LOOKING THROUGH ANDREW'S EYES

I listened intently tonight as Andrew Peterson fit more truth and inspiration in five songs than most of us writers can fit in a entire evening. He, I, George Rowe, Ronnie Freeman and others performed a benefit concert in Nashville for hurricane relief efforts. While every performer was great to hear and see, it was Andrew's lyricism that awed me most. And it was this song, "The Penny Song", that struck me hardest, a song that tells by showing - the hardest kind to write. Andrew's gift is letting his listener see meaning in the minutia of life through his microscope eyes. Enjoy this dose of pure brilliance from the lyricist I want to be when I grow up:

THE PENNY SONG
by Andrew Peterson

I'd give you all of me to know what you were thinking
And if I had one wish I'd wish I wasn't sinking here
Drowning in this well, oh can't you tell?

I can't pick myself up off the ground,
Well I've been face down and pushed aside.
Well you know I'd rather just turn tail and run
than lie here in the sun and watch you pass me by
Cause I ain't worth a dime.

But If only I could stand up straight, I wouldn't have to lie and wait,
I could up and roll away, never be ignored
I've got a feeling that I'm something more
than just a piece of copper ore, turning green and looking for
The reason I was born.

I've been around since 1964, in banks and bottom drawers
And on railroad ties. I've been passed around and cast aside
Skipped and flipped and flattened wide, Spun around
And thrown away and left alone to lie

But If only I could stand up straight, I wouldn't have to lie and wait,
I could up and roll away, never be ignored
I've got a feeling that I'm something more
than just a peice of copper ore, turning green and looking for
The reason I was born.

But I heard about a penny found, lying underneath the couch
By a woman who was kneeling down, looking for some change.
Then the woman danced around and called her friends all over town
Told them what was lost is found, it's another penny saved.
And so I find that all this time beneath the surface I could shine
Like all the gold a king and queen could measure
even a penny is a treasure

Pick up Andrew's latest CD "The Far Country" in stores everywhere.