give thanks with a grateful heart : a songwriter's interpretation
[ lyrics to Give thanks with a grateful heart ]
The psalms are filled with imperatives: Take Psalm 118, for example. It begins with the following words, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say, 'His love endures forever.'"
The song "Give thanks with a grateful heart" by Henry Smith builds on this tradition.
The words "give thanks" ring out again and again in the first half of the song as it instructs us what to do (give thanks), how to do it (with a grateful heart), whom to thank (the Holy One) and why (because he's given Jesus Christ his Son).
The second half celebrates the new reality possible because of Jesus. He has reversed the old order so that the weak are strong and the poor are rich in Him.
This song is both a call to and a declaration of thanksgiving and faith. It invites the poor and the rich to experience this new reality for themselves. At the same time, just by singing the song, we automatically identify ourselves with the rich and the poor who have discovered all that Jesus has to offer.
This song has a number of noteworthy elements:
The Genre: most thanksgiving songs fall into the "praise song" category (upbeat, rousing), but this thanksgiving song is clearly a worship song (more subdued and meditative).
The Ending: the second half of the song can either lead back to the beginning (Give thanks with a grateful heart) or the coda (Give thanks). Because the beginning and the coda are melodically different, yet harmonise perfectly, as a singer you can always sing "Give thanks" with confidence, without risking embarrasment, as you wait for the cue to stop or continue.
The Chord Sequence: the melody line flows naturally (largely because of the use of parallels in the lyrics which are supported in the melody), but the chord structure undergirding it is in fact quite complex:
I V VI III IV I VII II V7 (repeat)
III VI II V IV V I III VI VII II V (repeat)
Certainly not your standard I V7 I IV I IV I V7 I sequence (used in "This is the Day", for example)
The Use of Quotations: these can be very effective, as shown in this song: "And now let the weak say, 'I am strong'" is much more powerful than "And now let the weak say they are strong". Still, using quotations in a song can be cumbersome. They only work if the quotations are tagged appropriately, as they are here. It is very clear who is to say "I am strong" and "I am rich".
irene bom ~ songwriter © 2022