Tuesday, April 26, 2011

“Jesus, I Love You”

“Jesus, I Love You”


October 10, 2010 at 4:21 pm
http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/13648517 for "Jesus, I Love You" [live]
I remember playing this song in Bessie the Bus with Dave.  We were on our way to one of our many concerts in the very early days, around 1977. I’m not sure that I had ever shown the song to Dave and the others before this.  But I do know we all gathered around and started singing it together and that it was a great prayer experience.  It has stuck solidly in my memory through the years!  Of course, it ended up in our repertoire, especially those times we were ‘the music ministry’ for Charismatic conferences and such as opposed to our concerts.  It is simple and prayerful yet catchy and spirited.  One thing I used to do is provide music for Confessions or silent time on our Teen or Confirmation retreats and the others joined me on this occasionally.

This is as good a time as any for one amusing bus story.  We were on a long trip (was it one of the New York or Ohio trips?).  At any rate, Mike McBride suggested we play “Beetlebug”.  (Appropriate enough from him, in that I think the McBride’s had a VW Bug!)  Similar to “Punchbuggie”, it involves saying “Beetlebug” as soon as someone saw a Volkswagon Bug in order to score a point.  Well, in Connecticut somewhere, we passed what must have been the world’s BIGGEST Volkswagon Bug graveyard!!  There must have been thousands upon thousands of them!!  The whole bus load of us began saying “Beetlebug” over and over as fast as we possibly could until we all dissolved in full body-bending laughter!  The timing was just PERFECT!  Awesome!

This version is from the 1995 Reunion show.  In that show, we were trying to provide a snapshot of ourselves throughout our two decades and this song was done early in the show as an example of an early song.  I think it really came out great!  [Sorry it gets cut off in the beginning.]  At the end, we used to repeat “Jesus, I Love You” while some of us went into spontaneous praise and prayer or ad lib lyrics.  At this show, I did the ad-libbing and we kept it fairly short, but it really gives you an idea what it was like to do this song.  It’s a song that you almost can’t help praying, it has such a deep spirit of gratitude and hope.  I’m hoping any of you listening can be blessed with this same spirit in the midst of the worries and cares of your days and lives.  And may you learn to walk with and trust the Prince of Peace.

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