I’ve been exploring some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy 😀. But now, I’ve decided to alternate between very modern hymns, old hymns, and in-between hymns, namely the worship songs from the 60s to the 90s that feature in hymnbooks such as Mission Praise. Today it’s the turn of the in-between hymns.
Today’s song is My Forever Friend from 1994.
My Forever Friend wasn’t released as a church hymn or a worship song. I first heard it in the secular charts. It’s quite unusual to hear a song delighting in Jesus in the secular charts. I do remember Amazing Grace by Judy Collins as a young child back in 1970, but I can’t remember many since then. I did hear this one a lot on Irish radio.
It’s all about being close to Jesus, and how He loves us more than we love Him.
Even when I turn away He cares for me
His love no one can shake
Even as I walk away He's by my side
With every breath I take
And sometimes I forget Him
My halo fails to shine
Sometimes I'm not His friend
But He is always mine
The song became quite popular in the Irish country music scene. I was never big into country music, but thankfully, you often hear Christian songs in that scene. Back around 1979, Gloria’s One Day at a Time seemed to be forever in the Irish charts. I was into punk at the time, and I used to hate it. But I was on a bus tour shortly before my conversion in 1980. When we were on our way home, the bus driver asked for volunteers to sing into the microphone. Uncharacteristically, I volunteered and sang “One Day at a Time” 😀. I heard it so much that I knew all the lyrics. I still didn’t particularly like it, but I was trying to nudge myself towards God. And nowadays, the song means much more to me, particularly if I feel overwhelmed.
It’s great to see Christian music spilling out of churches and into the world. Some people dislike that becomes you hear musicians mixing Christian songs with very unchristian songs, but anything that provokes people to think about God must be good. Jesus himself was often criticized for mixing with sinners.
Anyway, here are some other versions of today’s song, mainly from Ireland:
Hibernia Gospel 