Song of Inspiration #4 - Strong Hand of Love

The late Mark Heard wrote the song, Strong Hand of Love. It was recorded by Daniel Amos, and later covered on a tribute album by Bruce Cockburn:

Down peppers the rain from a clear blue sky
Down trickles a tear on a youthful face
Feeling in haste and wondering why

Up struggles the sun from a wounded night
Out venture our hearts from their silent shrouds
Trying to ignite but wondering how

We can laugh and we can cry
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows
We can dance and we can sigh
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows

Young dreamers explode like popped balloons
Some kind of emotional rodeo
Learning too slow and acting too soon

Time marches away like a lost platoon
We gracefully age as we feel the weight
Of loving too late and leaving too soon

We can laugh and we can cry
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows
We can dance and we can sigh
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows

This song is so poetic, you can hear it over and over again and capture something new each time. The funny thing is, as with most of the songs you will see on my list, it never got any air-play on Christian radio (at least in South Florida).

One interesting piece of information; Bruce Cockburn is said to have frequently called Mark Heard his favorite song-writer. Bruce Cockburn has in turn been lauded by Bono, and had some of his songs performed on stage by U2.

If you would like to add Mark Heard to your collection, check out pastemusic.com.