ADD:Still Small Voice (Bob Franke)

Subject: ADD:Still Small Voice (Bob Franke)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Nov 14 - 04:38 AM

I guess I feel a connection with Bob Franke because he's an Episcopalian ex-seminarian, and I'm a Catholic ex-seminarian. The years of training give a certain insight that I think is a valuable contribution to this world. His songs aren't overtly religious, but they have strong ties to religious language and tradition. I like this one, which has ties to the story of Elijah hearing thunder and other loud and majestic sounds, but finally finding what he sought in "A Still Small Voice."

STILL SMALL VOICE
(Bob Franke)

In a still small voice in the middle of the night
Brother Martin heard the simple truth
And he followed its pleading though it led to a crossroads
Parting in the days of my youth
From the heart of my city came a single scream
And I heard it through all the white noise
And the papers told us me that they'd killed the dream
But they never killed the still small voice

All the lies come at you in a million ways
Some you hear and some you tell yourself
And they say that virtue is a pile of gold
And that weapons are a nation's wealth
But when kings stand naked in their ugly schemes
Will the poor of this world rejoice?
Will they sell their children down a bloody stream
Or will they listen to a still small voice?

Now the one-eyed bandit in your living room
Will convince you that you have no time
It will swear to take you on your one free ride
While it's looking for your last dime
But the light of heaven is a simple gift
You can see it when you make that choice
It will shine like riches in your inmost heart
But it will speak in a still small voice.

Oh the sky will open when the trumpet sounds
And the thunder will shake these walls
And these stones so silent as they ring us 'round
They will shatter when they hear that call
And these chains will clatter when they hit the ground
And the people make a joyful noise
But when my Lover comes to call me home
It will be in a still small voice.

Bob Franke
On his Brief Histories, Charlie King Food Phone Gas Lodging
In Bob Franke SB, SO 34:1


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qsMSUU0XU4

...to be included in the upcoming Rise Again Songbook.

Subject: RE: ADD:Still Small Voice (Bob Franke)
From: Elmore
Date: 21 Nov 14 - 11:14 PM

Beautiful song. Great to hear it again. Thanks Joe.

Subject: RE: ADD:Still Small Voice (Bob Franke)
From: GUEST,Pete from seven stars link
Date: 22 Nov 14 - 12:42 PM

Nice one joe, like the accompaniment too.

Subject: RE: ADD:Still Small Voice (Bob Franke)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Nov 25 - 02:15 AM

The story of the "Still Small Voice" is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. It's from the first book of Kings, chapter 19. Most translations translate that verse differently and probably more accurately, but the "Still Small Voice" rendition from the King James Version is the most poetic. God tells Elijah to “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” So Elijah goes to the mountain (Mount Carmel?) and looks for the Lord in the wind, the earthquake, and the fire - but God is not there. Finally, Elijah hears a "still small voice," and that's where God is. Usually, the transliteration is "Tiny whispering Sound" or "gentle whisper," but I like the King James Version's "Still small voice."
The two books of Kings and the two books of Samuel have some of the best storytelling in the Bible. They're just great literature, and I recommend them to all. Brazilian novelist Paul Coelho retold the story of Elijah in a novel called "The Fifth Mountain." I highly recommend it.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2019&version=NIV

Subject: RE: ADD:Still Small Voice (Bob Franke)
From: Pappy Fiddle
Date: 13 Nov 25 - 08:50 PM

You might like this, from our Childrens' Songbook

The Still Small Voice