Andrew Peterson Album

Father Abraham
Do you remember when
You were called to a land
And didn't know the way

'Cause we are wandering
In a foreign land
We are children of the
Promise of the faith

And I long to find it
Can you feel it, too?
That the sun that's shining
Is a shadow of the truth

This is a far country, a far country
Not my home

In the dark of the night
I can feel the shadows all around me
Cold shadows in the corners of my heart

But the heart of the fight
Is not in the flesh but in the spirit
And the spirit's got me shaking in the dark

And I long to go there
I can feel the truth
I can hear the promise
Of the angels of the moon

This is a far country, a far country
Not my home

I can see in the strip malls and the phone calls
The flaming swords of Eden
In the fast cash and the news flash
And the horn blast of war
In the sin-fraught cities of the dying and the dead
Like steel-wrought graveyards where the wicked never rest
To the high and lonely mountain in the groaning wilderness
We ache for what is lost
As we wait for the holy God
Of Father Abraham

I was made to go there
Out of this far country
To my home, to my home

I suppose you could lay me down to die in Illinois
Bury me beneath the rows of corn
Or in-between the maple trees I climbed on as a boy
Where in the Land of Lincoln I was born

Oh, and I recall
We rode the combines in the fall
And there comes a time
For gathering the harvest after all

So when you lay me down to die
I'll miss my boys, I'll miss my girls
Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world
You can lay me anywhere
But just remember this
When you lay me down to die
You lay me down to live
Well I asked a girl to marry me on a dock out on the lake
Our babies came to life in Tennessee
And the music of the mountains is still keeping me awake
Yeah, but everything that rises falls asleep

We are not alone
We are more than flesh and bone
What is seen will pass away
What is not is going home

When you lay me down to die
I'll miss my boys, I'll miss my girls
Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world
You can lay me anywhere
But just remember this
When you lay me down to die

I'll open up my eyes on the skies I've never known
In the place where I belong
And I'll realize His love is just another word for Home

I believe in the holy shores of uncreated light
I believe there is power in the blood
And all of the death that ever was,
If you set it next to life
I believe it would barely fill a cup
'Cause I believe there's power in the blood

When you lay me down to die
So long, boys, so long, girls
Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world
You can lay me anywhere
But just remember this
When you lay me down to die
You lay me down to live

I met the queen of Iowa
She was dying on a couch in the suburbs
And with all of the things she was dying of
She was more alive than the others

She was pretty as a flower in a crystal vase
It lights up the room as it withers away
And she opened her eyes
When she heard the music play

We sang a hymn to the rhythm of the river that flows
Down from the mountain of the Holy Ghost
And into the souls
Of those who know His name
Like the Queen of Iowa
She was the Queen of Iowa

Her majesty was all ablaze
She was burning hot but not consumed
Our shoes removed in that holy place
In the hallowed ground of the living room

I bowed down low and I kissed her hand
And we raised a toast to the Promised Land
And I saw the tears of joy
Run down her face

We sang a hymn to the rhythm of the river that flows
Down from the mountain of the Holy Ghost
And into the souls
Of those who know His name
Like the Queen of Iowa
(Peace like a river in a valley of bones
It fills the valley up and it carries them home)
She was the Queen of Iowa
(Bridge)
I could see my illusions scatter
Every time she drew a breath
I could see the heart of the matter:
The heart is a matter of life and death
I'll never be the same

We sang about oceans of love again
As she stared past the ceiling and the sky above
Two court musicians, it was me and Ben
We were singing for the Queen of Iowa

We sang a hymn to the rhythm of the river that flows
Down from the mountain of the Holy Ghost
And into the souls
Of those who know His name
There was peace like a river in a valley of bones
It fills the valley up and it carries them home
To come alive again
In the river of Grace
Like the Queen of Iowa
(Peace like a river in a valley of bones
It fills the valley up and it carries them home)
She was the Queen of Iowa
Long live the Queen of Iowa

Open the door and run outside
Your little boy heart alive
Into the morning light
Into the deep and wide

Dinosaur bones in the flowerbed
Rockets in the clouds
In a fight with a spider's web
Tunnels in the ground

Winding to China
To the mist of the distant shore
Better be home by suppertime
Back through the planet core

Feel the beat of a distant thunder
It's the sound of an ancient song
This is the Kingdom calling
Come now and tread the dawn

Come to the father
Come to the deeper well
Drink of the water
And come to live a tale to tell

Pages are turning now
This is abundant life
The joy in the journey
Is enough to make a grown man cry
With a little boy heart alive

Kings and castles in the neighborhood
Swords on the forest floor
Dragons in the magic wood
Better saddle your battle horse

Fighting Goliath
Better choose your weapons right
Five little stones and a faith on fire
In a little boy heart alive

Chorus

Met a kid at the railroad track
He had a stick and a nylon sack
I ran to the house to pack
I wanted to follow

Take a ride on the mighty lion
Take a hold of the golden mane
This is the love of Jesus
So good but it is not tame

Chorus

Ever the road goes on and on
Ever the road goes on and on and on

There is no road to bear me from my sorrow
No healing that is deeper than this hurt
My heart is gone away across the water
To the bright, undying shores beyond the world

When I sail from havens grey
Caught up on the wind and blown away
I will close my eyes on the Shadowlands
And bid goodbye to all my friends
The parting is the price, it is the price that I must pay
To sail beyond the arms of the havens grey

And even though you know your heart is breaking
For a little longer still you must be whole
To love the life that's given for the taking
And to give the love the living's given for
And let it lead you to those shores

When you sail from havens grey
Caught up on the wind and blown away
Close your eyes on the Shadowlands
And bid goodbye to all your friends
And sail from havens grey
Caught up on the wind and blown away
You'll bid goodbye to all your friends
And close your eyes on the shadowlands
I know you will open them again in the endless day
Of a love that dawns beyond the havens grey

