Go in Peace Sarah Hart, Dwight Liles

	Required fields in bold.
Name:
Location:	(e.g., Portland, OR)
Rating:	Five stars - I love it! Four stars - I like it Three stars - It's OK Two stars - I don't like it One star - I hate it
Comment:	This review feature is open to comments and constructive criticism that demonstrates respect for artists and readers. Comments that reflect spiritual insights are especially welcome. (Limit: 1,000 characters)

Lyrics

1. There will be no more darkness.
There is no more night, no more night.
There will be no more sadness,
only joy and light, joy and light.
Lift your eyes beyond the hills
and see the dawn.
There is beautiful mercy
in the arms of the holy one.
Refrain
Go in peace, God be with you.
Go in peace, be at rest
with the saints and the angels.
Now you are free. Go in peace.
2. See the Father is waiting
with a robe of white, purest white.
Go and feast at his table
with the bread of life, bread of life.
Lift your heart, rejoice and sing
for you are home;
home at last and forever
in the arms of the holy one.

© 2004, Sarah Hart and Dwight Liles. Published by spiritandsong.com®, a division of OCP. All rights reserved.

Artist Reflection

For me to talk about this song, I have to first talk about my friends, Dwight and Tom.

Dwight Liles is a Cumberland Presbyterian pastor, a fan of all things written, a true brother and kindred spirit, an amazing writer, and probably the most dear and Godly hippie guy I will ever have the honor to call friend.

When you're a writer (in Nashville especially) you will write with a lot of different people in your life. There are some whom you know you will always produce a killer song with in an hour, some with whom you feel more like a secretary than a co-writer (or vice-versa), and some with whom you know one time writing is enough to know that one time writing is enough. :) And then, there are those you meet who you know will have a great impact on not just your writing, but your spiritual life as well.

I've known Dwight since 1992 (gulp!), when I was a VERY novice, shaky writer, not really sure if I could hack it. One year in Nashville was enough to make me want to fly back home to Ohio. Dwight was one of the few who kept writing with me, never let me disbelieve in myself, who encouraged me even though a lot of what I wrote was definitely terrible. A great, established writer who takes time to befriend the novice is the highest form of person in my book.

When I called Dwight to write with me for "Into These Rooms", he asked me what I wanted to write about; and being the disheveled and disorganized person that I am I remember saying, "Oh, I dunno, something sacramental." When he came to my house, he said "Sarah, what the church needs is a beautiful song for funerals." Dwight is a pastor at an aging church, and he had pastored three funerals that week. He sat at the piano and started playing, and I immediately started singing "There will be no more darkness . . ." and we both blurted out almost in sync, "Go In Peace." It was a meant-to-be song, meant for us to write; an ecumenical moment of a song meant for the entire Body of Christ. We both knew it was a very special song, though I admittedly thought, "this is not for me to sing on this record; it should be in a hymnal or something."

Enter, another dear brother. Tom Tomaszek (OCP), upon hearing it, said, "You can't do a recording unless you put THIS on the it." I said, "No way! It's too pretty and meant for someone else to sing. Not my sort of song to do on a project." And I remember Tom saying something like "Fine, then don't make a record." Needless to say, it wound up on the recording.

And here is where I swallow any pride I may have had (*gulp*). Tom was right. Perhaps sometimes God uses smart people and their mildly bullying tactics to get done what he wants done! I have come to realize this is a very special song, made more special by my two brothers who had a hand it making it happen.

Songwriting is great. Music is a wonderful thing. But without love it's just another noisy gong. I'm very blessed to have friends who consistently throw God's love into the mix and make it worthy.

- Sarah Hart