Albums, Evensong, music, new release, New Single, Newsletter, Podcast, Poetry

How Well Do You Know Za?

I’m dropping another single from the Trio album this month and wanted to share a little background on it’s conception.

The song has a metaphorically smiling lyric that prayerfully will challenge the listener a bit. The title was actually from a magazine article that I had stumbled upon. When I first saw it, I immediately recognized a lyrical idea that could be light in a comical sense, but at the same time thoughtfully spiritual. History has demonstrated to me on more than a few occasions how wonderfully guard-dropping this approach can be.

I’m always looking for a way to stir up the listener’s imagination, and hopefully conjure up some emotional response from them. In this case, maybe even some abstract thinking.

Musically the composition was once again a reaction to the Blicher, Hemmer, Gadd album called Omara, which dominated my playlist throughout the early months of 2022.

Lyrics:
Early in the morning, any time of day
Any time’s a good time, any kind of way
I can take it cold, any time at all
It goes down easy, in the local church hall
So tell me?
Tell me, please?
Won’t you tell me?
How well do you know ‘Za?

If I had my way, I’d always have more
More than may be normal, a note of folklore
Some cry, ‘oh no!, you can’t do that!’
Preaching to the misfit, like some green-eyed cat
So tell me?
Tell me, please?
Oh won’t you tell me?
How well do you know ‘Za?

Don’t give me substitutes, don’t give me theories
No hypothetical miniseries
Just give me a slice, a verse or two
Yeah, I’m a greek guy, but any version will do

I go traditional, I go New York
I go with fold it, or a knife and fork
I don’t go judging, so don’t judge me
Just offer me a bite, and let my manna be
So tell me?
Tell me, please?
Won’t you tell me?
How well do you know ‘Za?

Album: Trio
Video Credit: E.M. | Pizza by Alfredo (dafont.com)
Available on the platform of your choice.
YouTube Link

music, new release, New Single, Newsletter, Poetry, Video

What If

The question is… Your will, my will, or His?
~ E.M.

Album: Stars Under My Feet
Video Credit: Yaroslav Shuraev | E.M.
Available at http://www.eddymann.com
© 2017 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP

Lyrics:
I’d like to believe it’s just you and me
And the tiny little world we’ve carved out
But I can’t deceive what my eyes perceive
That there’s always a speckle of doubt

In your playful dreams it’s just you and me
In a 5 Below novella
But in my prayerful mind I sense a plan that’s divine
And there’s no prince or Cinderella

What if this?
What if that?
What you gonna rhyme if I drop my hat?
I can’t promise you more than the hippest cat
What if it comes down to that?

Will you be mine?
Will you be my sunshine?
Whose will provides the fizz
Will I be yours?
Will there be tempting doors?
Your will, my will, or His?

In the beginning we swore against sinning
And said we’d be pure until ashes
But words won’t protect us from life’s unexpected
Only perfect love’s cancels out crashes

©️ 2017 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP

music, new release, New Single, Newsletter, Poetry, Video

Someday

The future is a very fragile and unpredictable thing. We have no way of assuring how each day, let alone our week, or year, will turn out with any certainty. I was reflecting on this and the use of the word someday when I wrote this song. I was thinking about how we often refer to someday in describing our future dreams and endeavors. My parents always spoke of someday as in my future, down the road, and spiritually God also does, but life has an uncanny way of sneaking up on us when we least expect it.

Someday was oh so later
Someday was down the road
But someday just happened to me now ~ E.M.

Album: Stars Under My Feet
(Release Date 5/20/22)
Video Credit: E.M.
Available at http://www.eddymann.com
© 2017 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP

Lyrics:
I went to bed a child
and woke a lifetime later
A silhouette of who I used to be
A scattered rush of moments
Missed or worse forgotten
An epitaph of frittered diggity

I sense my mother’s worry
I hear my father’s words
I see my back walking away
You can cry, stormy Monday
You can thank God for Friday
But blink and it’ll be someday

Walking the beach when the surf’s out
Pining your mountain away
Sleeping til noon on a weekday
Someday could happen today

I wandered without purpose
And tuned a stone deaf ear
I figured someday, somehow
Someday was oh so later
Someday was down the road
But someday just happened to me now

©️ 2017 Eddy Mann
Hissongs | ASCAP

music, New Single, Newsletter, Video

Let It Shine

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven ~ Matthew 5:16

During the month of February, while we recognize a dream, a groundhog, and a valentine, let us do so while shining a light of love in our world.

