Brave lyrics bethel
I hope that these water droplets invite people in. These songs are droplets, and they are precious to me, because I’ve spent time in that water. The vastness of that picture is what I want people to encounter in this album. Much like Cook had space to dream as a child, there is room in the music for pause, reflection, praise, and even imagination.Ĭook eloquently summarizes her vision for Brave New World: “If we were on a ship in the ocean every water drop in that ocean is a testimony of his nature and his goodness. Thus, the album is intentionally crafted like a painting made with strokes of melodies and chords. Like art has done for Cook, her hope is that these questions will awaken the desire to know Him and to be known by Him. Referencing Madeleine L’Engle, who states that art is meant to provoke us to ask the right questions, Cook hopes that through Brave New World, listeners will feel invited, provoked even, to question. Like the sun setting over the ocean, this album is art. The gentle piano sets a tranquil space for the song to breathe and grow, while Cook’s lilting vocal expresses timid joy that becomes strong. That’s what He has done for me.” The “City of Hope” that she crafts is a beautiful dwelling place. He mends us so well that we become cities of hope, safe places for people that are broken hearted to come in and be mended. In “City of Hope,” Cook responds to the mercy and kindness of God by expounding on a passage in Isaiah: “He mends the brokenhearted and those people who were the brokenhearted become partners with him to actually rebuild broken cities. The dance becomes another characteristic of the Brave New World. With this song, she describes God as the choreographer teaching us to overcome disappointment not by being strong enough, but by trusting and dancing. The rejuvenating rhythm compels a listener to dance and to remember the foundation of the movement. In addition to guiding Cook, Mabury co-wrote “Heroes,” a song about “dancing upon disappointment” from the perspective of rest. Please, you’ve been quiet for so long.” Similarly, Gretzinger trusted Cook with a song born out of her personal encounter and “Pieces” emerged, another bold declaration of God’s nature echoing, “You don’t give your heart in pieces/ You don’t hide yourself to tease us.” Along with Gretzinger, Cook also credits Bethel Music, Jason Ingram and Paul Mabury as critical members on the journey, saying that the album’s producers “Jason and Paul essentially pastored my heart through it.” The opening lines on the album from “The Voyage” were written as a gift from Cook’s dear friend, Steffany Gretzinger: “Speak, even if your voice is trembling. The personal passage across the sea is not without companions. For Amanda, these songs proclaiming the nature of God are personal moments of contemplative prayer declared from years of wrestling. “Kind,” a song Cook describes as subtle and brooding, promises that God is not a powerful tyrant who operates like humans. They are pauses of praise, and they come in part through understanding who God is not. The most poignant of these are sung through “Kind” and “Mercy.” Like Sundays as a child, these songs become markers along the voyage. Still, there are things about the nature of God that are revealed slowly, and many of these revelations become declarations on Brave New World. She knew that her life was directed unto someone else. As a young girl, music was an outlet and expression, but worship was a way of life. Amanda had space to imagine, and her parents created an atmosphere for Cook to begin to practice her craft. Growing up in the middle of Canada with a farmer worship pastor for a father, the foundation of Cook’s early life was worship. The map for this journey was drawn long before this record was even an idea. “This record was my journey chronicling and flag-shipping moments between me and the Lord where there was a benchmark of praise,” states Cook, as she invites the listener to step into the voyage with her. The message and process of writing this song gave Cook the permission and possibility to ask, “What is it like to live in a world without anxiety, a world absent of fear in the presence of perfect love?” For Cook, this has always been a hopeful phrase, a one day experience, but now, with the discoveries proclaimed through Brave New World, it becomes a reality. The idea to set sail for the album that became Brave New World began with Cook’s single, the title track to Bethel Music’s Billboard Top 10-selling album, You Make Me Brave.