Hand clappin’, toe-tappin’, folky, bluesy, acoustic-driven Christian stuff.
Observing the struggles of a once flourishing local economy, the title track “RiverTown Warning” inspires this album’s theme: a life metaphor reminding us that nothing on Earth lasts, and how just when you think you have it all together the bottom can drop out from under you. Nothing promises permanence: no city, no job, no fancy education, no body. So you can only put your hope in the eternal God who never changes, and whose promises of eternal life in Christ last forever.Lyrics
- You Chose Me
Words and Music by Grant Van Leuven
© 2003 Dumb Sheep Music
ASCAP
I was a dead man at the bottom of the ocean Cold and lifeless, boats passin’ over me Then You reached down through murky water Pulled my body out and breathed Your life in me No, I didn’t choose You, my Lord You chose me
I was Lazarus, laid in a gloomy tomb On a cold stone slab, people crying over me Then you wept loud, and yelled “Come on out!” And I rose, I rose for all to see No, I didn’t choose You, my Lord, You chose me
‘Cause a dead man can’t grab hold of a life vest And he can’t raise himself off a stone Only You can quicken the heart of the ones You call Your own And You call Your own
Now I’m born again Awakened from the dead Was blind and lost, but now am found and free And though I stumble, and stray like a dumb sheep Your rod and staff keep and comfort me Though I didn’t choose You, my Lord, I thank You for choosing me Though I didn’t choose You, my Lord, I thank You for holding on, holding on to me Thank You, thank You for choosing me
- Amazing Grace
© 2004 Dumb Sheep Music
ASCAP
Words by John Newton
Arranged by Grant Van Leuven
Published by Dumb Sheep Music, 2004
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found Was blind, but now I see. Amazing grace! Amazing grace!
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear And grace my fears relieved How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed! Amazing grace! Amazing grace!
Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come ‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far And grace will lead me home Amazing grace! Amazing grace!
Though we’ve been there Ten thousand years Bright shining as the sun We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we’d first begun Amazing grace! Amazing grace!
- River Town Warning
Words and music by Grant Van Leuven
© 2002 Dumb Sheep Music
ASCAP
All these little river towns are slowly dying Factories are shutting down Storefronts are closing Sad to say, all these river towns are just a shell of what they used to be All these river towns are a warnin’ me
All these little river towns stay where they are Their children do not hang around They need something more Hard to say if these river towns will ever turn things around, ya see These river towns are a warnin’ me
Things that are here today could be gone tomorrow And happiness can turn into sorrow When I’m soakin’ in sunshine, better get ready for a rainy day And put my hope in the One who will never change
- Dumb, Stupid Sheep
Words and music by Grant Van Leuven
© 2002 Dumb Sheep Music
ASCAP
I’m just a dumb, stupid sheep who’s fallen on my back again I need You to lift me up and put me on my feet again I’m gonna die if I stay here lying with my legs in the air I don’t have the strength to stand on my own I’m getting really scared
You know, a wolf in sheep’s clothing done pulled the wool over my eyes Shoulda run as he was comin’, but I guess I fell for his disguise Now I’m fighting for my life asking Jesus to rescue me Thank God for the blood of the Lamb that has set me free!
It just goes to show how I’m hopeless, utterly hopeless, without a Shepherd It just goes to show how Your promise is the only way I’ll survive!
I’ve been a blah blah bad sheep, but You can make my cup full Your rod and Your staff keep me straight when I start to pull And when I fall down, I know now, You’ll always pick me up I don’t deserve it, but You always stand by Your Word
So lay me down in green pastures By still waters Restore my soul Lead me on the right path So I don’t want as I wait for You to take me home
- Eternal Well (The Tree Song)
Words and music by Grant Van Leuven
© 2002 Dumb Sheep Music
ASCAP
chorus
I’m like a tree that keeps on growin’ Branching out beyond myself My roots drink deep in water flowin’ Springing from His eternal well
I bear my fruit for others to eat I spread my leaves and pour it out It’s not from me, but the God I feed on Springing from His eternal well
Sometimes I thirst when days get dry My leaves wilt and fall to the ground But my roots are held by the Rock of Jesus He fills me with His eternal well
chorus
I’ll never dry I’ll never die Won’t be uprooted by worries of the world The Seed’s been planted in fertile soil Broken by Jesus Fed by His well
chorus
We are a forest, growing together Bearing shade for saplings below We hold their ground and point them upward As they drink from Christ’s eternal well
We are like trees that keep on growing Branching out beyond ourselves Our roots drink deep in water flowing Springing from His eternal well
- When I Look Back
Words and music by Grant Van Leuven
© 2002 Dumb Sheep Music
ASCAP
When I look back at the sum of my life My family, my friends, and my wife Will I smile? Will I wince? Will it all make sense? Will it add up for good or for bad? When I look back When I look back
When I look back through those Kodak years Flip through pages of faces dear to me Did I bring them to tears ‘cause I wouldn’t hear And wasted the time that we had? When I look back When I look back
When I look back and remember the stakes that I’ve faced for choices I’ve made Were there wins for the risk? Was it worth what I missed for the safety that weighed down my days? When I look back When I look back
When I look back on those dreams that I had And the journeys and travels I planned Did they slip through the cracks? Did I cripple my back for the fear to fail and to fall? When I look back When I look back
When I look back and I’m ready to meet my Savior, and bow at His feet Will He say with a smile, “My child, well done” As He takes me to Kingdom Come? And says, “Don’t look back I paid for it all So don’t, don’t look back” Well I won’t, no I won’t look back
In My Baby’s Arms
Words and Music by Grant Van Leuven
©2003 Dumb Sheep Music
ASCAP
In my baby’s arms is where I’m headin’ As I put my guitar down I’ve been writin’ about the world She is sleepin’ I go to her now
In my baby’s arms is where I turn As I lay my body down I finish prayin’ for family She is sleepin’ I’m beside her now
I take her next to me so silently And gaze at the moonlight on her face She wakes for a moment Kisses me so softly Whispers “I love you” Then drifts back into her dreams
In my baby’s arms is where I rest Now that I’ve settled down And I’m so grateful for this bed She is sleepin’ I go with her now
In my baby’s arms … all through the night
In my baby’s arms … into the morning light
- Little Bit of Both of Us
Words and music by Grant Van Leuven
© 2004 Dumb Sheep Music
ASCAP
chorus
You got a little bit of both of us in you Little bit of momma Little bit of me Got a little bit of both of us in you And you’re making us so happy, baby
Some say you’ve got my round face I think you’ve got your momma’s eyes and nose Perhaps, you’ll have my mind for theology I hope you have your momma’s heart, but I suppose
chorus
And when you cry, I don’t know why, but I can’t help and chuckle to myself inside Guess it reminds me of the day when you first announced your arrival to this world And when you sigh, it’s like a lullaby Like a song in daddy’s ear Brings him back to the year when you were just a glimmer in your momma’s eye
- She Leaves the Light on for Me
Words and music by Grant Van Leuven
© 2004 Dumb Sheep Music
ASCAP
She leaves the light on for me ‘Cause I’m never home ‘till the sun goes down She waits up late for me The only time that I’m around I tell her it won’t always be this way She says she understands that I have a plan She leaves the light on for me And I come home to her every night
She leaves the light on for me Even when I’m wearing a frown She wears a smile for me I think she’s glad to have me around She wades through my melancholy ways She understands me I watch her face She leaves the light on for me And it glows in my heart through the night
Hard times and dark times won’t hold us back Our love light shines bright And it will last She’s sure of that
She leaves the light on for me And I come home to her every night
She leaves the light on for me And it glows in my heart through the night