Album- Hitchhiking On A Narrow Road

The James Jennings Project

My goal has been to create songs that are well-constructed with a catchy melody, creative chord progressions, a solid arrangement, and lyrics that make me think. My influences range from Steely Dan, Peter Gabriel, James Taylor, David Crosby, Keith Green, and Todd Rundgren to Burt Bacharach, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King. Being a hobbyist, and independent musician I’m not comparing myself to them, but their music has moved me profoundly. Hopefully, some of the things I’ve written will positively remind you of them and some will be uniquely my own style.

I’m a lifelong lover of music and believe that music can move and challenge us. I still remember hearing ‘Moon River‘ playing when I was about 4 years old, and how much it grabbed my young soul. I’ve been playing guitar for 40 years, but I’ve always seen myself as more of a songwriter than a performer.

Over the decades, I continued writing music, playing with friends, leading church worship, the occasional band, and recording. After setting up a recording studio in my home, I began to record, mix, and master a handful of the songs I’ve created. The best of those songs make up this release “Hitchhiking On A Narrow Road.” There are 13 songs here, in a variety of genres. While most reflect some aspect of my faith, there are a few that would be considered secular. They all represent a genuine expression of my thoughts at the time that they were written.

One unique aspect of the album is that while I play all of the instruments and sing on one of the songs, most of the vocals are not mine. Instead, they were created using a vocal synthesizer. This shouldn’t be confused as strictly artificial intelligence though. All of the pertinent information had to be programmed in and applied to a modeled human voice.

Find below some of the lyric videos from the album. Below that is a track list, along with lyrics.

Below are some videos for songs off of the album.

Track 1- Leave The Past Behind

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”– Isaiah 43:18-19

While we can learn from the past, we shouldn’t let it hold us back from arriving at a better future. I wrote this song after going through a very painful time. I realized that I couldn’t let that sadness define or confine me. The images in this lyric video capture the joy of a new life that can emerge from a past that seems irreparable.

Track 3- Stand In the Gap

“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.”- Ezekiel 22:30

I wrote this song about the importance of standing with those who are forgotten, bullied, disparaged, and needy. If not me, then who?

Track 8- All To You

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”– Colossians 3:17

I wrote this worship song in recognition of the greatness of God but also as a reminder that true worship will always result in the Church looking for ways to show love to those outside their Church walls.

Track 5- Time To Change Partners

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”– John 14:18

Writing this song was so personal. Having my parents divorce when I was young was damaging. Many who experienced that loss as children often find themselves repeating that cycle. I know that I did. My faith offered the comfort, guidance, and affection that was missing in my childhood.

Track 4- Till You Look Good From the Inside Out

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”– I Samuel 16:7

I wrote this as a reminder that God doesn’t see me as the world does. He looks beyond my flaws and my posturing and sees my authentic self. This is the only song on the album where I sing lead.

Track 11- Seeking the Way Back Home

“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”– Luke 15:20

No person of faith can avoid the occasional day where we follow in the footsteps of the Prodigal Son. Those wilderness days help us to recognize our need to return- to our faith, to our family, to our values, and to our homes. I wrote this during one of those times in my life.

Track 6- Forever Springtime Love

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised.“– Song of Solomon 8:6-7

I’m grateful for my wife. 35 years ago, I wrote this for our wedding. I wrote it for myself to sing but years later it was obvious that it was a duet. The same is true of all marriage. It takes time but we learn to grow beyond the solo and are surprised by the duet.

Track 9- The Strength to Go On

“Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“– Philippians 4:6-7

I can’t explain why there is so much suffering in this world. It seems unjust, unfair, and often cruel. Where is God in response to this? I wrote this song as an attempt to say what little I know- that God isn’t the one causing pain, but He is the one who can bring something good out of it. Love never fails.

Track 12- Stay

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’“– Luke 15:4-6

This song bookends my song about the Prodigal and the final song on the album. We all stray. Sometimes it’s obvious to the world and sometimes, only to ourselves. It’s part of being human and Jesus understood this. I wrote this to mimic the call of my Shephard who calls me back when I wander too far afield.

Track 2- Swimming

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.’“– Jacques Cousteu

Written after returning from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. I spent a week snorkeling in crystal waters with the reef coming nearly up to the shore with a virtual rainbow of fish restored my heart and leaving me in awe of God’s creation. Earlier, I had written the following lines that I added to the end of the song:

“I feel the salt spray against my face, Something quite cold down between my toes.
I hear the crazy sound a seagull makes. Taste salt foam running down my nose.
White foam, dark grey clouds. Thunder, rumbles deep.
Sand and shells, Fish and whales and waves that never sleep.
The churning foam’s the fishe’s home. The water walls and steeple.
Sandy floors and coral doors are never seen by people. Never seen by people.”

Track 7- Another Grey Day

“Life takes you to unexpected places; love brings you back home.’“– Melissa McClone

Like Dorothy rightly said- “There’s no place like home.” While there are far too many exceptions to this, this song is about having to travel and missing the place where you feel grounded, safe, and loved.

Track 13- False Sheep

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.’“– Matthew 7:15

Religion and Faith aren’t twins. The former is about tribe while the latter is about community. The former is about the outer while the latter is about the heart. Sadly, more people have been led away from the gospel by religious people than by any other group. Con artists, narcissists, hucksters, cultural bigots, and those unwilling to grow dress themselves in the guise of sheep but are wolves. The Church must call them out and return to genuine faith.

“The offense of the gospel is not who we exclude, but who we include.”– Rachel Held Evans

Track 10- There Hangs A Man

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.’“– Isaiah 53:4-5

That day has been called “Good Friday“. That’s ironic because such a seemingly horrendous thing happened that day. Theologians argue about the specifics of the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion, but he went to his death willingly. Behind all the gore and violence of that day was a man who suffered to be like all those who suffer. He demonstrated that forgiveness is not limited by the degree of offense. For those who love Jesus, we recognize that in some fashion, Jesus suffered that terror and pain for us. For that, I am fully grateful. This song came to me in an hour while I was amazed at how much God loves us.

Track List

Leave The Past Behind
Swimming
Stand In The Gap
Till You Look Good From The Inside Out
Time To Change Partners
Forever Springtime Love
Another Grey Day
All To You
The Strength To Go On
There Hangs A Man
Seeking The Way Back Home
Stay
False Sheep

View lyrics from the album “Hitchhiking On A Narrow Road” in the window below.