I love making music mixes. It's one of my love languages.
Most have been for friends and family; others, for girls; some, just for myself. All are special. Some are just collections of my favorite new songs. Others are more purposeful.
My Heaven mix is one such purposeful mix.
The finished Heaven mix with Gustave Dore artwork and DIY CD sleeve.
The Inspiration
Its inspiration came from an idea: if going to heaven had a soundtrack, what would it sound like?
The Bible says the transition from earth to heaven is as fast as the "twinkling of an eye." But time is relative, and if we could slow down and stretch out that brief time, what would we experience?
The Challenge
One of the great pleasures and challenges of making such a mix is finding the right songs that musically and lyrically fit together to construct a coherent narrative.
I literally have tens of thousands of songs in my music library. How could I possibly find the right ones?
A few songs immediately came to mind, forming the rough outline of a playlist. Others were happy accidents. It took 5 different tries before I finally settled on this definitive version.
The Feeling
Death for the Christian is a mixed bag of emotions.
Despite the Bible's assurances that those who love Jesus will be with him in heaven, there's natural apprehension about death. For those left behind when a loved one dies, death is bittersweet. Though they can rejoice that their loved one is now at peace and will someday see them again, they still feel grief.
Therefore, the music couldn't be all happy and bouncy because that would be emotionally dishonest. And it couldn't all be somber because Christians ought not to "grieve as others do who have no hope." The songs had to be a mix of emotions that led the listener through an honest, but ultimately hopeful, journey.
The Songs
Music deeply moves me. To move others, I had to pull from many genres including old spirituals, hymns, blues, folk, chorale, rock, movie soundtracks, and post-rock.
As important as the sound was the lyrics. That's weird to say because lyrics for me are always a distant second to the sound of a song. That meant I had to pay extra attention to the lyrics, and that disqualified many songs that had the right feel but the wrong message.
The Story
I'd like to say I had a story first and then found the songs to support it, but the truth is that I had only the direction of the story. The mix took on a life and will of its own, dictating the order of songs that became the story.
Anyone who creates knows what I'm talking about. There always comes a time when you as the artist feel your creation pushing back and demanding to go its own way. That's when you just let it go and see where it leads.
It led me to a great mix of songs, but something was missing. It didn't feel personal. It lacked a protagonist. It needed someone with whom the listener could connect. Otherwise, the mix would be just a collection of feelings without meaning. Everything hinged on that one piece. Where to find such a linchpin?
"Orphan Girl" is a simple and beautifully written song by Gillian Welch. This was the character I needed, but the song was a little faster than I wanted. I needed a slower, more introspective version, and Horse Feathers delivered with a devastatingly gorgeous cover.
I had my linchpin. The mix was complete. And this is the story I wrote:
Heaven.
The eternal hope of believers.
All creation cries out with unheard voices, anticipating restoration. To the destitute orphan girl on earth, she longs to be reunited with her family in heaven where she will meet her ultimate father: Jesus Christ.
As her health declines, she knows her rest is mere days away and is looking forward to the angel band that will carry her home.
As she’s caught up, she sings a goodbye song to her earthbound friends that resonates with chords of love. Then she turns her gaze heavenward and an ethereal chorus of angelic hosts surround her in their mysterious voices.
Those of her friends still remaining on earth console themselves and take joy that she’s going home. She echoes their sentiment and also looks forward to her coming reunion.
Death was much lighter than she expected. In fact, it seemed like she just flew away. Now she stands on the celestial shore, no longer a wayfaring stranger in a dark land. She stands ready to cross over to see her mother, see her Savior, receive her crown of glory, and roam no more.
Her time has come at last to rest.
Confidently she gets into the boat, shoves off from shore, and races into the west with a divine wind in the sails. As she nears the other side, she hears excited voices welcoming her home and sighs to herself, “now we are free.”
Entering heaven with a bang, the air crackles with intensity and detonates in ineffable joy as she beholds her Savior in all his glory and is renewed herself.
Standing in awe, the old hymn finds renewed meaning as she marvels at his amazing grace that enabled a wretch to inherit such a rich reward.
As she is at long last reunited with her family, she looks forward to an eternity of halcyon days.
Eventually, prophecy is fulfilled, ushering in the New Jerusalem.
The old has gone forever, the new is eternally established, and she and her family will enjoy every moment of it together.
The Visuals
A mix this epic in scope, feeling, and labor demanded thoughtful presentation. Simply writing its title in a permanent marker wouldn't do.
Gustave Dore was a gifted artist. His image of Paradise from his illustration of The Divine Comedy is breathtaking. It fit the mix perfectly so I printed it onto a label that I affixed to the mix CD.
Rather than slip it into a standard sleeve, I wanted to make its sleeve special. I originally thought of a plain yellow (like the sun) piece of paper that I would fold into a CD sleeve. But once I got to the row of printed paper at Hobby Lobby, I found the perfect alternative: a piece of paper with a heavenward view of the sky with illuminated clouds overhead.
I first folded the paper (following this excellent tutorial) with a dummy CD. Then, once I had it perfectly fitted, I carefully unfolded it and hand-wrote the story you read above onto the plain side of the paper.
When you opened the sleeve, you would see the CD and the story.
The unfolded sleeve, revealing my handwritten story and CD. Only one of these complete packages exists :).
What you'd see when you open the sleeve....
All neatly packaged, ready to mail.
The Mix
As you read the track names below, you will probably notice that I wrote their titles (and sometimes lyrics) into the story. That was intentional. It was fun to find a way to share the playlist as a story rather than as a numbered list.
- Prelude by Michael Card
- Orphan Girl by Horse Feathers
- Angel Band by The Stanley Brothers
- Chords of Love by The Taylor University Chorale
- Amor De Mi Alma by the University of Nebraska Chorale
- Going Home by Josh Garrels
- Reunion by Collective Soul
- I'll Fly Away by Gillian Welch & Alison Krauss
- Wayfaring Stranger by Eva Cassidy
- Into the West by Annie Lennox
- Now We Are Free by Lisa Gerrard
- Halcyon (Beautiful Days) by Mono
- Amazing Grace by Sufjan Stevens
- New Jerusalem by Michael Card
(P.S. - The YouTube playlist is missing Josh Garrels' song because he declined to give me permission to post it until he re-releases the album in 2017.)
Due to popular demand, here's the Spotify playlist. Unfortunately, it's missing the two chorale tracks and the Josh Garrels song (because it doesn't exist anywhere).
What do you think of this mix and story? What are some of your favorite mixes?