Blue Collar Praise
Blue Collar Praise
“Blue Collar Praise is a return of sorts to the simpler ways of following Jesus in ordinary work-a-day life.” (Andy Squyres)
BLUE COLLAR PRAISE
Written by Andy Squyres (BMI), Isaac Gill (ASCAP), Aaron Strumpel (ASCAP)
© 2017 Common Hymnal Digital (BMI), Hawk And Crow Music (BMI), Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCAP), Isaac Gill Music (ASCAP), Thirsty Dirt Records (ASCAP) (admin by IntegratedRights.com). CCLI 7123284.
VERSE 1
G Am
We dream of you on city streets
C G
Breathing again on our bones
G Am
We dream of you at kitchen sinks
C G
Your glory filling our homes
CHORUS
Bm C
We are not beasts of burden
Am G
We are children of grace
Bm C
And the blue in our collars
Am D7 - D7sus - D7
Is a garment of praise
VERSE 2
We dream of you on country roads
Strolling along with our friends
Leaving behind, flickering screens
To be together again
BRIDGE
C G
Let the earth rejoice
C G
Let the seas resound
C G Em D C
Let the people sing their songs of joy
C G
Let the rocks cry out
C G
Let the rivers roll
C G Em D C
Let the people sing their songs of joy
More Songs Written By Isaac Gill
Blue Collar Praise is a party song that gives a voice to the experience of the every-day person, doing life with God wherever they are at.
When Isaac and Aaron and I wrote the song, I had been thinking about my frustration with finding songs of worship that had to do with regular people living regular lives. So much of what we see and hear within church sub-culture is driven by this concept of each person having a great destiny. I for one have grown weary of the idea that I am personally supposed to change the world. The current icons, the dominating metaphors of the American Church are massive stages, bright lights, professional musicians and motivational speakers. It's not a sustainable model nor is it a sufficient aim for a normal human being's life. I'm interested in music and art that blesses the reality that the great majority of people roll out of bed in the morning and go to job where they will remain virtually unknown, with no possibility of becoming a "history maker". There is something good and true about living a normal life, working a job, raising your kids, washing the dishes, going to a small, decrepit little church on Sunday morning, and never becoming influential. We must acknowledge vocation and we should celebrate of virtue of being hidden. The goal of human existence is not to achieve celebrity; it's to remain faithful to the little village where you live. Blue Collar Praise is a song of thankfulness and simplicity that celebrates what it means to be an actual member of the Body of Christ rather than emoting an inner vanity toward a false god of ‘destiny’.
Andy, Aaron and I were talking about the need for more worship songs that just represent every-day people. Hardworking moms, stay at home dads, single parents working the 9-5 grind.
We wanted to write a worship song for the common person who isn’t always having a mountain top experience with God, maybe just a kitchen sink or city street experience- which sometimes are actually the best experiences.
The song resonated with me right away and has continued to resonate with me because of my own experience. I have worked a blue collar construction job the last 3 years. What’s more, I started painting houses for my dad’s contracting business in the summers when I was just 14.
I grew up around blue collar work my entire life, and subconsciously felt like I should be ashamed of it- but not because anyone ever told me to be ashamed. Our culture glorifies glamorous work, and this seems to even spill over to our spiritual communities. We often elevate the influence and experiences of spiritual leaders, musicians, public figures, etc, meanwhile we miss the beauty of what God is doing in the mundane, through the day-to-day people.
...What came next with the song was a roaring party every time we’ve played it. Getting Ike, Dee, Mark Alan, and so many others on the recording escalated that party- and now we really have some serious Blue Collar Praise.
I’m a sucker for blue collar imagery. I grew up in rural Iowa amongst fields of corn and bean. I spent my youth cleaning our acreage of trash leftover from previous owners and making the property beautiful. The idea that God would incarnate and make holy the simple things that I labored over and by which I was surrounded, seems both like an untaught story and the most obvious observation a spiritual person could make. This song puts that into lyric and lets us belt it out with thankfulness and joy!
Andy brought the main idea of this song to Isaac and myself for our co-write and immediately, the catchy melody and imagery connected with my love for simple work and Wendell Berry-like land and location identity. Growing up in the black dirt of Iowa with green fields of corn and beans all around has connected me with the beauty of simple things.
I was fortunate to not grow up with an iPhone, iPad, and laptop readily available to distract me from seeking God in the quiet. My friendships were founded on playing basketball, going swimming, and riding bikes. Thinking back on those times reminds me of a less-crowded imagination, the possibility of boredom, and making room for the mystical. It reminds me of when gratification was delayed, in a way that felt good; when hard work took time and the paychecks that came at the end of projects felt like rewards rather than something with which to pay off a credit card.
God finds us in these places if we open our eyes and hearts to it. He isn’t waiting for the subwoofers to kick in or the fog machine to make it so the lights dazzle our senses. We may feel like we’ve woken up in those places because of the vibrations we feel and the extravagance we see, but there’s a chance we only feel that way because we’ve become numb to the simple and don’t find God there anymore.
But there he is. In our kitchens while we do the dishes, on our streets when we take the time to walk and listen, in our conversations as we reflect on life and how he’s been present to us. And he’s whispering comfort to us: we don’t need to perform to be close to him. We are his children by grace. And he sees our hard work and earthy faithfulness as living a life glorifying to him.