In 1979 Amy Grant released her second album MY FATHER’S EYES
(Reunion Records). It was produced by
Brown Bannister and nominated for a Grammy for Best Gospel
Performance-Contemporary. In the liner
notes Amy writes: “Just as each day of our lives should be offered as glory and
honor to Him, so I share these songs with you-to be heard. To Him be all the glory”.
‘Father’s Eyes’, penned by Gary Chapman, is the album’s
longest track at 4:03 and was Amy’s first No. 1 Christian hit. It is an adult contemporary ballad that
conveys deep godly desires: “When people look inside my life, I want to hear
them say/’She’s got her Father’s eyes, her Father’s eyes/Eyes that find the
good in things/When good is not around/Eyes that find the source of help/When
help just can’t be found/Eyes full of compassion, seeing every pain/Knowin’
what you’re going through and feelin’ it the same’/Just like my Father’s
eyes”. ‘Faith Walkin’ People’ is one of
three songs here penned by Amy and Brown Bannister. It became a Top Ten Christian hit. It is an adult pop song that uses horns and
reminds us that as Christians we are to walk differently through life: “Say
goodbye to the feelings cause the feelings go away/Say goodbye to the people
cause the people never stay/Say goodbye to the future if it blinds you to
today/And say goodbye to the reasoning that’s standing in the way/Oh, we’ve got
to make a way/Make a way to be/Faith walkin’ people, can’t rely on everything
we feel/Faith talkin’ people/We must discern what’s really real/Faith walkin’
people, can’t believe in everything we see/Faith talkin’ people, seems like
such a mystery”. ‘Always the Winner’ is
one of four songs Amy wrote alone. It is
nicely orchestrated with strings and seems to address one who is in a
backslidden state: “There was a time when you cared for their hearts and the
need to show them love was tearing you apart/But you changed and you know,
become the star of the show/Now you’ve got nothing to give/Where is the truth
you once knew?/You’re just lonely/Don’t you feel lonely?”
On the pretty song ‘Never Give You Up’ Amy declares her
dedication to Jesus Christ: “Sometimes friends don’t understand the love I have
for You/But everywhere I go I know/I just want more of You/I will never give You
up Lord/Not in a million years/I will never give You up, never give You up/For
as long as I live.../Cause You have put this love inside my heart”. ‘Bridegroom’ was written by Martin McCall and
Megan Moorhead. It is a happy song
performed as a march: “I will give to Him my impatience/I will give Him all of
my fear/I will make my heart very quiet/I will wait for Him here/In bright
color and joyous line/In morning light and lamp fire/I’ll make fine my home
here and trust in my home to come”.
‘Lay Down’ is a simple, yet
beautiful, song of invitation: “You know it’s love that He offers you/Lay down
the burden of your heart/Lay down the burden of your heart/I know you’ll never
miss it/Oh, show your Daddy where it hurts/And let your Daddy lift it”. ‘You Were There’ is a love song to God with a
disco vibe to it: “No one else could ever offer me more/Than Your love and Your
understanding/A love I’d never known before/You were there when I needed
someone to talk to/You were there when I could not find my way/Ooh/You know You
could’ve given up on me/When it seemed like nobody cared/You were there (4X)”.
Next up is ‘O Sacred Head’, a
Passion hymn that dates way back. It
begins with thunder and rain sounds and these moving words: “O sacred Head now
wounded/With grief and shame weighed down/Now scornfully surrounded/With thorns
Thine only crown/How art Thou pale with anguish/With sore, abuse, and scorn/How
does that visage languish, which once was bright as morn”. ‘All That I Need is You’ finds Amy admitting
her real need for God: “Lord You know that I really need our time together/Only
Your strength can see me through/So talk with me now as You walk with me now in
this quiet time/I’m waiting on You/Cause all of a sudden I knew that I’d never
be wanting/As long as I’m leaning on You/Oh Lord, all that I need is You”.
‘Fairytale’ portrays Christ as
ultimate Victor: “There’s a world out there that human eyes can never see/But
it’s just within the reach of the heart/Two princes wage the battle for
eternity/But the victor has been known from the start/Now I can see the truth
can seem so much like a fantasy/But make-believe was never as real to me/I know
this time the story’s true/Just like Sleeping Beauty in another land/I was
dying under a spell/But then a Prince who comes from a forever land/Awakened me
from my fairytale”. Just as Amy’s debut
album had one song that could be classified as children’s music, so does this,
her second album. ‘Giggle’ is fun and
quirky and has a carnival-like feel to it.
It is a song about being a witness: “Giggle, giggle if you want to/But I
know it’s still true that He’s always gonna love me/So just laugh out/If you
think I’m uncool/Playin’ the part of the fool/Cause I love Him/Don’t you know
how I love Him?/Oh, well I do”.
‘There Will Never Be Another’ is a beautiful duet with Brown
Bannister. It is a song of awe and
wonderment: “And I know I’ll never understand this mystery/If I live to be 103/How
You died to live, the love You give to me/There will never be another who will
love me like You/There will never be another who could hold me, mold me/There
will never be another who could love me purely/No, there will never be another
who has loved me like You”. The album’s
shortest song (1:06) is up last. ‘Keep
it on Going’ is lively and cheerful and is about the need to witness:
“Someone’s got to keep it on going/Just as long as they’re folks who haven’t
heard/So you can count on me cause He’s showin’/That there’s so many ways to
spread His Word”.
MY FATHER’S EYES is mainly an album of adult contemporary
songs. Instruments that are used include: banjo, spoons, xylophone, organ,
flute, piccolo, oboe, and fiddle. The
background vocalists include: Marty McCall, Steve Chapman, Lenny LeBlanc, Carol
Grant, Kathy Harrell, and Marie Tomlinson. Like her debut record in 1977, the
songs describe Amy’s relationship with a loving, caring, and faithful God. There is a bit more maturity to the lyrics
though. As the years would move on, Amy
would face both personal hardships, and criticism from believers for some of
her choices, but this album here is one of innocence and joy. I’m rating MY FATHER’S EYES 85%. For more info visit: www.amygrant.com.