Going Home

Lee: 

Mark and I wanted to try something bluesy in a slow triplet feel so we started trying out some licks as a break from mixing some of the other songs. We came up with this riff with what we hoped would be a rather unexpected upbeat on the end and were just having fun playing around.  We couldn’t wait for Dan to hear it.

Dan:

It’s remarkable.  Mark and Lee didn’t know I had begun working on lyrics based on the parable of the prodigal son when they played this cool rock/blues riff for me.  I knew it would fit right away.

Mark:

We gave Dan a copy of one verse and chorus to take home and at our next session we had been working on another song when Dan was about to leave.  We asked him how the lyrics were coming and if  he would sing his vocals.  He reluctantly agreed to let us hear what he was developing so we let the recorder while he sang.  The takes from that first night have remained essentially untouched in the final mix.

Dan:

It’s funny but until I started working on this song I never understood the story.  As the eldest of four kids, I always thought that the older son got the bad end of the deal. Sure, it was great that the little brother found his way, but the older brother comes out on the short end of the stick.  I always looked at this parable from a human point of view, and I never heard what Jesus was really saying. 

It’s really the ultimate picture of God’s grace.  The youngest son deserved nothing, but when he changed his heart and turned towards home, his father welcomed him back with open arms.  That’s the picture of God welcoming us to His home.  It’s all about God giving us salvation. We don’t deserve it.  We can do nothing to earn it.  It’s only by God’s grace that he allows us to come into His home.  By His grace are we saved.