As a way to introduce the new records, I am writing blog posts going song by song to give you some insight into the writing, recording, production and story of each of the songs. Here is the next installment.
Song By Song – Let’s Fall In Love Again
My mind often drifts back to the fall of 2002 when I first met Mary. I love to tell the story because I think it makes her blush, or it at least embarrasses her. But every word of it is 100% true. I was about as lonely as a guy could be. I was brokenhearted and tired of the game. Yet, I was a hopeless romantic in every sense. So, when I saw this beautiful young woman sitting in the lobby of the BSU at Virginia Tech (now BCM) wearing a Caedmon’s Call shirt, I was in love at first sight. I really did say what I would consider a prayer: “Lord, if a girl that beautiful likes Caedmon’s Call, is there anyway she could be mine?” And it turns out she is as beautiful inside as she is outside. She was a dream come true, and I hope she never starts to wonder why she ended up with me.
I would imagine that most love stories have a beginning like that. Not all of them, but most of them – the first glance, an eye catches someone across the party or across the room, the moment in a conversation with a familiar face when something just clicks. But what happens to those moments? Why do we let life get us in such a rut and routine that we stop courting the person we claim to love, the person that made us feel that way in that first moment? And what is stopping us from feeling that way again? That was the thought behind this song.
I wrote “Let’s Fall In Love Again” in March 2016, a few months shy of our 10th wedding anniversary, over 13 years since that fateful first meeting. Elijah was almost 2 years old, and I am sure I had said or done something completely dumb and/or hurtful and/or selfish – take your pick. So, I was doing what I had done many times before in our relationship, and that was writing a song to make up for it. Life was (and still is) hard. Every stage as a parent is an adjustment from the stage before it, and all of it is an adjustment from just being a married couple which is an adjustment from dating and so on and so on. We had a toddler, we were changing diapers all the time, we had bills to pay, we both worked with all the demands that jobs put on us, etc. In the middle of all of that, who has time to just be in love?! But, we really should make the time to do just that.
So, this song was a reminder to me to do that – to remember how it felt to be in love and to love someone and that I just need to do that more often. I hope that charge resonates with folks in relationships, no matter what stage they are in.
I always joke that 1975 called and wanted its song back. My songwriting is about 50 years too late to be commercially successful. But, it’s who I am, and I don’t see it changing any time soon. I’m an old soul, for sure. Michael Anderson played the Rhodes for this one, and Kevin’s electric guitar parts are so good. Enter Lee Hatling on this tune for the background vocals! I’ve played shows and led worship with Lee since 2015, and we probably have more fun than should be allowed. I also owe a great deal to Lee because she introduced me to Pat Lawrence and Martha Bassett who have been very supportive of me and my music. When Lee came to track her part, I sprung the bridge section on her with the idea to layer a few parts together. She was a true professional. In just a couple of hours, we made it happen!
Check back in a few days as I continue to go song by song with the final tune from Home, “Old Town”.
