I’ll Take You Back

By Grant M. Corby

Years ago, at a Christian rock concert here in Washington, a crowd gathered patiently for the main attraction. And yet, there I sat, not knowing what would happen next. It wasn’t long until the man of the hour took to the stage. He was nothing special. Average size, short, spiky hair and a soul patch on his chin. He walked up with a guitar in hand, and together, we all bowed our heads in prayer to the Lord. was his name, and he started singing:

“…I'll take you back, always. And even when your fight is over now. Even when your fight is over now. I'll take you back, always. And even when the pain is coming through. Even when the pain is coming through. I'll take you back…” (Jeremy Camp).

. I attended this concert with a good friend of mine, and prior to that moment, I had never heard Jeremy Camp sing. I was hooked on his music for life. Never before have such simple words touched my soul like these right here. This simple song, “Take You Back,” describes the simple idea that no matter what sins a man commits, Jesus Christ will take him back. However, this song has another meaning to me, and every time this song plays, I get the chills as goose bumps overtake me. We’ll get into that later.

Jeremy Camp has had nineteen of his songs; all of which he wrote himself, take first place on the Christian Rock charts (Overture). Of those, “Take You Back,” on the album

Restored, was the 2004 winner. It was that same year that Camp was nominated and won both the Gospel Music Association awards for New Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year, both of which he earned in 2005 as well. He has recorded eight albums, five of which have gold status, as a result of over 500,000 copies being sold (Deming). I personally own seven of his

1 albums and have yet to be disappointed. Surprisingly, Jeremy Camp’s vocals sound identical in the recording studio as they do live on stage. I can’t say I am a fan of live concerts, as they never sound as good as what we hear on the radio, but Camp breaks this pattern, and he does it well.

Much of his music has dedications to his first wife, Melissa, who was defeated by ovarian cancer just five months after they were married. It is not uncommon to see Camp performing concerts alongside his second wife, Adrienne, who will accompany his vocals in many of his songs, particularly his live concerts. Of the two concerts I attended, his wife attended the second one, and made the show even more phenomenal (Deming).

“Take You Back” has a special meaning to me, involving my own relationship with my father. Throughout my teenage years, my father and I had a rocky relationship at best. There were frequent outbursts of anger and frustration, and times where I wanted nothing more than to leave and never come back. However, I never could make that final step, and as furious as my father and I were at each other, we would always take each other back, much like Camp’s music video for the song.

It wasn’t just the lyrics to the song that had given me strength, but the music video as well. The video starts with a father and son arguing, and the son grabs his bag and walks out during the fight. The video cuts back and forth between the father and son, with tidbits of their pasts together. In the end, the son realizes his mistake and walks, and then sprints back home to the father standing outside. They stare at one another, and then embrace with tears in their eyes.

The music video is so powerful, and yet the audience does not hear a sound between the father and son, only the voice of Camp as he is singing. It is through this video and song that helped me

2 to realize that no matter what I did, my father would take me back, and we have never been closer.

Jeremy Camp is a phenomenal singer, and God’s ideal role model. His self-written lyrics inspire the masses to praise the Lord, and all that He can offer. I can still recall sitting there, in amazement, as families and friends stood up, reaching for the Heavens, and singing along to his words of wisdom. It was when he sang that song that I felt the same way as every other worshipper present, the sense of understanding and healing provided by such powerful lyrics.

Now, I am quite aware that Christian rock might not be the most desirable genre to learn and understand, but I implore you to at least try it out. When you feel like everything is going wrong, and nothing can help you, I urge you to crank up the volume and give the melody of

Jeremy Camp a chance. You will not regret it.

3

Works Cited

Deming, Mark. “Jeremy Camp.” All Music. Web. 02 Feb. 2013.

Overture Media. “Jeremy Camp’s Album Charts On Billboard 200 With Personal Best

Debut.” Jesus Freak Hideout. 03 Dec 2008. Web. 01 Feb 2013.

www.jesusfreakhideout.com

4