You can tell of whom they were thinking when they penned the words. Grace Binion, Joshua Holiday, Mitch Wong, and Steven Furtick were undoubtedly thinking of new converts, and that comes through clearly when the lyrics they wrote for “Goodbye Yesterday” are sung or heard. Such a group would be doing and feeling more than just sighing with relief (‘Whew, I’m saved’), but rather jumping for joy, they thought. The transformation that takes place is more than a feeling and a memory; it’s a new life. These members of the Charlotte-based Elevation Rhythm band (see the seal of Charlotte here) take their name and the praise that they help propagate seriously. Elevate has to mean more than standing and singing, because when the depth of someone’s former condition is known, and the certainty of God’s salvation is appreciated, how can the response be anything but what these four 21st Century composers brought to the table for others to consume and to further themselves with utter delight? One can imagine that that will be magnified exponentially in the new morning to come.
Nate Diaz tells this much in an interview about ‘Goodbye Yesterday: The song has a connection to an old hymn I Have Decided to Follow Jesus (see the blog entry for 4/2/2016), which was the basis for some of the lyrics, and which was on Steven Furtick’s lips pretty spontaneously as the bridge portion of the song. Nate says the song is pretty ‘blunt’ and the bridge lyrics that they sing -- ‘I have decided’ and ‘no turning back’ -- are meant for people who are eager and full of zeal to proclaim their allegiance to Him out loud, who are very unashamed of their devotion. Nate said it was really energizing to see young people singing this with fervor, because the age in which we live is filled with temptation to entertain them, instead of trying to get them to truly follow God. The environment sounds kind of like what you might observe among a group of fanatical sports fans, whose team just won the championship right in front of their collective eyes. It wouldn’t be a surprise if these fans also sang an anthem song at such an event, and that’s how Josh Holiday describes ‘Goodbye…’, as an anthem to celebrate salvation. There’s no hesitation in such a gathering, when people know their hope and expectation is based on a guarantee from the One who made humans and wants them to join Him in the Forever place. Perhaps that was part of the thinking – that it is a celebration of what’s already been won – when this group of musicians decided upon a name for the album, Victory Lap, which contains the song ‘Goodbye…’ that they produced in 2024. ‘New day’, ‘born again’, and ‘resurrection in my veins’ join the song’s title words and the bridge section to reinforce what the new creation experiences when the old dead-end ways are traded for what He offers.
And so, the song has an energy, which is not really a shocker. It’s one that the participant just cannot really feel unless he’s on his feet, ready to move even just a little bit. If someone says ‘party’, that would be part of the thrill too, to realize that you are on the winning side and that the door to this gala has been opened for you to step inside and feel the clap on your back and the embrace of everyone you see. There’s an event at a church that this blogger has volunteered to join next month, just to see this kind of sensation. It’s called Night to Shine. Utter joy. That’s what awaits us who believe, and it’s not reserved for just a mild-mannered sort of satisfaction that you might feel after receiving a congratulatory handshake at some routine event, perhaps when you are promoted, one that’s filled with a few pieces of cake and some punch, an event that concludes after 45 minutes. No, as the Elevation Rhythm band reminds us in ‘Goodbye…’, this party goes on ‘again, and again, and again, and again’, as many times as He has rescued me from a hole-in-the-ground ending. ‘Dancin’ on the grave…’ in this case is OK, because it’s not someone else’s demise about which I sing. It’s the one where I’ve buried my old past. You can choose -- either the hole in the ground, or the party above ground.
Read some brief comments about the song here: https://www.klove.com/music/blog/new-music/elevation-rhythm-s-goodbye-yesterday-sets-the-tone-for-a-new-day-9498
Hear some more about the song’s development here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOoRoChETJ3/
Read a brief bio on the group Elevation Rhythm here: https://www.klove.com/music/artists/elevation-rhythm
See information about the seal of Charlotte here: File:New seal of Charlotte, North Carolina.svg - Wikimedia Commons…This file is in the public domain because official item legally exempt from copyright in its country of origin. The image can be found in this document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte,_North_Carolina
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