"All music comes from God."

It all started a few years ago when I was deeply moved by the song “Knowing You,” to the extent that I decided I needed to find a way to express this song in my own language. With the help and the beautiful voice of a friend, my lyrics were able to come to live – sung and recorded into a demo, which I have shared with a few close friends. Since then, I have continued to produce some lyrics every now and then, at a rather low productivity rate of one song per year. It was low-profile; the project wasn’t going in full speed mainly because it was just for fun, and the lyrics were often products of spontaneous moments of inspirations.

Not until recently, my productivity suddenly increased. Lyrics came to mind all the time, with little effort, and often a song would come into shape in as little time as a brief train ride. Before I know it, I have a small, yet rapidly growing, collection of lyrics. So then I was thinking, instead of having slips of paper flying around here and there, or having the lyrics posted on random places on the net, perhaps it’s good to keep a record of them in an organized manner. This way, not only will I be able to locate and refer to them more easily in the future, but also for sharing purpose it could be more readily available to other possibly interested individuals, such as friends, other musicians, and worship leaders. And after all, I wouldn’t want to waste it if this is a God-given talent that He wants me to put in good use for His works.

Furthermore, I have always had a vision about writing Chinese versions of the very popular English worship songs that God has taken around the world for His purposes. A lot of these English worship songs are profoundly powerful in a way that transcends culture; all they are missing is a Chinese version. As a native Cantonese speaker, I have always had this vision that if these international classics have a Cantonese version, then we will be able to share these music of beauty with the many Cantonese-oriented communities/churches/fellowships, such as the Luke fellowship at my home church, and they will be able to sing these praises to God too (in a language comfortable to them). I always feel that there are occasions where they can put these classics in good use. A lot of the brothers and sisters in these communities might not be totally comfortable with English, but these songs would just fit perfectly in their predominantly Cantonese-speaking communities if only Cantonese versions exist. I suppose the idea is similar to what the Taiwanese band Joshua did with many of the Australian band Hillsong’s worship songs, by translating many of Hillsong’s classics from English into Mandarin. So possibly in the future, if God opens doors and makes the way for it to happen, then it would certainly be a blessing if the classics on this site, in their Cantonese facet, can be spread beyond my own local community and to the Chinese populations in other parts of the world, perhaps in the form of published albums. Down the road, I will definitely be actively seeking opportunities to collaborate with others who share the same vision to make this happen. I believe if God blesses this project, these possibilities and visions are very real, and not a dream. I pray that God will use my pen to write more lyrics that can touch others and bring these music to those far away that I might not even know.

Besides just the lyrics, I will be posting downloadable music sheets for each of the songs on this site shortly. I am hoping to make it convenient for your use. And if you want to know how the songs sound like, I have demos for some of them. You may let me know, and I can send it to you if I have it. Also, I am planning to put together an imagebase, or a gallery of downloadable images, appropriate for use for backgrounds of worship slides. All of the images will be original photographs that I have taken personally, so in case you are concerned about whether the source of the images is legitimate, or any other copyright issues and the like, the imagebase on this site will be one that you can safely use with no problem. If it’s for ministry purposes, you do not need to ask for my permission to use any of the things on this site. Please feel free. =) One more thing is: from time to time, I come across quotes from books or other sources that I find enlightening and sometimes suitable to be used on the backgrounds of worship slides, I will also post them here in an organized manner. All in all, I am hoping this site can serve as a resource for worship leaders and musicians. I hope it will not only be a good source of practical resources, but also will offer inspirations to those who are looking to praise God with fresh worship songs and perspectives.

While the above might sound like ‘grand’ visions, I guess at the end of the day, if nothing else, I’d just like to through this site share with you something that I’m truly passionate about. =) I have always liked poetry ever since I was little, and lyricising, to me, is like putting a poem in a song. Isn’t that so cool? Although comparing to many other people who possess true expertise in music or high levels of language skills and eloquence, my skills and knowledge might be unmentionable. Nonetheless, though I am a novice, music and language are two things that I am truly passionate about, in my own way. Lyricising, is like using two of my favorite things to create a magical piece of work. It’s irresistible. Lyricising, like writing, like photography, like music, is something that I put much heart into, just for the love of it. So if at the end of the day, none of my grand visions comes in touch with reality, I wish that my genuine passion in these subjects could perhaps be a source of inspiration for someone out there.

Finally, I would like to end this note by making the following announcement, or “help-seeking notice”: I am always looking for someone to sing and make these songs into demos for me. I had a couple of friends who’ve helped me with this in the past, so some of my songs have demos while some not yet have. If any of you ever feels compelled to and have the ability to make a demo out of the songs on this page after you read them, please do! All you have to do is get the music sheet, sing it, play it, and record it. In the future if any brothers, sisters, fellowship groups, or ministries need to use the songs, it will be helpful if there is a demo for them to learn from, so your help will contribute to a good cause!

If you do not have any music talents, here are other ways you can help: Even though lyricising started out as a hobby for me, but in my mind, it has evolved into something more meaningful since then. It is a personal ministry project that I feel called by God to commit to. In light of that, your prayer support would be much appreciated! If you ever think of me one day when you are praying, you can keep this little project of mine in your prayers too. I am sure your prayer will go a long way. And when you come visit this page once in a while, if you have any inputs, thoughts, or feelings after reading anything on here, you know your comments and feedback will make me feel very supported. =)

Okay. So that was a long opening speech. But that’s it. It will be brief from now on. After this, I’ll let the music, lyrics, and pictures speak.

– Jenny Man
October 3, 2009