God moves in mysterious ways. Sometimes what might have looked strange, insignificant or even just confusing at the time is part of a bigger master plan, the grand designs of which are only apparent long after the fact. This is true in life, but is it true in music too? Yes, it seems clear to the experts at RELEVANT that messages were buried deep in the lyrics of some beloved CCM classics, Omega Code-style, that hinted at the coming self-quarantine situation. You doubt? Well, let’s spell it out for you.
dcTalk: It’s Killing Me
Context: When you go out on an essential errand, but you get too close to someone else.
Lyrical Giveaway: Another day and I’m on my feet but the street feels like it’s sleeping // I’m on a mission and it ain’t too sweet // Yeah, you’re the reason, I’m afraid
Smalltown Poets: Clean
The Context: When you’re gearing up for a grocery run.
Lyrical giveaway: I’m clean, wash me, I am clean // And ready for the world, ready for the world
Michael W. Smith (featuring Amy Grant): Somewhere, Somehow
Context: When you’re quarantined away from your pals.
Lyrical Giveaway: Somewhere, far beyond today, I will find a way to find you // And somehow through the lonely nights, I will leave a light in the dark
BarlowGirl: Never Alone
Context: When you’re alone in the Zoom.
Lyrical Giveaway: You told me to call, said you’d be there // And though I haven’t seen you, are you still there?
Cody Carnes: Let the Light In
Context: When you hear about a radical treatment involving bringing “light inside of the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way.”
Lyrical Giveaway: “Let the light in, let the light in.”
Chris Tomlin: Kindness
Context: When you decide to try the Clorox bath.
Lyrical Giveaway: Rain down the cleansing flood // Healing waters rise around us.
Amy Grant: I Will Remember You
Context: When you haven’t seen your friends in five weeks.
Lyrical giveaway: So many years come and gone and yet the memory is strong // One word we never could learn: Good-bye
Wayne Watson: It’s Time
Lyrical Giveaway: Not really a lyric, but the music video is a whole quarantine vibe.
Sonicflood: I Want to Know You
Context: This is kind of our only context these days, isn’t it?
Lyrical Giveaway: In the secret, in the quiet place // In the stillness, you are there