Let it be a light that brings about a notion of peace, a moment of happiness, and a vision of hope.

You can do that! God’s provision is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9), he has provided you with all that you need to make a difference in someone’s day, or better yet, in their life. So there it is, shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Let it shine!
Let it shine!
Let it Shine!

Call me, text me, tweet me, message me, email me, write me… we were brought together by God for a reason.

Love you all,
Pray on,
Eddy

February Schedule –
Every Thursday evening at 8PM EDT
Evens ong, Facebook Live Stream

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Mannerism, new release, New Single, Newsletter, Video

We Live To Love, but…

Waking to a beautiful day just inspires me to no end. I can feel the energy rushing through my body as I rise to face the dawning light. It’s with great excitement that I prepare to begin the first steps in my continuing journey. I grab a large glass of water and my bible and dig in for some worship, praise and prayer. I savor that first cup of coffee as i check the morning emails (staying away from any social media traps) and then I prepare a light breakfast while carefully choosing my news source of the day. It’s a wonderful life’ someone once said, and after all we live to love so why wouldn’t it be? So you’re asking, ‘What’s with the but?’

Well let me explain. Up until this point I’m within the confines of my home, there’s no outside contact, but what waits for me outside my front door, or on our social media platforms are… other people. It’s not until someone cuts me off driving that my anger is tested. It’s not until someone hurls a less that complimentary opinion in my face that my confidence is tested. It’s not until I watch a loveless parent abuse a child on the sidewalk that my self-control is tested. It’s not until the clamor of the world surrounds me in such a way that my quiet peace is tested. You see it’s not until I interact with other human beings that my faith is truly tested, and a faith that doesn’t do anybody any good isn’t any good (thank you Andy Stanley).

So yes, we live to love, but don’t kid yourself, you’ve got to connect with the world and be apart of the answer by overcoming all the challenges. And it’s okay to be less than perfect from time to time. After all we’re all broken and only doing the best we can. But then God already knows that doesn’t he?

He is risen!

Pray on,
Eddy

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Pray on,
Eddy

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Albums, Gifts, new album, new release, New Single, Newsletter, Poetry

The Great Dance Realized on ‘IHS’

Believing on the promise
Denying all happenstance
Prayerfully among the Three
Banding in the great dance
~ E.M.

With the release of ‘IHS,’ my eighteenth album, I’m overwhelmed with the journey I’ve been blessed to partake in. One never knows when life will unexpectedly create a turnabout, and all things common become the stranger, but as I realize this project coming to life, I’m resting in a niche that feels like favor.

Excitedly, I’m looking forward to seeing how these songs resonate with the world. Often in life we are asked to wait on His word, and this venture will no doubt require some patience on my part. So I take a deep breath and relish in the moment of quiet, because there’s still work to be done.

The great dance continues as this period of downtime has been abundantly fruitful. There are a number of projects in various forms of completion that are beckoning my time, and so as I return to my Loft sessions I pray you’ll be enlightened, energized, and entertained by ‘IHS.’

Moving about through the dawn of light
A ghostly luminary
Dancin’ around my stumbling tongue
Shuffling through the dictionary
Framing the flow in perfect love
The poetry of romance
Invited to coalesce the divine
Converging in the great dance
~ E.M.

Pray on,
Eddy

Albums, Gifts, music, Newsletter, Video

Listen and Love

We probably don’t listen as well as we’re designed. If we did, then scripture, and the lessons within, would produce much more love and compassion in the world. It exists, but it probably pales in compassion to our creator’s hopes. So when I wrote this, I was doing a deep dive into what nature offers us each day in the way of invitation and inspiration. The Kingdom is in constant conversation with us everyday. It never truly sleeps, it is fluid in that it is alive and changing continually. Loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) requires us to hear that conversation and to be a part if it. It’s only in that neighborhood that we can genuinely listen and love.

On September 25, I’ll be releasing my seventeenth album ‘Pray On.’ It’s my prayer that these songs will enable you to find some encouragement and optimism as you journey forward.

