| Beautiful One Tim Hughes Copyright © 2002 Thankyou Music Wonderful, so wonderful No eye has seen, no ear has heard, (chorus) Powerful, so powerful, The beauty of your majesty (bridge) My soul, my soul must sing. (x3) |
The story behind the song can be found if you look in the songwriting section of passionforyourname.com
Reading through the prophetic writings of Isaiah 53 I was struck by the description of Jesus. “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Is 53:2). The Son of God humbled himself and walked upon the earth in human flesh. If we were to have passed him in the street, we wouldn’t have given a second glance. However once our eyes have been opened to who Jesus is, and all that he has done for us, we see him very differently. One glimpse of Jesus in all his glory and spleandour is enough for us to see how incredibly beautiful he is. In fact once this revelation has hit us forevermore our souls will sing of this beauty. These thoughts were the seeds to this song. Whilst I was on a trip in Australia I was singing out ideas when I stumbled across the chorus. It actually started as a tender song. The first section that came was the bridge at the end û “You opened my eyes to your wonders anew.” The chorus followed pretty quickly.It was very much a slow song at this stage. I then had real trouble trying to find a verse. Nothing seemed to fit. When I’m struggling to finish a song I’ll often listen back to old ideas. Find some inspiration. As I was doing this I came across a verse melody which I really liked. It was more upbeat but the thought crossed my mind of using it for ‘Beautiful One.’ It did fit, but it turned the song into a fast, praise song. However I really liked it. There’s something cool about shouting out and declaring;
Beautiful One I love You
Beautiful One I adore
Beautiful One my soul must sing.The only thing left to finish was the lyrics. All songs need hooks, both melodically and lyrically. I tried to get this with the ‘Wonderful so Wonderful,’ and the ‘Powerful so Powerful.’ A simple little hook to start each of the verses with. I was attempting with the lyrics to paint a picture of who God is. Speaking of His glory, His mighty works, the cross that saves us, the mystery of knowing Him. All this gives a deeper understanding of why we should sing, ‘Beautiful One.’
We sang this song at the Vineyard Community Church in Columbia Missouri and I’ve not been able to get it out of my head since then. I really like hearing the songwriter talking about his inspiration - passionforyourname.com looks like a fascinating website.