I Wish We'd All Been Ready
ALSO RELEASED ON: bArchaeology, Remixing This Planet, Breathe In Breathe Out, The Vineyard, Rough Street Love Letter,
In The Beginning, The Belfast Bootlegs, Agitator, Survivor, Solid Rock Sampler, Live At Cornerstone 2001, Restless In Manhattan, The Very Best Of Larry Norman, Road Rage, The Final Concert, Heartland Junction, 70 Miles From Lebanon, Live At The Elsinore, The Norman Conquest, Monsters, Monsters (SRA Edition), Wounded Lion, Pot O' Gold, The Trilogy Concert
In The Beginning, The Belfast Bootlegs, Agitator, Survivor, Solid Rock Sampler, Live At Cornerstone 2001, Restless In Manhattan, The Very Best Of Larry Norman, Road Rage, The Final Concert, Heartland Junction, 70 Miles From Lebanon, Live At The Elsinore, The Norman Conquest, Monsters, Monsters (SRA Edition), Wounded Lion, Pot O' Gold, The Trilogy Concert
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Version 1: Capitol / Beechwood mix
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Version 2 is a minor remix of version 1. It is mixed differently and possibly also re-sung, at least in part. Version 2 fades out differently too, leading to a small lyrical difference - the Larry Norman mix
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Upon This Rock (Larry Norman version)
Upon This Rock (Kingsway CD, 1989) Upon This Rock (Radio Promo CD, 1998) Upon This Rock (Illegal Noise Series CD, 2001) Upon This Rock (Collector's Edition, 2CD, 2002) Upon This Rock (SRSD-969 CD, 2003) Upon This Rock (SRDX-001 CD, 2008) |
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Version 3 is a live recording, performed solo with acoustic guitar
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Version 4 is a full studio recording
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Version 5 is the same recording as version 4, but fades out a few seconds earlier
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7" Single, MGM PS 256
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Version 6 is a live band recording
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Version 7 is a live band recording
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Version 8 is the same recording as was used for version 4, but with a later fade out
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Version 9 is a live band recording, from the Flevo Totaal Festival in Holland in 1989. Larry is backed by the Finnish band Q-Stone and his brother Charles, together with several backing singers
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lyrics version 1
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head
He's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
(La la la la la la la)
(La la la la la la la la la la la la)
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind
The father spoke the demons dined
The son has come and you've been left behind
You've been left behind [x4]
You've been
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head
He's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
(La la la la la la la)
(La la la la la la la la la la la la)
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind
The father spoke the demons dined
The son has come and you've been left behind
You've been left behind [x4]
You've been
lyrics version 2
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head
He's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
(La la la la la la la)
(La la la la la la la la la la la la)
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind
The father spoke the demons dined
The son has come and you've been left behind
You've been left behind [x4]
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head
He's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
(La la la la la la la)
(La la la la la la la la la la la la)
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind
The father spoke the demons dined
The son has come and you've been left behind
You've been left behind [x4]
lyrics version 3
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready
There’s no time to change your mind
The son has come
And you’ve been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he’s gone
I wish we’d all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one’s left standing still
I wish we’d all been ready
There’s no time to change your mind
The son has come
And you’ve been left behind
La, la, la, la, la, la, la,
La, la, la, la, la, la, la,
La, la-a
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready
There’s no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind?
The father spoke, the demons dined
The son has come
And you’ve been left behind
You’ve been left behind [x4]
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready
There’s no time to change your mind
The son has come
And you’ve been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he’s gone
I wish we’d all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one’s left standing still
I wish we’d all been ready
There’s no time to change your mind
The son has come
And you’ve been left behind
La, la, la, la, la, la, la,
La, la, la, la, la, la, la,
La, la-a
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready
There’s no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind?
