Another case where the tune name probably refers to a different text that the melody originally went with and looks incongruous in this context, this one is called "Martyrdom." Welp.

I like the line about "when nights are long with wakefulness"--even when I'm relatively healthy I sometimes can't sleep and start freaking out in terms of "what if I can't get back to sleep? what if I'm just screwed up tomorrow?" As a little kid I was once unable to sleep before a test in school and I felt God's presence in answering a prayer to let me get sleep...I don't know, God works in odd ways when you're little. Also when you're not.

Done with this section.

How's the rhyme scheme?

Stretching a little on verse 2 with "word/hurt/served." Change of pace from "word/Lord," I'll admit.

What about the time signature?

Jumping around between 4/4, 6/4. The first measure has five beats, and I can't really tell if that's a "pickup" (we should treat it as beats 2-6 of 6, and not stress the first one) or just a rogue 5/4. Sometimes if the last measure and first measure together add up to a "full" measure that's a hint we should treat the beginning as a pickup, but not clear.

Today is the first Sunday in Advent, or liturgical new year! One year of this blog. Various travels and health stuff meant that I wasn't very consistent and at this rate it'll probably take us several years to get through, but this seems okay for now. In large part because a lot of these songs I don't have much to say about so it's not a big time commitment. But again, I figure I should make somewhat of an effort on those and not just skip to the fun ones. ;)

Does the translation need to be so old-timey?

Some of it was written as late as 1983 so definitely not, but again, it's one of those cases where "thee" rhymes with "me" and that's a lot easier than "you"/[something].

Is it a little too cutesy-twee overall?

Probably. Apparently one of my mom's former colleagues really liked it so he kept putting it on the schedule but even she got tired of it.

What's the deal with Noah?

I mean, sometimes during/when discussing baptism we talk about different narratives that involve water (the Flood, the Red Sea, Jesus' baptism, the woman at the well) and link them to baptism in general. But in this context the cutesy "downy breast" stuff in contrast with "a flood that wiped out most of the world" is a little weird when you think about it.

What is your association with this song?

So many years ago, during Lent, my church sung the second verse (Jesus gives the living water) every week as kind of a theme for the season.

Towards the end of the season, my mom preached a sermon, and I (as a young kid) made an appearance. I'd been sick, went to the bathroom in the middle of the night for a drink of cold water, and promptly vomited it back up. So my mom turned that into a metaphor about "are we doomed to not accept the healing Jesus gives us." (No.)

What was the deal?

As a little kid I was like "well maybe it was just too cold and a shock to my system, I should have tried something lukewarm." In retrospect, I'm guessing that was an early forerunner of my nauseating migraines. :(