June 2020 – The Musical Diary of Greg Scheer

The Kingdom of Heaven

Recently, as I prepared for a service focusing on “The Sermon on the Mount” I discovered that my go-to Beatitudes song had been taken out of circulation by the publisher. “Certainly,” I thought, “the world needs a singable version of the Beatitudes!”

My new version, “The Kingdom of Heaven,” is written in a familiar liturgical folk style. (Familiar, that is, if you sing a lot of Marty Haugen, Michael Joncas, and Dan Schutte.) I aimed for simplicity: the verses are nearly verbatim from Matthew 5:3-12 and the chorus is very singable. Of course, there are a few Scheer twists thrown in. Your congregation will learn it in no time.

After listening to the demo above feel free to download the piano accompaniment or a free leadsheet at my website: https://gregscheer.com/product/the-kingdom-of-heaven/.

1. Blessed are the humble of spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the ones who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Let them rejoice in God!

For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

2. Blessed are the gentle of heart,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for God,
they will be satisfied. [CHORUS]

3. Blessed are the ones who show mercy,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see their God.
Let them rejoice in God! [CHORUS]

4. Blessed are the ones who seek peace,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are the ones who suffer for doing good.
Let them rejoice in God! [CHORUS]

5. Blessed are the ones who are cursed–
cursed for the cause of their God.
Rejoice and be glad, you saints, for your reward is great.
Let us rejoice in God! [CHORUS]

Coffee Talking

What the world needs right now is another song about coffee.

This song idea has been floating around forever in my head and little scraps of paper. It started as only a phrase: “It’s just the coffee talking.” Then last year I decided it would be funny for the words of a song about coffee to get faster and more incoherent as the song progressed. A few months ago I came up with the scenario of a man who’s painfully shy around his love interest until he’s fully caffeinated. (Kind of like Brad Paisley’s “Alcohol,” but for coffee shop nerds.) This week I tied up all the loose ends and present to you “Coffee Talking.”

1. When I see you,
what can I do?

2. When I see that you are near me,
my mouth goes dry, I stare at my feet.

Caffeine’s what I need.
It’ll be my black bolt of courage
In my time of need.
With my head full of steam,
next time I see you walking
It’ll be the coffee talking in me.

3. Suddenly I’m not so scared, I’m optimistically preparing.
(It’s just the coffee talking.)
I’m filled with confidence, you say to me, “Nice day,” and I say, “Very!”
(It’s just the coffee talking.)
Well, I’m on a roll, try something new: I pat your dog, say “He’s so cute.”
(It’s just the coffee talking.)
Seems to work, I turn to you, I pat your head and say, “You are cute, too!”
(It’s just the coffee talking.)

CHORUS

4. Euphoria is filling me just like I hoped it would
and I have never felt so good and I have never been so free.
(It’s just the coffee talking.)
My mouth has taken on a mind that’s all its own, my tongue’s untied,
My lungs fill up with air for good or ill I start to speak:
(It’s just the coffee talking.)
“Hey, would you go out with me? I think about it all the time—
but not like that—I hope I didn’t come across as sounding super creepy.
(It’s just the coffee talking.)
But I could see the two of us fall head and heels in love and get
engaged and married, make some babies, maybe start with dinner and a movie.”
(It’s just the coffee talking.)

CHORUS

Hey, I’m sorry. (It was just the coffee talking.)
Please don’t worry. (It was just the coffee talking.)
That’s not like me. (It was just the coffee talking.)
It’s just the coffee. (It was just the coffee talking.)

CHORUS