Phil Wickham may not have currently risen to the kind of heights as some of his other Contemporary Christian singer-songwriter colleagues have, including Matthew West, Jimmy Needham, and Brandon Heath, but his new CD, Heaven and Earth (Simple/INO), stands to change all that. A unique melange of pop, rock, and folk, Heaven and Earth will please many the Adult Contemporary Christian lover, and several of the tracks on the CD stand to gain airplay if ever released to Christian radio.
The single first released to Christian radio, however, is Safe, a track that features MercyMe frontman and fellow INO Records labelmate Bart Millard. Millard has already released two solo CDs of his own to significant acclaim, so Safe certainly does live up to its name in terms of being a song that will tickle the fancies of Contemporary Christian radio programmers looking for something different to play. Don’t get the song wrong, though; Wickham’s bright baritone overflows with passion as he sings about how safe we are in the arms of our Savior. (Millard gets his own glory notes, too; ah, ’tis the challenge with superstar duets.)
According to this website, Safe‘s message “relates to many and never gets old.” He added: “It speaks out to those that are hurting, those that are going through tough things. It’s a reminder that the God who brought sight to the blind and brought the lame to their feet is the same God who holds you in his arms today. It’s my sincere prayer that the simple message of this song would resonate in people’s hearts. I wrote it after a moving conversation I had with a man who told me his story. It was a story of God’s faithfulness during a struggling time. How God can turn things that seem so grim into things that give Him glory. Think of all those that Jesus healed and saved while he was on earth from great tragedy and sickness and even death. It gave people all the more reason to praise Him!”
Phil Wickham’sSafe mp3 lyrics after the jump.
[audio:Safe.mp3]
SAFE Lyrics
Phil Wickham & Bart Millard
To the one whose dreams are falling all apart
And all you’re left with is a tired and broken heart
I can tell by your eyes you think you’re on your own
but you’re not all alone
Have you heard of the One who can calm the raging seas
Give sight to the blind, pull the lame up to their feet
With a love so strong and never let you go
oh you’re not alone
Chorus:
You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
‘Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms
Did you know that the voice that brings the dead to life
Is the very same voice that calls you to rise
So hear Him now He’s calling you home
You will never be alone
Bridge:
These are the hands that built the mountains
the hands that calm the seas
These are the arms that hold the heavens
They are holding you and me
These are hands that healed the leper
Pulled the lame up to their feet
These are the arms that were nailed to a cross
to break our chains and set us free
