A popular song around the time I began listening to Christian music in the spring of 1998 was "Awesome God" by Rich Mullins. He had died a few months before in a tragic car accident, and the more I listened to that song, the more I lamented that the light of his talent was snuffed out too soon.
That song is making a resurgence now, but not in a way I like. After years of the chorus alone being used in worship at churches across the country, Phil Wickham wrote new verses for "Awesome God," keeping the refrain intact, and released it under a new title. The problem is, those new verses don't fit either musically or in meaning. The original verses penned by Rich Mullins speak of a God whose power is so impressive that it's hard not to be in awe of it. They also talk of how God has the power to raze sinful cities to the ground, but also had the love and grace to send His son to die for our sins. Throughout each verse, a chorus of voices repeats the phrase "Our God is an awesome God" like an old-time call-and-response. When the refrain hits, Rich Mullins' voice joins the others as the music swells to a crescendo. The first time the refrain hits, it's repeated twice, but the second time, it's repeated five times, with the middle repeat sung accapella so the voices really have a chance to shine in pure, unadulterated praise.
On the other hand, Phil Wickham's version leans toward the more informal definition of the word "awesome". From the first line of "God is great, give him all the praise", the song describes God more like a good buddy than the all-powerful creator of the universe. Even lines that talk about His power do so without the gravitas of the deep background music found in the original, and are sung quickly enough that they're hard to decipher. Then the refrain hits, and the staccato notes of the verses give way to a sweeping legato that almost perfectly matches the original, including the chorus of voices. However, there are a few very noticeable differences. Gone from this version is the swelling background music and the main singer's voice joining the others. Phil Wickham instead decides to do his own thing, ad-libbing like crazy. Even when he is singing the same thing, his voice overpowers the others. Rich Mullins did a bit of ad-lib as well, but it was on the last repeat at the end of the song, and it didn't distract from what was being sung in the background.
Watching the music video for "What an Awesome God" makes the disconnect between the chorus and the verses even more noticeable. While Phil Wickham plays the piano and sings the first verse, the camera sweeps around the otherwise empty room. Then, when it's time for the refrain, suddenly there are all these other people in the back of the room for him to walk toward and sing over. He then walks across the room to a band to sing the second verse, and the group files in behind just in time for the second refrain! He then grabs a guitar and walks outside the building to sing the bridge, and when he comes back in, suddenly there's a dark corner for him to sing his one rewrite of the refrain. During an instrumental interlude, he walks across the room to open a loading dock door to let everyone back in! This framing almost makes me think that he knows exactly what he's doing, but he doesn't care. He turned what had been a powerful song about the glory of God into a discombobulated mess that only brings glory to himself.
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