Longest Nights

Behind The Song

We wrote this song soon after the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, when cries of pain and anguish were rising up in that community and around the country, when words of hate and anger were burning hot, and when the racism and fear that has been quietly eating away at our country for a long time came out into the open. This song was born thinking about Jesus’ birth into “mud and blood and hay” and how long that night must have been for Mary and Joseph. We wrote it remembering God’s promise, repeated throughout the Bible, that God is on the side of the poor and oppressed, and that God is always, always where the hurting are. It’s both an Advent and Christmas song, and one especially appropriate for a Longest Night Service.

Albums & Liturgies with this song

The Lyrics

Verse 1 
You shouldn’t be here tonight 
It doesn’t seem quite right 
Here where the cattle sleep 
Here where they keep the sheep 
Here in the mud and blood and hay 
How could you end up in this place? 

Verse 2 
You shouldn’t be here tonight 
It doesn’t seem quite right 
Here where the shots ring out 
Where everything’s burning now 
Where there’s a hundred words for pain 
How could you end up in this place? 

Chorus
Emmanuel, Emmanuel 
God with us 
Love for us 
Born into the longest nights 
Emmanuel 

Verse 3 
You shouldn’t be here tonight 
It doesn’t seem quite right 
Here where the hurt is deep 
Here where the wounded weep 
Where there’s so much we cannot say 
How can you show up in this place? 
How can you show up in this place? 

Chorus 

Bridge 
In this scarred and starry night 
In our aching, crying nights 
In this trembling, tender moment 
before we start to see the light… dawn

Chorus 

Lyrics: Lenora Rand 
Music: Hannah Rand

© 2015 Plural Guild Music