The legacy we leave

I’ve often told people that the lasting legacy you leave behind are two things:  your children, and whatever you have produced on earth that has lasting value.  I guess in a way the former is a part of the latter.  At any rate, your children will hopefully and prayerfully carry on your faith, as will their children.  Beyond your grandchildren, you will become just another name in a family tree, but what mattered in your life will continue to make a difference in the generations that follow.
For me, as far as producing something of lasting value, I hope that my songs long outlive me.  Even if just one or two of them.  The Bible tells us that “unless the Lord builds the house” we labor in vain.  So I trust that the songs that are truly inspired by Him will endure.  There are a lot of “crafted” songs out there, and most assuredly they are making someone plenty of money, but a good many of them will never be remembered ten years later.  But we can all think of songs that are decades, perhaps even centuries, old and still being sung.  Those are the only songs worth writing.  Life is too short, at least for me, to spend it “crafting” clever lyrics that are here and gone like chaff in the wind.
Songwriting may not be your thing.  But whatever it is, strive to make what you produce of lasting value.

My Momma Loved the Rockies

This is a song in memory of my mom, who went to the Lord in the summer of 2017.  The lyrics need little or no explaining.  In her final earthly residence, she could just look out the window and see the mountains in the west.  She loved Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming, where we lived in the early 60’s.  Windsor, Colorado is just an hour’s drive north to Cheyenne. Also an hour’s drive west to Estes Park, where she saw our dad baptized after decades of prayer for him. The tears refer mostly to losing the love of her life the year before.  The prayers are a reference to the fact she prayed every day for each member of the family, a responsibility now passed on to her children.

My momma loved the Rockies
Until her dyin’ days
They rose majestic to the skies
Like mighty songs of praise
A glimpse of God’s own glory
That cannot be denied
Yes, my momma loved the Rockies
Until the day she died.

My dad made her a promise
That one day they’d see again
The land near old Wyoming
That beckoned like a friend
In Windsor, Colorado
The mountains stood so near
And whispered of the memories
Forever they held dear.

My momma loved the Rockies
Until the day she died
A testament of strength and hope
Amidst the tears she cried
Like channels to the heavens
For the many prayers she prayed
Oh, my momma loved the Rockies
Until her dyin’ days.

Copyright © 2019 Lawrence Keith Holder
(Larry Holder Music, ASCAP)

The Ballad of the Cross

“The Ballad of the Cross” was written in 1997, one of the first collaborations with Elton Smith. As was our custom, Elton came up with the music first (usually as a MIDI file prepared with the help of Band in a Box), and I would add the lyrics. Elton had the idea for the theme of the song, and so I took that and ran with it. With the length of the song, it became our first “ballad”.

This is the only song on the album that I used a “click track” on. Normally, I hate working to a click — it can detract from the human ebb and flow of the music — but in this case, I needed it to maintain a consistent tempo. For a click, I simply recorded a simple drum pattern from my keyboard, letting it go on for about 8 minutes (knowing I would have an extended outtro eventually). Later, I replaced the drums with live ones, playing my drum kit.

The music builds gradually. Note it starts with just acoustic guitar (two of them, actually) playing a finger pattern. That is followed by the addition of acoustic strumming. Next, drums are brought in, and finally, the bass guitar is added just before the electric guitar outtro, which I began with 2 patterns I played, followed by the addition of a great guitar solo by my friend Craig Ingram. Craig actually recorded nearly 5 minutes of various solo patterns, and I was able to edit them into the segment you hear on the recording. Craig is an amazing guitarist who would be on the Nashville “A” list if he ever wanted to. For now, I am privileged to perform with him in our church’s praise band, where I take the role of Bass Player.

As with most of the album, I sang the melody twice, in addition to harmony vocals. For my voice, this seemed to help quite a bit, doubling the lead vocal. The “wind” noise right before the last segment was recorded by, yes, blowing into the microphone. To make it a bit more real, I recorded twice, and offset the second one so that it produced more of a swirling wind effect. This 8 measure “lull” is intended to imagine the space of time between the Lord’s death and His rising again.

I call this song my “Christian Free Bird”, on account of its acoustic beginnings following by an extended electric outtro.

Play the MP3

Song copyright © 1997 Elton Smith and Larry Holder
Recording copyright (P) 2014 Larry Holder