The Journey
By Joseph S. Bonsall

The Journey is the title of a new song written by your author and just recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys for our upcoming Bluegrass, acoustic-driven collection of songs. The album will be released in the late summer of 2004 on the Spring Hill label.

The story behind how this song came to be seems worthy of a few paragraphs, because it is more than just a song. It is a “journey,” in and of itself.

My interest in Bluegrass music and banjo playing has been an ongoing experience for the last couple of years. Last fall I decided that I wanted to write a Bluegrass Gospel song. I struggled with idea after idea. Each set of lyrics and melody would lead me to another. Oft times I would just hit a brick wall and give up.

I don’t really do a lot of songwriting, but I do have a way with words to a point. And when an idea manifests itself in my head I can usually follow it through in due time to a finished project of some sort. That was the problem with this song idea. It wasn’t a complete idea. I constantly found my thoughts scattered all over the place in trying to write a simple little Bluegrass tune. So I gave up on it!

Fast forward to Thursday, February 12. I woke up at my farm and found myself a bit reflective about so many friends and loved ones who have passed on in the last few years. I stared at a picture of my Mom and Dad for a long while and wondered how they were doing.

I thought of John and June, Jake and Vestal, Noel and Lana, Randy and Irene. Good people. Good friends. Now gone on to be with Jesus. In the quietness and solitude of the moment, I knelt down on my knees and said a simple prayer. I asked God to look over these dear ones and somehow let them know that they were loved and missed.

I have a small three-stringed mountain instrument called a McNally Strumstick. An amazing little piece of work that sounds much like a dulcimer and is very easy to play. The promotional material at http://www.strumstick.com will tell you that there are no wrong notes on this instrument but I assure you..... I have found a few. However not on this crisp February morning.

I picked up the Strumstick and picked out a melody that began to haunt me as I played it. I walked all around the house for several hours playing this melody over and over. In my mind I could hear other instruments, like fiddle and mandolin, playing with me. It was somewhat mystical in its repetition.

Then words began to come, and I started writing them down. It was as if God were saying to me, “Go on, write about death but write about the glory and promise of life beyond the grave.”

Some of the words that I had written over the months seem to make sense to me now, but there was more to say and within an hour I wrote five verses. I was pretty happy with them.

I called Jeff Douglas, who has a great little studio at his house and implored him to call the band and set up a demo session for Friday afternoon. Then I drove to our home in Hendersonville with lyrics in hand and a new appreciation for my little Strumstick.

Singing my new song for my wife Mary, she suggested that the first verse could be improved. A few lines that contained sheep, shepherds and such seemed a bit overused. Immediately I knew she was right. (This is why I pay her the big bucks!)

I went downstairs and rewrote the first verse. A light came on, and I made it right.

I am in darkness...... demons are beckoning..... I am falling...... am I
dreaming?? I am dying..... Oh, Father, please help me.

The Journey moves forward in the second verse when a door just seems to open and the darkness turns to light, and I find myself in the presence of the Savior, who takes me on to Heaven.

When I awoke Friday morning, February 13, I rewrote the last verse from scratch.
I was finally very happy with the beginning and middle, but I wanted the last verse to represent more of a challenge.

My brother..... you could die today...... Are you ready? Are you born again? Only Jesus can lead us past the grave when the final journey’s done!

NOW..... I had a song but the magic was just beginning.

At Jeff’s studio my road warrior buddies and I gathered in a circle and played the song over and over again. There was Ryan on fiddle, Donnie on guitar, Jimmy on acoustic bass, Chris on mandolin, and a twelve-year-old dulcimer champion named Sarah Musgrave, who helped us maintain the mountain feel needed for THE JOURNEY.

I played my Strumstick and a little banjo. With the engineering help of Ronnie Fairchild, I now had a CD in my hand that contained the words and melody I had just finished hours ago.

The Oaks left town on February 14 to perform two shows in Clinton, North Carolina. I told them about the song, but I didn’t want them to hear the mix until I added some vocals.

In fact, I wrote this in a general e-mail to everybody about the upcoming song selections:

I have a Gospel Mountain Bluegrass song that I have demoed called THE JOURNEY. Personally, I am very excited about this song and I look forward to everyone's input.

The next day, February 15, I went back to Jeff's, while Chris Golden and
Jimmy Fulbright added harmony to each voice. Ronnie did a final mix and The Journey was a reality.

Will the rest of the Oaks share this vision?

For The Oak Ridge Boys to record a song, all four guys must love it and have their total heart and soul into the process of making it a part of our lives. Because a song that is recorded and performed by this group is very meaningful and never taken for granted, the bar is always set very high — and the criteria is without measure. It must move us. We ALL must LOVE IT!

February 16. I only had a few copies of the demo. Chris Golden asked me to drop one off at his house. Chris loved the song and was so excited. His enthusiasm for the work meant the world to me. Duane Allen asked me to drop a copy by his house. Because we had a lot of great songs, and if mine was to be considered at all, I needed to get it into the process — we start recording this week!

My wife Mary and I decided to go out to the farm for a few days, so I dropped a copy in Chris’s mailbox. Then I drove by Duane’s home and left a copy in his mailbox. We proceeded on to the farm, where I would spend a few days working on a fallen Tulip Poplar tree and grading my driveway.

