31 August 2023
Sometimes it's a lot easier and smarter just to let someone else talk. Say what you want about so-called Boomer Music, but what follows are the lyrics from a song that has carried me across a lot of sorrows.
I first encountered the Imperials Quartet in college; they came to sing at one of our weekly assemblies. They even performed a short set in our cafeteria at lunch. They allowed themselves to be mobbed by the students. Over the years following, they performed at churches within my area or other venues that I could afford. They were never too good for the little people. I've kept track of the changes in membership; at least one of their former singers has retired to my area.
I tend to sing this song when things get really difficult.
"He Didn't Lift Us Up to Let Us Down"
Recorded by The Imperials as Track 11 on Heed the Call (1979)
He didn't bring us this far to leave us
He didn't teach us to swim to let us drown
He didn't build His home in us to move away
He didn't lift us up to let us down
There are some promises in a letter
Written a long, long time ago
They're not getting older, they're getting better
Because He still wants us to know
He didn't bring us this far to leave us
He didn't teach us to swim to let us drown
He didn't build His home in us to move away
He didn't lift us up to lеt us down
(To let us down)
He didn't lift us up to let us down
Nеver use the word "defeat"
Claim His promises, every one of them
And every spoken word He'll hear
Because we're everything to Him
He didn't bring us this far to leave us
He didn't teach us to swim to let us drown
He didn't build His home in us to move away
He didn't lift us up to let us down
(To let us down)
He didn't lift us up to let us down
(words and music by Phil Johnson)
I won't link to YouTube anymore, but feel free to look it up for yourself. It played on Christian radio a lot back then. I was so impressed with the lyrics that I've never forgotten them. By the way, the song writer is better known for "He Wore My Crown". You can find old videos of him singing that one himself, but he typically didn't record much of his own vocals.
When your flesh cries out that you've been abandoned, know that it's a lie.
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