Terry Scott Taylor
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Ghost Of The Heart - 2023 (Bedroom Demo #275)
🕑 Added 2023-06-22 23:09:01 +0000 UTC"Ghost Of The Heart"
words and music: Terry Scott Taylor
Way back of my heart is the motive for this
I ask the question “Did I do it for self?”
I need the light on
The monster of vanity
Gets frightened by the ghost of the heart
An observation that’s pertinent to
The subject which I want to address is
When I seek the kingdom
The master of disguises gets
Frightened by the ghost of the heart
Shed the light on
Shed the light on me
Oh no, who is that?
Oh no, it’s me
It’s gonna leave you in the dust (I’m goin’ down)
It’s gonna leave you in the rough (I’m crawlin’ ‘round)
It’s gonna leave you in the dust (it’ll leave me in His hands…)
And in conclusion, when I stand alone and
I’m asked the question ‘Did I do it for self?”
Can I then answer “The demon of hatred was
Frightened by the ghost of the heart”
Oh oh oh oh oh woah oh
Oh oh oh oh oh woah oh…
instruments and vocals: T.S. Taylor
note:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility value others above yourself.” Philippians 2:3
This one often gets requested. As always, I’m happy to oblige.
Like a number of my songs, I don’t remember writing Ghost Of The Heart. Obviously I wrote it, but I don’t know exactly when (other than sometime in 1981 for the Alarm album), or where I wrote it, or why I wrote it. What I mean by the latter is that I don’t know exactly what inspired it. My guess is that by that time I’d become mature enough in my faith walk to be more willing to recognize arrogance in myself and to question (from time to time) the motives behind my “service to God.” Were qualities such as love, humility, and self sacrifice fueling my desire to write, record, and perform music, or was pride more often the compelling force; the need to be recognized, admired, envied, etc.? In my younger days of my musical pursuits, those heady days of growing popularity, relatively impressive record sales, radio airplay, and seemingly inexhaustible creative energy, the temptation to fail to differentiate between self-promoting, ego driven motives and Holy Spirit inspired directives, was never stronger. I can’t help but think that God took extra pains in considering my youth when it came to chastising me for my occasional arrogance; What I got from Him was something like a father’s scolding, when what I really deserved was a swift kick to the gluteus maximus. It’s important to know however that asking the Holy Spirit to search our hearts for any vestige of spiritual pride does not cease to be an imperative once our youth is behind us. The question the song asks, “Did I do it for self?,” is just as relevant and sobering today as it was back in 1981 when a young man first wrote it down.
Comments
Thanks, Terry. This has always been one of my favourites and one of the reasons I've loved DA / your work through the years: the ability to live out the faith and be self-critical at the same time. Someday, when we're all Upstairs, you're going to run across the old screw-up King David singing and playing this on his harp, and he'll pause and give you a calloused thumbs up and say "I like your style, man." I myself have retired this month from 33 1/3 years of teaching New Testament and writing books (you may remember I sent you one about Jesus asking questions) ... I pray that God blesses the mixed motives and that the monsters of vanity and self are transformed and harnessed by the Ghost of the Heart.
Thanks for the enlightening "explanation". I hate to admit it (but here I am "admitting it") but I never quite "got" some of the more progressive DA albums..but I do NOW. But hey , what an impressive "Bedroom Demo"!
