I guess the best place to start this series of posts is with the first track, which coincidentally happens to be the title track as well. "Over the Edge" is about trusting God when looking into the unknown future. This song came to me just when I was in that situation.
I wrote this song in early 2017. At this point in life, I felt I was on the edge of a cliff looking down into nothing. Life was getting difficult and I couldn't see where I was heading. So I wrote this song to God asking Him to help me jump into the unknown and trust him. And He answered. I took the plunge and applied to jobs, hoping to make things change. The other plunge I took was listening to my friend, Abigail Jones, when she suggested I publish an album - an endeavor I had never planned to take on. So I went over the edge, trusting Him with my career, my music, and my life.
When I first scribbled this song down, I only had the first verse and chorus. The first verse ended up reflecting my frustrations with my career, knowing what I knew what I was supposed to do, but not knowing which choices to make.
"I know what I need to be
And what I need to do
With this life you've given me
I have so many choices
And directions I can go
I pray to you Father
The right path you will show"
When I wrote the verse and the chorus, I didn't have a tune. Desperate to record this song, I stole a tune from another song. The other song I had to rewrite. So I recorded the intro, first verse, the chorus and the ending. But I needed a second verse. Inspiration wouldn't come for a while, but it finally did one evening when I went to dinner with my friends Mike and Hannah. Hannah was talking about her own career concerns. She had been offered a new job but wasn't sure if she should take it or not. She said a phrase that my mind latched onto: "I don't want to regret things down the road." After dinner, I wrote the second verse once I got home:
"I know that you will provide
Everything I'll need
I'll need along the ride
I don't wanna have
Regrets along the road
So I pray to you Father
The right path you will show"
Once I fired up the mic and added this, I knew it was what it needed to be. Up to this point, "Hope in the Lord" was the only song I had been really excited about. "Over the Edge" quickly became one of my favorites. So much so, I gave it the privilege of carrying the album's title. This song taught me a lesson. It's a lesson that I still need reminding of as I continue to move through life and I look into the unknown future. I hope this song can serve you as well. Thanks for listening.
God bless.
-Jenson Bailey
Listen to "Over the Edge" HERE!