Chris Tomlin
This is the most relevant story of the world – it’s the story of all of us, of all mankind. That there is a place, a home that we all belong to, and all of us were created for it, and somewhere along the way we have taken off our own roads, and made decisions that have led us away, and believed lies and it has led us away from this place that we belong. There is someone that will make a way back for us, a hero that will save the day.I think the song is pretty much there, finally. I sit at a piece of paper forever, and I’ve probably scribbled through so many different ideas – I’ve probably written five pages of lyrics to try to find exactly what I was trying to say. The song is called, “You’re the One” and it’s written from Edmund’s point of view – his wandering away and wondering if he can ever come back. I love this idea – that he knows in his heart that there’s more that he’s missing, and he’s wondering if he can get back to where everybody else is. They’ve found Aslan, and they know he’s the one, and Edmund also knows he’s the one, but he’s scared because he’s living as a slave. The idea is that he knows he’s the one and he’s calling out to the one who’s going to save him. The first verse, I’m very excited about, “I heard your song coming over a hill/ and know it seemed like the world stood still/ and you were singing and melody that caught me by surprise/ and it sounded familiar to me like I’ve heard it all my life.” It’s this idea that I know there’s something in me, I’ve heard this all my life, I’m hearing it for the first time but I think I’ve known it all my life, that there’s a place I’m going to and you’re the one I’m going to.
Jeremy Camp
I’ve always been intrigued by C.S. Lewis and his writing – I just finished another one of his books called the Great Divorce. So when I got the call I was thought this is amazing, I was honored.The character that stood out for me was Edmund. You want to get frustrated with Edmund, like how can you be so selfish, how can you have such a selfish desire that you forget everybody else and their discernment on certain situations. But how many times am I so driven by my own selfish desires, and my own things that I want to do that I forget the warning signals of, hey this could be a bad situation, but I don’t want to hear it because this is something that I want to do, it’s my thing. I relate to him a lot.
The song I wrote is about opening up your eyes to see the warning signals of “don’t get involved in this, this could lead to danger”. To really see beyond the blinders of the selfish things that we want we want to do, that get in the way sometimes.
I remember reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as a kid. My mom would explain the meaning of the story, but to me it was a cool story with neat characters and I was enthralled with it. It’s geared towards kids, but I read it recently, and adults can definitely dig into this book and get so many things out of it.
Nichole Nordeman
I heard the word Narnia, and wanted to be involved in any way I could. It’s such an unbelievable privilege to be able to speak into something artistically that has captivated generations of readers.One of the themes that kept popping up for me from the beginning of the book to the end is that notion that form Lewis’s story, nothing is really as it seems. Everything seems to have this slight of hand, magical element to it. From the minute that Lucy steps into the wardrobe and realizes this isn’t just a wardrobe…you can’t wait to see resolution.
You know the story itself has so many different layers. C.S. Lewis, I think, in understanding his audience of children, knew that children have a lot of different layers. Some of those layers can involve dark and scary stuff. You know, the story can be frightening in some parts, and really mysterious in other parts, too. But I wanted to capture the relationship between the four children. And really focus on the whimsical nature of what their experience must have been walking through those doors for the first time. I wanted to write a song that would shine the light on what each of them brought to this story, and how significant those dynamics are to their experience.
I’m an enormous fan like billions of other people across the world of this book and of this series. And C.S. Lewis understands his audience better than just about anyone. And he understands the heart of a child but I also think he knew that a lot of adults would still be reading this well into their middle aged years. I’m just thrilled to be a really small drop of water in what I think is going to be a huge splash with this film. And I hope that this song stirs up some of the magic and the wonder that maybe as adults we forget about from our childhood years.