That evening I received a call from co-producer Michael Sykes.

“Hey man, Duane just played me your song over the phone. Congratulations Joe. I had goose bumps all over the place. It sets the peg for this project, my friend. I think the song is anointed, my brother.”

He went on and on and I almost fainted.

Then a call from The ACE..... Duane Allen.

“Joseph...... the song is wonderful. It really works. It will make a great cut on the album. I am proud of you.”

I cried my eyes out. In fact I was up all night. I was howling louder than the coyotes!

In the meantime, Chris took the song to William Lee, and he also loved it. In fact, his support was overwhelming! He became an ambassador for The Journey. I found it all a bit overwhelming.

February 18. At a song meeting with Michael and all of the Boys in our office,
Richard heard the song for the first time and smiled.

“Wow, that is really good. Way to go man!”

That made it unanimous. The Journey would be a part of the new album! William
Lee then took it upon himself to take it downtown and play it for the label.

Phil Johnson, head of A&R at Spring Hill, told me he thought it was a great song and the message would move a lot of hearts. He was glad that we were recording it.

Thursday, February 19. Soundstage Studios... Michael Sykes and Duane Allen have assembled some of the finest pickers in Nashville to lay tracks on the first six songs of the new project. At approximately 7 PM, after eating just about all the sushi at KOTO’S restaurant, we gathered as one and recorded The Journey.

Sometime late this summer some of you may buy a new Oaks’ album, and when the fiddle begins to drone the mountain Bluegrass Celtic introduction, and you start to hear and feel the lyrics, perhaps you can look back upon this journey. The journey of a simple little song that I believe was given to me by the Lord.

I give Him the praise for this one, and I hope that many are blessed by the message of hope that there IS after death. Heaven is real. It exists. I hope that, perhaps, The Journey may even bring a certain measure of comfort to those who have lost a loved one.

Yes, it is appointed unto man once to die. But rest assured that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life here on earth — and way beyond the grave.

Christ has gone on to prepare a place for all of us who believe on His name.
When we get to that place, we will be known as we are known. We will know each other and rejoice forever in the light of the Lord........ When the final journey’s made! Thank You, Lord!

God Bless,

Joseph S. Bonsall

LYRICS:

THE JOURNEY
(Gospel Mountain Bluegrass)
Words and music by Joe Bonsall


I STUMBLED DOWN A LONG DARK ROAD
FROM SUNLIGHT I HAD STRAYED
THE DEMONS CAME AND BECKONED ME
I WAS LOST AND SO AFRAID
I FELT THAT I WAS FALLING
I THOUGHT IT WAS A DREAM
I CALLED UPON MY FATHER
TO COME AND RESCUE ME

OH FATHER, RESCUE ME

A DOOR JUST SEEMED TO OPEN
THE DARKNESS TURNED TO LIGHT
THE LORD APPEARED BEFORE ME
HE WORE A ROBE OF WHITE
HE SPOKE MY NAME SO SOFTLY
I FELT SUCH PEACE WITHIN
HE GENTLY WRAPPED ME IN HIS ARMS
AND FORGAVE ME ALL MY SINS

HE FORGAVE ME ALL MY SINS

ANOTHER DOOR WAS OPENED
A VISION CAME SO CLEAR
I WAS ON A SHIP NOW SAILING
MY LORD WAS STANDING NEAR
HE POINTED TOWARDS THE DISTANT SHORE
AND WHISPERED TO MY SOUL
“YOUR JOURNEY NOW IS O’ER MY CHILD
REJOICE.......AND WELCOME HOME”

REJOICE AND WELCOME HOME

I SAW MY PRECIOUS MOTHER
SHE WAS WAITING BY THE RIVER
SHE SMILED AND WAVED AND CALLED MY NAME
THERE WERE ANGELS ALL AROUND HER
NO SICKNESS PAIN OR SORROW
NO STRIFE, NO FEAR OF WAR
NO DEVIL’S LIES, NO CHILDREN CRY
ALL IS PEACE FOREVER MORE

THERE IS PEACE FOREVER MORE

OH BROTHER, MY DEAR BROTHER
YOUR LIFE COULD END TODAY
EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN
HE CANNOT SEE THE WAY
FOR JESUS THERE IS WAITING
TO LEAD US PAST THE GRAVE
AND TAKE US HOME TO BE WITH HIM
WHEN THE FINAL JOURNEY’S MADE

WHEN THE FINAL JOURNEY’S MADE

Copyright @ 2004, B’s In The Trees Music (ASCAP). Administered by Heavy Harmony Music.

Notes: Mountain feel, acoustic, Irish drone...... lots of fifths

DEMO CREDITS:
Guitar .... Don Carr
Mando .... Chris Golden
Fiddle .... Ryan Pierce
Dulcimer .... Sarah Elizabeth
Acoustic Big Bass .... Jimmy Fulbright
High Mountain Harmony .... Jimmy Fulbright
Middle Bluegrass Harmony .... Chris Golden
Front Porch Bass Sanging .... Jimmy Fulbright
McNally Strumsick and just a little Banjer .... Ban-Joey
Studio .... Jeff Douglas as Big Al Hepplewhite
Engineer .... SYNGE