So follow the road through the rain
Down from the door where it began
Out of the rain, into the sun
Follow it on and on and on

Keep to the road through the rain
Is there a there and back again?
Out of the rain, into the sun
Follow it on and on and on
Follow it on and on and on
Follow it on and on and on and on

The parting is the price, it is the price that I must pay
To harbor far beyond the havens grey

I am the woman at the well, I am the harlot
I am the scattered seed that fell along the path
I am the son who ran away
I am the bitter son who stayed

My God, my God
Why hast thou accepted me
You took my sin and wrapped me in
Your robe and your ring
My God, my God
Why hast thou accepted me
It's a mystery of mercy
And the song I sing

I am the angry men who came to stone the lover
I am the woman there ashamed before the crowd
I am the leper who gave thanks
I am the nine who never came

My God, my God
Why hast thou accepted me
You took my sin and wrapped me in
Your robe and your ring
My God, my God
Why hast thou accepted me
It's a mystery of mercy
And the song I sing

You are the bringer of the moon and all the seasons
You are the singer of the tune that calls the stars

My God, my God
Why hast thou accepted me
You took my sin and wrapped me in
Your robe and your ring
My God, my God
Why hast thou accepted me
When all my love was vinegar
To a thirsty king
My God, my God
Why hast thou accepted me
It's a mystery of mercy
And the song I sing

My uncle's in the county jail
His time is on his hands
He knows he chose a barren cell
Over a fair and fertile land

He took another hit
He hit another high
He flew until he fell
Just like he has a thousand times

Nothing ever seems to change
But miles away beneath the waves

There are mountains
Mountains on the ocean floor
They're rising from the deep
But no one ever sees
No one ever sees

I can't believe I landed there
I swear I swore it off
I know that I can't stand it here
Still I came and took a fall

I wish that I could shake it
I wish that I was free
I wish that I was half the man
I wish that I could be

There are mountains
Mountains on the ocean floor
They're moving up so slow
No one ever knows
No one ever knows

Nothing ever seems to change
But miles away beneath the waves
Down below the dirt
Hotter than a flame
In the belly of the earth
He has given you a Name

There are mountains
Mountains on the ocean floor
They're rising from the deep
Where no one ever sees
There are mountains
They're hidden there beneath the waves
They're moving up so slow
No one ever knows
There's a molten heart of stone
That is waiting to explode
Only God can see it grow

We touched down on the sound
At the top of the world
In the land of the midnight sun
Where the frozen river melts away
And breaks into a run
Into the sea, into the mighty waves
That waited just to see it
From a long way off that river thawed
And the tide ran out to meet it
"Welcome home, unfrozen river, welcome home"

'Cause all shall be well, all shall be well
Break the chains of the gates of Hell
Still all manner of things will be well

See the quiet hearts of the children of
The children of this land
They have stayed alive in the day-long night
By the fires that warm their hands
There is a wilderness inside them
It is dark and thick and deep
And beside the fire at the heart of that wood
Is a precious missing sheep
So go on in, hold your torch, let it shine

'Cause all shall be well, all shall be well
Break the chains of the gates of Hell
Still all manner of things will be well
All shall be well, all shall be well
The Word of God will never fail
And all manner of things will be well

There's a light in the darkness
There's an end to the night

I saw the sun go down on a frozen ocean
As the man in the moon was rising
And he rode the night all full and bright
With his face at the far horizon
And the night can be so long, so long
You think you'll never get up again
But listen now, it's a mighty cloud of
Witnesses around you—they say
"Hold on, just hold on
Hold on to the end
And all shall be well"

Yesterday we drove all night to Pittsburgh
Jamie laid her head down in the back
My little boys asleep beside their sister
They're the best I have

I brought an old recording of your father
He was teaching men and women how to love
He carried on about his sons and daughters
Growing up

As we drove across Ohio
At the dawning of the day
I could hear the tune of truth was in his voice
And it felt just like I knew him
Though I never saw his face
Maybe that's because I know his boys
Who live their lives

For the love of God
In the name of Jesus
The groom who gave his life
To love his bride

I know you thought you'd never find a woman
I never thought I'd have to write this song
But here I am and there you are together
After all

You felt like you were buried
In a city underground
All broken bits and pieces of the past
And somewhere she was searching
On the surface of the mound
She was digging for a treasure that would last
Now she's giving you her heart

For the love of God
In the name of Jesus
The groom who gave his life
To love his bride

Now, love is not a feeling in your chest
It is bending down to wash another's feet
It is faithful when the sun is in the west
And in the east

It can hurt you as it holds you
In its overwhelming flood
Till only the unshakeable is left
"This new command I give you," He said,
"Love as I have loved"
So brother, love her better than yourself
And give her your heart

For the love of God
In the name of Jesus
The groom who gave his life
To love his bride

This is not the end here at this grave
This is just a hole that someone made
Every hole was made to fill
And every heart can feel it still--
Our nature hates a vacuum

This is not the hardest part of all
This is just the seed that has to fall
All our lives we till the ground
Until we lay our sorrows down
And watch the sky for rain

There is more
More than all this pain
More than all the falling down
And the getting up again
There is more
More than we can see
From our tiny vantage point
In this vast eternity
There is more

A thing resounds when it rings true
Ringing all the bells inside of you
Like a golden sky on a summer eve
Your heart is tugging at your sleeve
And you cannot say why
There must be more

There is more
More than we can stand
Standing in the glory
Of a love that never ends
There is more
More than we can guess
More and more, forever more
And not a second less

There is more than what the naked eye can see
Clothing all our days with mystery
Watching over everything
Wilder than our wildest dreams
Could ever dream to be
There is more