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 from Family Man.
Song By Song – Elijah’s Song (That’s Your Name)
Choosing a name is really hard! The decision feels so consequential. You are giving your child something that will be with them for the rest of their life. Names have meanings, too. So, you’re giving them a name that carries something with it as well. It’s heavy!
As I mentioned in a previous post, Mary convinced me that we should not find out if we were having a boy or a girl. Looking back on it all, this was a great decision. It was fun with both of our kids to find out the day they came into the world who they were. But this also meant that we had to come up with two names, as if coming up with one name isn’t already hard enough!
The first thing we did was cull family names. For a boy, this was tough sledding. On the Newcomb side, my grandfather was James Sr., my dad James Jr. and my brother James III. Those were off the table. I have no qualms with my own name, but I didn’t feel like naming my son a Jr. My great-grandfather on that side was named Dooger Thomas. Again, a no-go. The Chandler side was somewhat similar. In Mary’s family, we didn’t like any of those options either. They’re all great names, but we didn’t feel like they paired well with Newcomb.
The irony is that a girl name came very easily for us. Mary’s grandmother was named Betty. My dad’s mom who died before I was born was named Corrine. So, we settled on Elizabeth Corrine Newcomb. The first name gave us some options for a nickname if we chose. Thanks to Elijah being a boy, we had this one in our hip pocket for round 2!
I don’t recall exactly how or when the name Elijah Christopher came to me, combining the name of the Old Testament prophet with my middle name. I can say that Elijah has always been an intriguing Biblical character to me. When I was reading through the Scriptures post college, I was fascinated by his story. I was first blown away by the power that the Lord worked through him. The episode on Mt. Carmel is truly remarkable. I mean, he’s talking trash to the prophets of Baal for crying out loud! In the middle of a drought, he wastes water on the altar just to prove a point. It’s incredible how the Lord uses a mere human being to orchestrate such mighty works. But then I’m shocked at his cowardice and weakness. How can someone follow up that episode with running for his life and hiding in the wilderness? After a great victory like that, I would have been like The Rock making his entrance at Wrestlemania or something. At least that’s what I tell myself.
But the truth is that Elijah’s experience is much like all of us who follow Jesus. I have seen and experienced God’s power in some phenomenal ways, in ways that even defy explanation or logic. Yet, I cower in the face of sin and temptation. I yield to the power of this world when I have the power of the living God inside of me. How can this be?! And yet, God is still so patient and loving toward His own. The same way He provided for Elijah, He provides for us today. What amazing love!
In Hebrew, Elijah means “The Lord is My God”. I worry and fret over a lot of things in life, more than I should about anything. But this, this is my most fervent prayer and greatest desire – for Elijah Christopher Newcomb to say and believe these words, to say and believe his own name. May God hear and answer that prayer.
This was another song where I planned to keep the production simple. Pat tracked his upright bass for this one to go along with my guitar, and I did some hand percussion. The best part about this song is that Elijah played the egg as part of the percussion. He’s shown an interest in drums since he was a toddler, and he’s exhibited a bit of a natural feel for it. So, I had him do the egg for this song as another way for him to treasure the record and this tune in particular. We got him a pocket drum kit for Christmas, and he’s taking lessons with Larry. Maybe he’ll be ready to track the drums for my next record!
Check back in a few days as I continue to go song by song with “You Don’t Want To Go To Sleep”.
