That is due in large part to a lack of lyrical sophistication. Praise choruses may be easy to sing, but they sure are boring. I was mildly offended when I first heard Baptized in Water, which places very mundane and repetitive lyrics to the tune of Morning Has Broken, one of my very favorite hymns. Personally, I think that’s a melody that ought to be left alone, so perfect is the marriage between words and notes, though I’ll at least give Praise and Thanksgiving credit for trying. Anyway, this is just the stuff we sing in church. What shows up on the radio often lacks rhyme, not to mention verses. And when the lyrics are complex, they’re usually lost in a sea of electric guitars and vocals shouted in order to appeal to a hip young crowd.

Michael Card is different. He fits right in with the finest in the genre of sensitive singer-songwriters, but his lyrics convey a message that is clearly Christian and often strongly rooted in Scripture. Sleep Sound in Jesus is one of a few albums that, instead of focusing mainly on certain stories and passages from the Bible, follows a particular theme with more modern implications. This album is a collection of gentle tunes intended to serenade an infant off into dreamland. Its soothing tone can’t help but induce placid snoozing in older listeners as well.

Sleep Sound In Jesus - This first song, accompanied by strings and electric piano, is reminiscent of the old bedtime prayer most Christian kids learned at a young age: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep...” Only in this case it’s the parents doing the talking, telling the child to go to sleep and not to worry because God is taking care of him. Betsy Hernandez, who is a prominent presence throughout the album, takes the first verse, Card the second, and the third they sing together. Know for His sake you’ll be safe for the night. Sleep sound in Jesus. I’ll turn off the light.

He'll Wipe Away Your Tears - Hernandez takes this one by herself with the accompaniment of a piano and later a harp. There seems to be a slight Jewish air about this song, which is based on two verses in Revelation. It’s nice but more minor-toned than most of the tracks, and given its source it carries with it shadows of gearing up for a grim battle. Nonetheless, the focus is on God providing comfort. He’ll wipe away your tears and still your restless sighs, and lovingly He’ll listen till you stop your wordless cries.

Even The Darkness Is Light To Him - Though this song’s lyrics hint at darkness, the melody speaks only of safety in God’s arms. Card takes the helm here, singing almost in a whisper with the electric piano backing. Very soft but upbeat. Even the darkness is light to Him and night is as bright as the day. So you are safe though the light grows dim...

Sweet Sleep Descends - Back to Hernandez and the piano again. This is a song devoid of a chorus, chronicling a mother’s anguish at the difficulty with which her child finally succumbs to sleep. This song feels more heavily produced than it is, though another instrument – a sax? – does take the spotlight atop the piano during a break in the vocals. Throughout the house of faith it’s known the soul finds rest in God alone...

Dreaming Jacob's Dream - Hooray for mandolins! Alluding to my love of folk music, my friend Libbie once teased me that my favorite instrument is the mandolin, and I’ve had a special fondness for it since. Anyway, it makes an appearance here, along with the piano and strings. This song makes reference to the biblical Jacob’s dream in which he wrestled with God, wondering whether the infant being observed is similarly experiencing God first-hand during slumber. Card warmly sings this tune that he dedicated to his own son. You and Jacob aren’t alone; we all need dreams to seek Him.

Song Of Jesus - The guitar is the star in this song, an upbeat ditty helmed by Card that has the feel of an offering by a troubadour. Strings make an appearance now and then, but they’re scarcely needed. This is a short, simple tune that serves as an introduction to Jesus for the youngest of his would-be followers. The note structure, ascending and descending like a flight of stairs, adds to the impression that the song is providing elementary instruction. Let me tell you of a man who was before the world began, who loves you more than anyone can, known by the name of Jesus.

Unseen Warriors - It’s back to Hernandez for this mother’s plea for protection for her baby. It’s a plaintive song backed by electric organ that is basically just a bedtime prayer that has its basis in a verse in Matthew. I presume the warriors in question are angels. Oh, unseen warriors, brothers, friends who for our safety we depend, I ask you now to come defend this precious little baby.