Pray on,
Eddy

Album: Pray On
Video Credit: Gerd Altmann / E.M.
Available at eddymann.com
© 2020 Eddy Mann

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Lyrics:
There’s a bird in a tree, and it’s chirping at me
Listen and love
There’s some moss hanging free, and it’s swaying at me
Listen and love

There’s a breeze from the sea, and it’s hailing me
Listen and love
There’s some shade that’s sincere, and it’s inviting me near
Listen and love

Listen, Oh listen
Listen and love
All across the universe
Listen and love
Oh won’t you, listen and love

There’s a mist in the air, and it’s raining somewhere
Listen and love
There’s a cloud hovering by, and it’s whispering why
We should… listen and love

There’s a leaf floating free, and it’s winking at me
Listen and love
There’s a stillness about, and it’s calling me out
Listen & love

There’s a full moon tonight, and it’s making things right
Listen and love
There’s a flower in bloom, and she’s making me swoon
There’s a rain pouring down , and it’s flipping’ my frown
Listen and love
There’s a rainbow above, and it’s promising love
Listen and love

There’s some wind in the trees, and it’s buckling my knees
There’s a tide rolling in, and it’s late again
Oh we should, listen and love
Oh won’t you, listen and love
Why don’t we, listen and love

Albums, Gifts, Mannerism, music, Newsletter, Poetry, Video

Pray On!

Those of you who know me well, know that I’ve been using “Pray on!” as a farewell for twenty-plus years. So I guess it was only a matter of time before it became the focus of a song. A short while ago, I was meditating on Proverbs 1:33 when this evolved into a song idea.

‘Peace lies in the heart of the believer
Calm lies in the hands of compassion
Love lies in the words of the one, who’ll pray on, so pray on’
~ E.M.

It seemed timely when I first wrote it, and now today it feels even more fitting as we find our way forward through this time challenging season.

Though it hasn’t seen the light of day as of this writing, I’m excited about introducing it here in video form, and looking forward to unveiling it live in the near future.

Album: Unreleased

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Lyrics:
Peace lies in the heart of the believer
Calm lies in the hands of compassion
Love lies in the words of the one
who’ll pray on, so pray on

Quiet’s in the heart of the believer
Grace lies in the hands of compassion
Love lies in the words of the one
who’ll pray on, so pray on

Fair is the lone star that smiles amongst the clouds
Bright’s the tiny light amongst the darkness
When love shines in the midst of judgment
Hope is the one that’ll pray on

Joy lies in the heart of the believer
Mercy’s in the hands of compassion
Love lies in the words of the one
who’ll pray on, so pray on

Pray on
Pray on
Pray on
On and on

Albums, Gifts, Newsletter, Video

He Remembers

#EM Cityscape 1 16x9

‘He Remembers,’ included on the‘Love Strands’ album, was written back in the spring of 2016 and was inspired by a quote from novelist Elise Wisel, ‘God is God because He remembers.’ Free downloads are available only at eddymann.com.

He remembers my first breath of air
He remembers because he was there
And still my Maker is with me everywhere
He remembers and He’s with me now
ⓒ 2016 Eddy Mann (Love Strands)

Call me, text me, tweet me, message me, email me, write me… we were brought together by God for a reason.

Now go, and play nice!

Song of the Month

Summer Run ’20

Friday, May 15, 2020 – The Well Coffeehouse, Portsmouth, VA
Saturday, May 16, 2020 – The River Room, Virginia Beach, VA
More info at eddymann.com

Albums, Gifts, Newsletter

Love Strands

3AB781BA-DA42-41C7-9280-1B3A82A0D570

Love Strands drops on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2020. It’s a collection of gospel-tinged songs that live in a blues neighborhood. All twelve tracks are culturally and spiritually inspired. I’ve really enjoyed recording and introducing the songs over the past few months. It’s my prayer that they would bring some comfort and clarity to those who hear them.

Rambling through my favor
Tempered to the thrill
Mulish by my manner
Your love bent my will
ⓒ 2016 Eddy Mann (Love Strands)

Call me, text me, tweet me, message me, email me, write me… we were brought together by God for a reason.

As always, remember you can send an anonymous email to prayer@eddymann.com for prayers and encouragement.

February Notes

#LS Cover* 1 Besides the release of the Love Strands album, I’ve found myself settling into my southern digs, and designing a creative nest in which to continue writing and recording.

The calendar is sparse until the spring as my wife (Susan) and I enjoy our little beach community. Fortunately for us, it’s a little haven of spiritual inspiration. There are numerous strands of love that flow throughout the days and nights here, we count ourselves blessed on a daily basis!

Now go, and play nice!

Song of the Month: Loves Strands

final

Summer Run ’20

Friday, May 15, 2020 – The Well Coffeehouse, Portsmouth, VA
Saturday, May 16, 2020 – The River Room, Virginia Beach, VA
More info at eddymann.com