What Is Straight Through?

To challenge my songwriting, I decided to weave one phrase (Straight Through) into the song as many times as I could. To be honest, this song frustrated me often because I wrote so many versions and it still wasn’t feeling right. I knew I had something good but it was sounding more like a “woe is me” pity party instead of a genuine joy filled song.

As a last minute effort, I added a bridge part where I follow Christ through his last days. I wanted it to follow Him as He was praying in the garden, follow Him as He was being led to the cross, and then see Him coming straight through the grave. Without a doubt this last minute change brought a much needed power and worshipfulness beyond what I could have imagined.

The production and music added another layer to illustrate the phrase “Straight Through.” For example: In the beginning you can hear the guitar and beat stop suddenly and then start up again. To me it sounds like an arrow hitting its target over and over. The chorus then breaks straight through a door into a much louder and unexpected place. I’m very proud of what we accomplished with this production.

The lyric “touch the marrow of my soul” is one of my favorite lines in the whole song. You can’t go much deeper than that! It expresses my desire to be touched in a deeper and more intimate way by God. I daily want to be in his presence and Word so that He can break through, set a fire, and keep changing me from the inside out. Straight Through was inspired by Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Brian Parker

Singer/Songwriter & Musician