Tears and Joy (album bundle)

“Tears and Joy” is the second in a series of Psalm albums. (The first was Arise!) At the heart of this album are my 15 “Pilgrim Psalms,” a collection of songs based on the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134) that I wrote in 2020. I’ll borrow from what I wrote at that time:

“As I’ve watched protests against police brutality unfold across the country, I’ve lamented the loss of the protest song. Marches in the 60s drew from a deep well of music that united people’s voices: Negro Spirituals, Black Gospel, and the folk songs of Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan. Marchers without a song are just a crowd. At the same time, I began rereading Eugene Peterson’s “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction,” a wonderful companion to the Songs of Ascents. Psalms 120-134 accompany modern readers on our spiritual journey, but for faithful Jews, the songs accompanied their physical journey. They sang these 15 songs as they journeyed to Jerusalem to worship. I decided that each of my Pilgrim Psalms should be singable by a group, without sheet music. These are simple songs that rely on repetition, call and response, rounds, and other techniques that folk music and work songs have used for centuries to allow common people to take part.”

Sadly, 2026 sees more police brutality and more protestors in need of a song. I pray some of these Pilgrim Psalms will give voice to the frustrations and hopes of those who live as pilgrims in a foreign land.

Rounding out the album are five more songs based on the Songs of Ascents that weren’t part of that 2020 collection. These include Psalms 135 and 136, which are often considered a coda to the Songs of Ascent. All of the recordings began as quick and dirty demos that I cleaned up before sending to Tom at E1 Duplication & Mastering for a final audio sheen.