The melody was so powerful, so suggestive of that, and it was at that point I began to be really caught up in the song. The second verse was about his life and going to the cross, but I think that by the third verse I was thinking about the moment of resurrection. Sometimes you’re just trying to find your way with the first verse, trying to find the key theme.
The song started slowly in terms of my writing. So I think that it made the song so much stronger as a result. I actually think it was a stroke of genius because now the song is known as In Christ Alone, it’s where the song begins, it’s the statement you make and it’s the first thing you sing. I was slightly irritated, but the more I thought about it the more I thought ‘yes that would probably be stronger’, so I moved it around. I was slightly against it because I had this rhyme scheme going in the verse and didn’t want to mess it up. I’d started with the words My hope is found in Christ alone, but he thought it would be great if the song began with the phrase In Christ alone. I sent the lyrics to Keith and he liked them and he suggested changing the first line. I began to try and put into words what it means for Christ to have gone through what he went through, what that means for me and how that completely changes my life. When I started to write the lyrics it got more and more exciting, and I got more and more emotional. I phoned Keith and subsequently thought ‘this is a song about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and what that means for us.’ I was getting to like it more and more and wondering what the song could be about. It was a classic melody, with that eternal, enduring aspect. But as soon as I heard the first song – which was just him on the piano, playing the melody in the right hand – I thought there was something about it, something quite profound. When it arrived I wasn’t expecting anything much from it. Nothing partic-ularly eventful happened but Keith said he’d send me a CD with some of his song ideas. He’d said how great Keith was at writing melodies and he probably said some nice things about how I write lyrics, and so we met for a coffee. Keith Getty and I were at a conference together and a mutual friend said we should get together. The song got written in an unexpected way. Stuart Townend spoke to WeAreWorship about the birth of the most enduring hymn of its generation. When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!īought with the precious blood of Christ.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
Firm through the fier - cest drought and storm.
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