My Australian Christian Songs


Click the Album title for more information.
  
All Songs 1971-2020    
1980 All Together Now 1985 Reconnect Us  
1984 All Together Again 1986 The Songs of Outback Christmas  
1991 All Together Everybody 1994 The Word Became a Song  
1996 All Together OK 1998 God Version 1.0  
2001 All Together Whatever 1999 Let's Sing it Again  
2007 All Together For Good 2010 Heroes  
2014 All Together All Right 2010 How the world was won  
  2011 Hand in hand  

 

God Version 1.0

Songlist
All Lyrics
 
Moses is Growing in Pharoah's Domain Lyrics  
Ordinary Miracles Lyrics  
A Star, A King Lyrics  
If I Touch Your Clothes Lyrics  
Christopher Lyrics  
God Version 1.0 Lyrics MP3
I Didn't Travel Far to Find You Lyrics  
Sadako From Hiroshima Lyrics  
Wherever I go Lyrics  
For you, Deep Stillness Lyrics  
Strangest Ways Lyrics  
Beginning of Wisdom Lyrics  
Hand in Hand Lyrics  
While we Tear Apart Lyrics  
Mary, pick up your Accordian and Play Lyrics  
You call me to Love Lyrics  
Who am I? Lyrics  
Over to You Lyrics  
Bread of Angels Lyrics  

A big subject needs a lot of songs. Not really surprising, then, that God. Version 1.0 has nineteen: Prayers, praise, love songs and blessings; also stories, dedications and creeds.

Though this collection didn’t start out as a ‘concept album’, it’s kind of ended up that way. There doesn’t appear to be (to me, at least) a single song here that doesn’t relate to the title. But perhaps all songs are written as people define what’s important for them and outline their version of God: what they believe in, hope for, trust in, and are encouraged by.

Behind many of the songs are people. A lot of them are named - Moses, Christopher, Sadako, Mary. Some people's names are unknown, like the woman who touched Jesus' cloak and the men who followed a star to Bethlehem. And others get no mention in the songs, but the songs could not exist without them, like Dorothy and Dietrich.

It pleased me to realise that so much of the music had the stories of people in it. I don't plan this sort of thing, but it's nice when practice and theory come together. The version of God that I believe in ('Version 1.0' - the original, needing no upgrades) is the one that Jesus shows us, the one who may sometimes be seen in the spectacular and amazing but chose to be revealed most clearly in the human and humble. And this God is always showing up in the stories and events of ordinary people.

After the words and music of the songs I add some comments about how they came to be made, where the ideas came from, and perhaps who helped the song come about. In doing this I find it easier to identify the background to the words. However, I certainly don't think that music is less important than words. The longer I've written (over thirty years now) the more I realise that good songs are not words with music added but a seamless combination of the two. The music amplifies the words, the words heighten the music.

  • Thanks to Dorothy, my best friend, chief critic and most appreciated fan
  • Thanks to Kristin, Jon and Thom, my editorial committee, my cultural barometers, whose lives continue to delight, inspire and surprise me
  • Thanks to Monica and Ivan Christian for long encouragement and assistance
  • Thanks to Andy Voigt for working tirelessly on the recording of this collection
  • Thanks to Francine Schultz for some excellent arrangements, to Rob Roennfeldt for the initial cover design, and to Graeme Cogdell for bringing that design to fruition.
  • And thanks to all who keep encouraging me, directly and indirectly: a lot of St Stephen's people, enthusiastic children in Lutheran schools all over Australia, old and young who pass on thanks or appreciation after services or concerts, or in letters or phone calls, and all who include me in their prayers. It's a joy to have a gift that not only can be shared but can bring such joy to so many others.

Robin Mann
April, 1998

ALWS 5/10/23

To say I've been inactive on my website is a serious understatement! I've written nothing here since early 2021. 

So, does this mean the world has stopped for us, that nothing is happening?
A major event for us in 2022 was moving house in October. We had been in Modbury Heights since July 1993.Now we're back in Klemzig.

In May we travelled to the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia, seeing work supported by Australian Lutheran World Service. Dorothy and I are Ambassadors for the ALWS programme, Lives You Touch. We are encouraging people to leave money in their will for the work of ALWS. We committed to leave a third of our will many years ago and hope many others can touch lives in this way.
Since then we have visited Box Hill & Loxton with Jonathan & Julie Krause as part of the Asante presentations, promoting the cause of ALWS. Still to come this year are Asante events in Toowoomba & Rochedale (Nov 26 & 27) and Perth (Dec 10)

Looking forward to seeing many people on these occasions.