Enlist the List
One of the most loved worship songs of recent years was born in a room of six people -six people contending for the needs of specific families, and six people with one simple question.
Dustin Smith, songwriter and pastor, shared about the moment when “I Speak Jesus” was written:*
“What happened… was, we were sitting with four ladies, and six of us in a room. And we just asked each lady to tell us somebody in their church who was battling something. And this lady was like, “We have a family…” They named the family and they said, “They're really struggling with mental anguish and mental problems, and it's really affecting their hearts.” We said, “I just want to speak the name of Jesus, over every heart and mind. Because I know there's peace in Your presence.”… And then somebody else was like, “We have a family really battling addictions, and it’s really dark.” So we were like, “Well, let's just speak the name of Jesus, ’til every dark addiction starts to break.” …
… “And then we just went down the list for each lady, and we were like, “Now that you’ve said those family’s names, let’s write a chorus. Like, “What’s the first word that comes to mind about Jesus, that could impact them?” And the first girl goes, “Power.” Like, “Your name is power.” “What else?” “Healing.” “Your name is healing.” “And what else?” “Life.” “Your name is life.” That was easy. What we were doing, right, was declaring who Jesus is, over families.”
In other words, they enlisted the list to generate the lyrics for the song.
The Verses are composed of lists:
I just wanna speak the name of Jesus, Over every heart and every mind
'Cause I know there is peace within Your presence, I speak Jesus
I just wanna speak the name of Jesus, ’Til every dark addiction starts to break
Declaring there is hope and there is freedom, I speak Jesus
The Chorus has two lists:
'Cause Your name is…
Your name is…
Your name is…
Break every…
Shine…
Burn…
Songwriters use lists all the time. It's one of the most instinctive tools in the craft — generating a string of images, feelings, or details to picture a moment. And because of the constant use, many writers are maestros of the tool. The skill is present, sharpened by its ease-of-use, its frequency of use, and its versatility. I want to bring greater awareness to this humble tool — to turn instinct to intention, and mastery into consciousness. Surfacing the hidden power of lists, and placing it firmly in your hands.
The world runs on lists. We have frequented shopping lists, song lists, dictionaries, thesauruses, invoices of good purchased, lists of people invited to a party, restaurant menus, lists of steps to take, lists of preaching points, lists of relevant verses, to-do lists, bucket lists, etc, etc, etc… (to infinity). The internet itself is really just a giant listing machine: type something in, get a list back.
And there's a reason the list keeps showing up everywhere. As one writer puts it, because of its generative qualities and because it can be considered shapeless — it has "the capacity to spark endless connections and inclusions in a multiplicity of forms." (Belknap, p. 1) It is a device that writers have always used "to display the pleasurable infinitude of language." (Belknap, p. 2) That's the power hiding in plain sight. Not a sophisticated technique. Just a list.
Using the list tool gives you:
High Leverage
Lists are a high-leverage tool. Their practicality and immediacy mean that a little effort and thought goes a long way in generating the song material and in lifting the song.
Compounding Skill
Because you are using lists all the time, intentional focus on the skill can help you grow exponentially. Don’t just work hard; work smart -building your capacity as you go.
Forward Pull
The ease-of-use and versatility of the list means that it will result in more engagement from you, and in a writing session, from your co-writers. With a list it is plain to see what is going on, and each addition builds forward progression.
A list is generative, and endlessly versatile. It invites invention, activates curiosity, elicits creativity, attracts new ideas, summons connections, engenders detail (thus making your song come to life to the listener), generates material, facilitates play (and Einstein says, “The highest level of creativity unfolds through play.”), expresses the infinite (see toward the end of the book of Job), and draws in everyone in the room. It develops, acquires, nurtures, cultivates, and builds a richness and depth of meaning and substance. It cancels out the fear of the blank page. With a list, you need never run out of ideas. If you enlist it, you simply need to let it lead you.
Now, whatever co-write you go into, or whatever conversation about songwriting you enter, you can give the gift of this simple tool.
Humble, unsophisticated, everyday, unassuming, workaday, immediate, natural, open-ended, boundless, generative, inventive, playful, curious, connective, participatory, communal, inviting, welcoming, inclusive, forward-moving, momentum-building, progressive, accumulative, compounding, leveraged, alive, elastic, expandable, inexhaustible, renewable, self-replenishing, bubbling, soup-like, … limitless.
Resources:
*The Heart of a Worship Shepherd: Live with Dustin Smith and Luke Taylor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K16UQG1VIw
“The List: The Uses and Pleasures of Cataloguing,” by Robert E. Belknap, London: Yale University Press, 2004.