"Father, Son, and Spirit"
I tell everyone that this song was the first song I wrote. What that really means is it was the first one I wasn't too embarrassed to share!
My journey into song writing began in early 2015 and it started terribly. I wrote a song entitled "That I May Know" and it was terrible. I had failed to follow any of the basic harmony writing rules, the lyrics were poorly phrased and difficult to sing. It was a disaster and not worth the digital space it still takes up somewhere on the internet.
Defeated, I decided to put away the sheet music for a bit. Shortly after, I decided to quit college, move to Abilene, TX and begin my career at the Taylor County Sheriff's Office. As a 19 year old corrections officer trying to get comfortable in a new job and living on my own, writing music was the last thing on my mind. But eventually, the desire crept up on me again in December of 2015. This time, I told myself I would keep it simple. And so I worked on four simple verses, wrote a simple melody and topped it off with a simple harmony that reminds me of something written from the Beginner's Harmony Class at the Foundation School of Church music. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes simple gets the job done. And while the music and lyrics may be simple, the subject matter is not. Describing the Father, the Son and the Spirit in four simple verses doesn't do them justice. Their magnificence could fill the earth millions of times over. But sometimes all we need is simple:
"Father, Son, and Spirit
Godhead three in one
Everlasting, constant
Ever you will be!
Holy Master, Father
Keeper of my soul
Shielding me from Satan
To Your hand I'll hold!
Jesus, mighty savior
Winner of my soul
Cleansing me from Satan
To your cross I'll hold!
Holy Spirit, Helper
Shepherd of my soul
Constant guidance giving
To Your path I'll hold!"
I was pleased. Pleased enough to share it with my family and a few friends. I even recorded it myself. Back before I had a decent microphone and I was recording covers on my phone, I produced a pretty rough cut of this song. That rough cut was all I had of it until I decided to publish an album. How could my first decent song not be on it? If it was going to be included in the set list, then it needed to be rerecorded. Who better to rerecord this song than the people who have to put up with my singing the longest? That's right. I recruited my mom, dad, and my oldest brother. Jennie, my mom, will always be my favorite alto to sit next to during church. My dad, Bruce, can't read sheet music to save his life, but he can sing and play guitar quite well. Listening to him during church is how I first learned to sing tenor. My oldest brother, Jayton, didn't have the chance to attend the singing school I did. If he had, he would probably be a better writer than I am. He's a great song leader and I'm happy he lent his bass for this song.
"Father, Son, and Spirit" will always be special because it was my first song I was happy with. But singing it with my family makes it even better.
God bless.
-Jenson Bailey
Listen to "Father, Son, and Spirit" HERE