Standing up from crags and clay
The peaks of earth
In full display
They break the lines
That break the sky
That’s full of life
Full of life

The chaos of creation’s dance
A tapestry, a symphony
Of life himself
Of love herself
It’s written in our very skin

All praises to the one who made it all
Who made it all
All praises to the one who made it all
And finds it beautiful

Soil is spilling life to life
Stars are born
To fill the night
The ocean’s score
The majesty
Of sculpted shore
Mystery

All praises…
Fearfully and wonderfully and beautifully made




Behind the Song:
Up to this point in the record, we have borrowed a lot of the metaphor and imagery from other sources. In “Crags and Clay”, we attempt to create some imagery of our own, and the poetry of the verses is something I have come to really enjoy singing. The imagining of the drawn lines of the creation, i.e. the horizon, the mountains, etc., all reflect the artistic masterpiece that this world is. The intersecting of these lines, the chaos of it all, somehow comes together in this tapestry of beauty, intricately and woven together.

There’s also a subtle nod here to our last project “Beautiful Things” in the lines “All praises to the one who made it all and finds it beautiful”. This song is a reflection of our view of God as the great Artist who certainly must take great pleasure in his work.

Musically, this song is built of a hemiola, a rhythmic device that superimposes one kind of meter over the other. It is sort of like the intersecting lines of creation that are all so different, but somehow they come together. The song rhythm may feel odd at first to the listener, but after repetition it starts feeling more natural, and is actually all just in 4/4 common time as a whole.

It ends with Lisa’s voice singing “fearfully and wonderfully and beautifully made.” I think in a world full of plastic surgery and magazines and film constantly bombarding us with what is beautiful; women in our society have an especially difficult time with self-image. Beauty in our culture is valued in terms of beauty over and against other human beings, and it is based on the small variations of specific physical features. However, human beings as a work of art in and of themselves are exceptionally and beautifully made.

If our girls grew up finding their value and their beauty in their humanity rather than their measurements, we would have a healthier society. I want our baby girl, Amelie, to grow up knowing she is beautiful, but not just beautiful compared to other creations of God. I want her to know that she is beautiful primarily because she is a creation of God.

-- Gungor