Categories
Religion Tennessee

Unheard Nashville, Tennessee Music

Breathe Again by Swingin Hammers

Nashville Tennessee’s Swingin Hammers is Benjamin Rupe, father, husband, and a shockingly authentic human being. Ben describes himself as a fighter by nature and his mission is to “challenge unto life.” What does that mean!? I’m sure we can find out. Swingin Hammers currently sits at 6,473 monthly Spotify listeners making him a prime candidate for our artists spotlight.

Swingin Hammers released his self titled album in 2017 and Quite, Vol 1 in 2020. The song that really got my attention was Breathe Again from the Album Swingin Hammers. It is a raw, heartfelt ballad expressing deep, emotional truths. The song is simple, but stunning. It can have me nearly in tears and smiling in the same 4 minutes. There is so much I can say about it, but Benjamin was kind enough to tell me about the song and I will share that with you after you give the song a listen. Lyrics, Meaning, & Commentary below.

LYRICS (Courtesy of jesusfreakhideout.com)

Stepping out into the light
Look around you say it’s alright
It hurts to peel the bandage off
But I see now just what it costs

It’s like I can breathe again
It’s like I’ve got a heart within
It’s like I can feel again
Just learning to breathe you in

When I was clear, oh so honest
About the doubts and confusions in my mind
You did not, no, cast me down to hell
You just looked at me and you kindly smiled

It’s like I can breathe again
It’s like I’ve got a heart within
It’s like I can feel again
Just learning to breathe you in

Oh cause I been runnin’
Away from confession
I been lookin’ for healing
Where it’s not mine to find
Without the pain of a strong love
That loves enough to wound

It’s like I can breathe again
It’s like I’ve got a heart within
It’s like I can feel again
Just learning to breathe you in

It’s like I can breathe again
It’s like I’ve got a heart within
It’s like I can feel again
Gotta learn to, gotta learn to breathe you in

Meaning (according the author)

“Breathe Again is a song about how excruciatingly painful and how unbelievably freeing confession is. It was written with my porn addiction in mind mostly, but also my previous life in alcoholism as well. At least those are the two most tangible ones that I think of. I remember having to confess that sin of porn over and over again and how every single time it felt like a bandage that just needed [to be] ripped off. It was exhausting and TERRIFYING every time, but it would free me of my sin. All of that’s based off of 1 John 1:7-8. Here: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. All that to say, Jesus is incredibly kind to us.”

Commentary

When the Church is done right it is a breathtakingly beautiful institution. I remember my first taste of confession. I remember being afraid to say what I was going through. I remember being scared of being kicked out of the group. And then I remember my friends responding with a smile and some of the most powerful words in the world, “Me too.”

You did not, no, cast me down to hell
You just looked at me and you kindly smiled

Wow. What a moment. To know that I wasn’t alone in my brokenness meant so much to me. Overtime I have become fully known and fully loved. Being fully known means my church group knows my past and they know my thought life, past and current. They have heard the darkest, most vile thoughts of mine and have welcomed me into their home. It’s crazy. It’s wonderful. It is powerful.

Benjamin says Swingin Hammer’s mission is to ‘challenge unto life.’ I think this means he wants encourage people to not live a life of mediocrity. The life he is imploring us to is one of authenticity and meaning where we can be fully known and fully loved, then fully know and fully love others.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” ~ Jesus in John 10:10

If you want to hear Benjamin’s additional commentary on the song you can find it below.

You can find Swingin Hammers on their website or follow them on Facebook, Youtube, or Spotify. You can get a free copy of Swingin Hammers most recent album here. You can buy the self titled album, Swingin Hammers on iTunes or Amazon.

As always feel free to share the music, the website, or maybe even both with your fellow music lovers.

Categories
Female Lead Tennessee

Unheard Nashville, Tennessee Soul Music

Marching On by Kyshona Armstrong

Kyshona (KUH-shauna) Armstrong creates empowering music from her new home in Nashville, Tennessee. On February 28th, she released her newest album, Listen. It blends rock, blues, and R&B with uplifting lyrics. Kyshona Armstrong currently sits at 3,549 monthly listeners on Spotify making her a perfect candidate for our Artist Spotlight.

Kyshona’s mission it to heal people. She started her career as a music therapist. She and her clients would write songs together. She even worked with inmates. Eventually she felt the need to branch out and create her own music, but she never forgot her roots. Her songs are filled with empowering, uplifting lyrics to encourage the forgotten and marginalized.

I reached out to Kyshona Armstrong to find out where the song Marching On came from and what it means to her, and she was awesome enough to respond. But first, enjoy Marching On, the 9th song on Kyshona Armstrong’s album Listen.

Lyrics

Many the miles that I have traveled
So much pain I had to rise above
So many dreams have come unraveled
Still waiting for my love

I hear a distant Hallelujah
singing a change is gonna come

I can still find a song in this old guitar
I can still see a light in that dying star
I hear that jubilee choir and its singing into the dawn
Keep on Marching, child
Keep on Marching on
The road it may be long, but keep on marching on

Many the men who have fallen
by the hand of a mighty few
But we can hear their voices calling
children we’ve passed the flame on to you

I hear a distant Hallelujah
singing We shall not be moved

I can still find a song in this old guitar
I can still see a light in that dying star
I hear that jubilee choir and its singing into the dawn
Keep on Marching, child
Keep on Marching on
The road it may be long, but keep on marching on

I can still find a song in this old guitar
I can still see a light in that dying star
I hear that jubilee choir and its singing into the dawn
Keep on Marching, child
Keep on Marching on
The road it may be long, but keep on marching on

I hear a distant Hallelujah
singing We shall Overcome

I can still find a song in this old guitar
I can still see a light in that dying star
I hear that jubilee choir and its singing into the dawn
Keep on Marching, child
Keep on Marching on
The road it may be long, but keep on marching on

Diving Deep

I really dig the electric instruments in this song with the persistent beat. This instrumental combination gives the song a lot of power which is only amplified by Kyshona’s dynamic vocals. Kyshona was kind enough to give me details about how the song was created and how the meaning has changed for her in light of recent events.

“Marching On was written following a conversation with my co-writers, Simon Gugala and Jason White. Simon had the chorus in mind and it got us thinking about all the things that are lost when we chose to only focus on lack.

In the time of protests and pandemic, this song had taken a more pointed meaning that no matter how long the road and difficult the journey, we must continue to march for those that came before us and for those that follow our lead. Shifting our focus from what is wrong with the world, to what we can purposefully do to make it better.”

Yes. We can all look around and see that something is wrong with this world, but let’s not stop there. Surely there is something we can do to purposefully to make it better. What’s the first step?

Listen.

Kyshona Armstrong Performs Marching On live on Lost River Sessions

Visit Kyshona Armstrong’s website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Spotify.