My Australian Christian Songs

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God Version 1.0

A big subject needs a lot of songs. Not really surprising, then, that God. Version 1.0 has nineteen: Prayers, praise, love songs and blessings; also stories, dedications and creeds.

Though this collection didn’t start out as a ‘concept album’, it’s kind of ended up that way. There doesn’t appear to be (to me, at least) a single song here that doesn’t relate to the title. But perhaps all songs are written as people define what’s important for them and outline their version of God: what they believe in, hope for, trust in, and are encouraged by.

Behind many of the songs are people. A lot of them are named - Moses, Christopher, Sadako, Mary. Some people's names are unknown, like the woman who touched Jesus' cloak and the men who followed a star to Bethlehem. And others get no mention in the songs, but the songs could not exist without them, like Dorothy and Dietrich.

It pleased me to realise that so much of the music had the stories of people in it. I don't plan this sort of thing, but it's nice when practice and theory come together. The version of God that I believe in ('Version 1.0' - the original, needing no upgrades) is the one that Jesus shows us, the one who may sometimes be seen in the spectacular and amazing but chose to be revealed most clearly in the human and humble. And this God is always showing up in the stories and events of ordinary people.

After the words and music of the songs I add some comments about how they came to be made, where the ideas came from, and perhaps who helped the song come about. In doing this I find it easier to identify the background to the words. However, I certainly don't think that music is less important than words. The longer I've written (over thirty years now) the more I realise that good songs are not words with music added but a seamless combination of the two. The music amplifies the words, the words heighten the music.

• Thanks to Dorothy, my best friend, chief critic and most appreciated fan
• Thanks to Kristin, Jon and Thom, my editorial committee, my cultural barometers, whose lives continue to delight, inspire and surprise me
• Thanks to Monica and Ivan Christian for long encouragement and assistance
• Thanks to Andy Voigt for working tirelessly on the recording of this collection
• Thanks to Francine Schultz for some excellent arrangements, to Rob Roennfeldt for the initial cover design, and to Graeme Cogdell for bringing that design to fruition.
• And thanks to all who keep encouraging me, directly and indirectly: a lot of St Stephen's people, enthusiastic children in Lutheran schools all over Australia, old and young who pass on thanks or appreciation after services or concerts, or in letters or phone calls, and all who include me in their prayers. It's a joy to have a gift that not only can be shared but can bring such joy to so many others.

Robin Mann
April, 1998

30.9.24
 

Back from a Break 

During September, Dorothy and I travelled
to Norway and the UK.

After long flights
- Adelaide to Melbourne,
Melb to Dubai (14 hrs),
Dubai to Oslo (7 hrs) -
we did Norway in a nutshell
from Oslo to Bergen, then
the Hurtigruten Cruise 
up the west coast of Norway
and back again.
Then an 8 day Trafalgar tour
and 4 days in London,
before taking the direct flight
(16 3/4 hrs)
from Heathrow to Perth.
We're a bit tired (!) but we'll still be a part
of the LWA convention and the 
General Convention .

See some of you there.