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"If I could say a prayer for every lip that was split
If I could write a song for every time I was told to quit..."

I built this song around the bass line in "The Model" by Kraftwerk. From there I added a flamenco-glam rock music bed with percussion and hefty guitars, wanting to sound like Marc Bolan and Mick Ronson. In places, the vocals pay tribute to tango legend Carlos Gardel.

The title is an intentional refraction on “Love is Here to Stay,” the famous George & Ira Gershwin song. From there, I created lyrics echoing Bible verses, a C.S. Lewis essay ("...but evil cannot stand alone in the blaze of a glorious light"), and conversations I overheard in public places, from people discussing their problems and how they rose above. I also riffed on the “torn jacket” in “The Strong One" by Bruce Cockburn. The lyrics in the bridge are based on a painting (I can't recall what) of a woman on a cliff, gazing over a windswept ocean. A storm is threatening to come, but she is resolved to keep watch, no matter what.

When I wrote this song I was, unknowingly, in the throes of an addiction—a specific emotional kind coupled with excessive drinking. This song pierced through the murk, showing me that I did know right from wrong, up from down. Eventually, it became a victory song for recovery.


This recording first appeared in 2011 on the I LIKE THE STREET CD, on the Wampus label.

lyrics

LOVE THAT'S HERE TO STAY Words & Music by Johnny J Blair copyright 2011 Word2Soul Music BMI

The world is rough and crazy, and hearts don't get their lift
You hear bad news about the people fallin' for some grift
But love has a way of mending you when you're worn and ripped
And I thank you for coming here and giving me a gift

CHORUS: You build me up from clay
With a smile you send my way
And a love that's here to stay

If I could say a prayer for every lip that was split
If I could write a song for every time I was told to quit
If I could break the news about the love behind my mask
Amazing grace is in your face, all you have to do is ask

REPEAT CHORUS

BRIDGE: I have seen your eyes of green
Looking across an ocean
Your laughter echoes over the waves
Fills my sails and gives me motion
I have seen your eyes of blue
Sunlight dancing iris
Liberating soul ablaze
Love can always choose us

The heart can be so evil, the heart can be cold as ice
But evil cannot stand alone in the blaze of a glorious light
The world is rough and crazy, and hearts don't get their lift
You hear bad news about the people fallin' for some grift
But love has a way of mending you when you're worn and ripped
And I thank you for coming here and giving me a gift

VAMP CHORUS OUT

credits

from SUNDAY MORNING: SONGS OF RECOVERY, STRENGTH, HOPE & HEALING VOLUME I (5 song EP), released January 1, 2017
JJB: bass, drums, guitars, keyboards, percussion, & all vocals.

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Johnny J Blair "Singer at Large" image

Johnny J Blair "Singer at Large" San Francisco, California

"Johnny is a virtuoso"--Brian Wilson
"Pop music with a conscience.”--Goldmine
“the Harry Houdini of rock and roll.”-- Spotlight. Listen to Johnny's fast-paced mix of old school soul, psychedelia, punk/new wave, & classic pop/rock. Singer-songwriter in his own right, he was also a sideman for Davy Jones and The Monkees + performed with David Cassidy, Al Stewart, Buddy & Julie Miller, & others. ... more

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