Nov. 25, 2013
By Bob Farrell
By Bob Farrell
I refuse to dwell on the evil
I have cast my lot with the righteous
I will live the words of the Master
I will take my stand
This is my manifesto
My manifesto
That's the chorus to the title song of Farrell & Farrell's 7th album, a lyric written in 1987. A year later Jayne and I and our band would make a concert tour to Communist Russia — in the year before the Wall came down.
When I penned words and melody for Manifesto to a Michael Demus techno track, F&F had already been into Communist Poland several times. We were particularly drawn to the plight of Eastern Europeans, where the Gospel was outlawed; and to Western Europe, where there was freedom to worship but the light of the Gospel had flickered to a guttering flame.
The song Manifesto was my way of making a declaration to the entire planet. A personal creed to live by, stand upon, and shout out.
Every christian song I have written since 1971 was to me like a 3-minute sermon. It had to be solidly based in the Word of God; I wanted it to communicate without being preachy; it needed to be the best I could muster; and it should be typified by the finest qualities of great entertainment and 'high art' that I could create.
I believed that if I did all those things well enough and consistently, that some of those songs could be timeless. In humility I am extremely proud to say that some of my writing is still speaking to people's hearts to this day.
Since Fall 2010 I have also been writing book manuscripts and I've discovered that I really enjoy the process of book-writing.
So, here's what I believe God is directing me to now do. I am going to blog on a range of subjects based on my song lyrics: because what interested me back when I wrote them interests me still; and the fact that so many of those song messages are as timely now as the time in which I wrote them — in some cases even more so. There will also be some backstory about how the song came to be.
So start looking for My Manifesto Mondays, which I pray will prod your minds, hearts, consciences, and intellects — and inspire your heart and mind. If you would like to read more about how I arrived finally at taking this blogging plunge click here.
When I penned words and melody for Manifesto to a Michael Demus techno track, F&F had already been into Communist Poland several times. We were particularly drawn to the plight of Eastern Europeans, where the Gospel was outlawed; and to Western Europe, where there was freedom to worship but the light of the Gospel had flickered to a guttering flame.
The song Manifesto was my way of making a declaration to the entire planet. A personal creed to live by, stand upon, and shout out.
Every christian song I have written since 1971 was to me like a 3-minute sermon. It had to be solidly based in the Word of God; I wanted it to communicate without being preachy; it needed to be the best I could muster; and it should be typified by the finest qualities of great entertainment and 'high art' that I could create.
I believed that if I did all those things well enough and consistently, that some of those songs could be timeless. In humility I am extremely proud to say that some of my writing is still speaking to people's hearts to this day.
Since Fall 2010 I have also been writing book manuscripts and I've discovered that I really enjoy the process of book-writing.
So, here's what I believe God is directing me to now do. I am going to blog on a range of subjects based on my song lyrics: because what interested me back when I wrote them interests me still; and the fact that so many of those song messages are as timely now as the time in which I wrote them — in some cases even more so. There will also be some backstory about how the song came to be.
So start looking for My Manifesto Mondays, which I pray will prod your minds, hearts, consciences, and intellects — and inspire your heart and mind. If you would like to read more about how I arrived finally at taking this blogging plunge click here.