The father spoke, the demons dined
The son has come
And you’ve been left behind
You’ve been left behind [x4]
lyrics versions 4, 5 and 8
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
La la
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind
The father spoke, the demons dined
The son has come and you've been left behind
You've been left behind [x3]
(Ah ah ah) [Repeated and harmonised to end]
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
La la
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind
The father spoke, the demons dined
The son has come and you've been left behind
You've been left behind [x3]
(Ah ah ah) [Repeated and harmonised to end]
lyrics version 6
Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
Life was filled with guns and war
Everyone got trampled, crushed on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind
The father spoke, the demons dined
The son has come and you've been left behind
You've been left behind [x2]
Don't be left behind
Don't be left
You've been left
Why
Why
Why
Why
Don't be left behind
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
Life was filled with guns and war
Everyone got trampled, crushed on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind
The father spoke, the demons dined
The son has come and you've been left behind
You've been left behind [x2]
Don't be left behind
Don't be left
You've been left
Why
Why
Why
Why
Don't be left behind
lyrics version 7
I don't like performing very much. I like being alive. I like being a christian. I like talking to people about Jesus. I don't much like some of the other things that I do. You probably don't like some of the things you do. Ah sometimes it's hard to witness. You, you gotta talk to somebody that may not understand what you’re saying. Maybe i’ if you're not a christian, maybe you've talked to some of these people that come up and they go eh erm, God loves you man, ah. They just love you. They want to share that with you. God has changed their life. Jesus lives in the centre of their life and they just want you to know that it's possible. They're not trying to bum you out. They not trying to be strange. They're just trying to tell you that God loves you. That Jesus has come and that he's coming back again. That's all. [Spoken]
Life was filled with guns and war
Everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
And two friends walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I hope we'll all be ready
There'll be no time to change your mind
When the son returns don't be left behind
Life is filled with bombs and guns
Heaven help the little ones
I hope you'll all be ready
Children die, the days grow cold
A piece of
Gold, that's all people, oil, gold
There'll be no time to change your mind
There'll be no excuse for being blind
And the father will speak
The angels will come from high
The chariot will come down
Don't be left behind [x4]
No
Don't be left behind
Don't be left, don't be left
Life was filled with guns and war
Everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
And two friends walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I hope we'll all be ready
There'll be no time to change your mind
When the son returns don't be left behind
Life is filled with bombs and guns
Heaven help the little ones
I hope you'll all be ready
Children die, the days grow cold
A piece of
Gold, that's all people, oil, gold
There'll be no time to change your mind
There'll be no excuse for being blind
And the father will speak
The angels will come from high
The chariot will come down
Don't be left behind [x4]
No
Don't be left behind
Don't be left, don't be left
lyrics version 9
Life was filled with guns and war
Everyone got trampled on the floor
(I wish we'd all been ready)
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
(I wish we'd all been ready)
There's no time to change your mind (Ooh ooh)
The son has come and you've been left behind (Ooh ooh ooh)
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind (Ooh ooh)
The son has come and you've been left behind (Ooh ooh ooh)
You've been left behind
Life was filled with guns and war
Everyone got trampled on the floor
(I wish we'd all been ready) Wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
(I wish we'd all been ready)
There's no time to change your mind (Ooh)
The father spoke, the demons dined (Ooh ooh)
Our father spoke, the demons dined (Ooh ooh)
The son has come, don't be left behind (Ooh ooh ooh)
Don't be left behind
Don't be left behind yeah-eh yeah-eh yeah yeah yeah
Don't be left don't be left behind
Left behind
Don't be left, don't be left behind
Everyone got trampled on the floor
(I wish we'd all been ready)
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
(I wish we'd all been ready)
There's no time to change your mind (Ooh ooh)
The son has come and you've been left behind (Ooh ooh ooh)
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
There's no time to change your mind (Ooh ooh)
The son has come and you've been left behind (Ooh ooh ooh)
You've been left behind
Life was filled with guns and war
Everyone got trampled on the floor
(I wish we'd all been ready) Wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
(I wish we'd all been ready)
There's no time to change your mind (Ooh)
The father spoke, the demons dined (Ooh ooh)
Our father spoke, the demons dined (Ooh ooh)
The son has come, don't be left behind (Ooh ooh ooh)
Don't be left behind
Don't be left behind yeah-eh yeah-eh yeah yeah yeah
Don't be left don't be left behind
Left behind
Don't be left, don't be left behind
This song seemed to flow out of me. I used very little effort in bringing the words and music together. Even lyrics like "a piece of bread could buy a bag of gold" seemed to come out of nowhere. I found it very hard to sing without crying. I felt like I was pointing my finger at the audience and shouting out condemnation. As gentle as the melody seemed, the lyrics had a severe authority to them. I finally stopped singing the song altogether, because performing it bothered me so. But other people began singing it and I could see that it was a song of kindness, softly warning people that they would be called into accountability someday, perhaps at the end of the world as we know it. This song seemed to have a strange effect on people. It disturbed them deeply, but in an evocative way. Also, people felt that the song was very old and had been around for many years - like a folk song from another country.
People didn't believe I had written it because it wasn't rock music. They seemed to think of it as though it had always been hovering around in the mists of time and that, simply, they had only recently become aware of it. The song travelled all over the world and was translated into many different languages, not at the behest of the publishing company but spontaneously by Christians in different cultures. Even today it seems to have a bit of a strange effect on the young people who feel they've discovered it for themselves through groups like DC Talk and local church bands.
People didn't believe I had written it because it wasn't rock music. They seemed to think of it as though it had always been hovering around in the mists of time and that, simply, they had only recently become aware of it. The song travelled all over the world and was translated into many different languages, not at the behest of the publishing company but spontaneously by Christians in different cultures. Even today it seems to have a bit of a strange effect on the young people who feel they've discovered it for themselves through groups like DC Talk and local church bands.
Larry grew up reading in the bible about the return of Christ but never heard any preaching on it. He decided to write a song about it and talk about it in concerts, not realising that the second coming would be a centrepiece topic in the coming years within the Jesus Movement. This song has been translated into more than a dozen different languages and probably recorded in more contrasting cultures and countries than any of his other compositions.