Wordless Ones - The electric piano is the prominent instrument once more, though as with the majority of the songs in which Hernandez takes the lead there is heavier instrumentation, or at least there seems to be. About halfway through Card jumps in to harmonize with Hernandez in this song about parents dedicating their child to God. We offer You this child who’s only ours for just awhile. How could we keep him back from You when You gave Your only child?

He Grants Sleep to the Ones That He Loves - My favorite song on the album. I just really like this one. It’s so tender and even comical at times. Electric piano and understated strings drive the song, while a saxophone makes a couple brief but effective appearances. The vocals are Card’s, conveying the mild frustration and boundless affection of a father putting a child to bed after a very long and trying day. Card turns in another very heartfelt performance, perhaps in part because this song is dedicated to his daughter. For he grants sleep to the ones that he loves, and I live to love you as well. The last words you’ll hear tonight will be ‘I love you,’ for love takes us all of a lifetime to tell.

Jesus Let Us Come to Know You - This song has been featured on several Card albums. The accompanying piano is quite elegant, offsetting the song’s simplicity, its lyrics framed in two-syllable sets ending with a three-syllable set. The harmonica that emerges, taking another verse after Hernandez has finished singing, adds a plaintive tone to the song. There’s something beautifully lonesome about a harmonica, making it a perfect fit for the lyrics which yearn for a connection to the creator. Jesus draw us ever nearer. Hold us in your loving arms. Wrap us in your gentle presence, and when the end comes, bring us home.

All You Are - For whatever reason, guitar and Card seem to go together on this album. This contemplative tune is backed nicely by guitar and bass with strings coming in during the instrumental break. Card’s earnest vocals wrap around lyrics that recall the exquisite Joseph’s Song from The Promise. Though the speaker is discussing an ordinary child an not the song of God here, all children are miracles, especially to the parent holding them in their arms for the first time. For all you are and all you’ll be, for everything you mean to me, though I don’t understand I know you’re from the father’s hand.

Lullaby for the Unborn - A harp accompanies Hernandez for this whispery lullaby sung to a child who has not yet been born. It’s a very short song consisting of only two verses with no repetition. Blessings upon you, my baby unborn, safely inside me asleep and so warm...

Sleepy Eyes - Another song about a child resisting sleep, it’s fairly upbeat and features guitar and bass as well as the occasional mandolin. Card takes the vocals on this song that clocks in at just a minute and a half but still manages to be one of the album’s most endearing. Sleepy eyes, your disguise cannot fool me with its lies. Let the angels come and close your sleepy eyes.

Hold Me Gently - A very pretty little song with lovely legato piano augmented by the saxophone. It’s just Hernandez on this one, and it’s possibly my favorite of her solos, providing a picture of a very intimate relationship with the creator. Live your life within me day by day. So goodnight, my forever friend.

Barocha - The album’s final track is very simple and familiar, a benediction often repeated in church and hung on plaques in hallways. It’s slow, solemn, and all a capella, first one voice, then two, then three, and from what I can tell it’s all Card. The lower register displayed the third time around adds an especially nice dimension. The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face shine upon you, and give you peace, and give you peace, and give you peace forever.

All in all, it’s a very soothing album, perhaps even more so for those old enough to understand the words. Hernandez’ presence works well as she provides a maternal voice to Card’s paternalism, and she does have a lovely voice. However, my favorite tracks all belong to Card. They have a different feel to them, more straightforward perhaps – a little less sappy and a little more earnest. Besides, I tend not to particularly connect with female vocals, while I love Card’s voice. It’s incredibly warm and gentle and remarkably similar to that of Dan Fogelberg, another musician whose work I admire. Its pure timbre is a joy to listen to, and I’m very glad that the lyrics he’s vocalizing are just as worthwhile.