If I Were A Singer
This song was co-written by Larry Norman and Steve Camp, and appeared on Steve's 1978 album Sayin' It With Love
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Version 1 is a live recording from 1977, performed solo with acoustic guitar. Larry sings his original lyrics for the song. Note that as the song fades out, the first few chords of If God Is My Father are heard.
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Version 2 is a live recording, performed solo with acoustic guitar
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Version 3 is a short excerpt of a live recording, performed solo with acoustic guitar during a concert in Northern Ireland
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Rough Diamonds, Precious Jewels Sampler Disc [Second version] [See the CD tab on the singles page]
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Version 4 is the same recordings as version 3, but unedited
Note that the spoken introduction is not present here, due to the track split between this and the preceding song, All The Way Home |
lyrics version 1
If I was a singer I'd sing my songs for you
And my songs would point out all the things you're made of
And the only thing I'd write about would be love
And if I were a, a forest, if I only had one tree
I'd still stand upon the land and stretch toward heaven
And I'd look down upon the children of your kingdom
Try to be a sign to lead them to the safety of the mountains
And let them satisfy their thirst from running fountains
These are troubled days
And I want to live my life in a special way
These are troubled days
And I want to give my life to you and show the way
If I were the blue sky my winds would blow for you
My clouds would rain upon the earth with heavy showers
I'd rage with hurricanes to make men cower
Make them frightened so they'd look up and watch me 'til that unexpected hour
When you come again from heaven's lofty tower
These are troubled days
And I want to live my life in some worthwhile way
These are sick crazy days
And I want to give my life to you and show the way
And not be blown away and end up crazy like a lot of other people I see who
Some of them who say they know you and they believe in you but
Don't look that way to me
If I were a singer I'd sing my songs for you
And my songs would try to write down all the things I could see you're made of
And the only songs that I'd try to write down would be songs about your love
And I'd sing 'em 'til the faithless ones believed it
And the children of your wayward church received it
I would sing it to the governments and leaders
And to the writers who have misled all the readers
I would sing it though they jailed me and they killed me
Let them empty me of life for you have filled me
You have filled me
And my songs would point out all the things you're made of
And the only thing I'd write about would be love
And if I were a, a forest, if I only had one tree
I'd still stand upon the land and stretch toward heaven
And I'd look down upon the children of your kingdom
Try to be a sign to lead them to the safety of the mountains
And let them satisfy their thirst from running fountains
These are troubled days
And I want to live my life in a special way
These are troubled days
And I want to give my life to you and show the way
If I were the blue sky my winds would blow for you
My clouds would rain upon the earth with heavy showers
I'd rage with hurricanes to make men cower
Make them frightened so they'd look up and watch me 'til that unexpected hour
When you come again from heaven's lofty tower
These are troubled days
And I want to live my life in some worthwhile way
These are sick crazy days
And I want to give my life to you and show the way
And not be blown away and end up crazy like a lot of other people I see who
Some of them who say they know you and they believe in you but
Don't look that way to me
If I were a singer I'd sing my songs for you
And my songs would try to write down all the things I could see you're made of
And the only songs that I'd try to write down would be songs about your love
And I'd sing 'em 'til the faithless ones believed it
And the children of your wayward church received it
I would sing it to the governments and leaders
And to the writers who have misled all the readers
I would sing it though they jailed me and they killed me
Let them empty me of life for you have filled me
You have filled me
lyrics version 2
If I were a singer I would sing my songs for you
And my pen would write down all the truth you're made of
The only songs that I would sing would be about your love
Oh oh oh
If I were the blue sky my winds would blow for you
And I'd rain upon the earth with heavy showers
And I would rage with hurricanes to make men cower
Make them look up and watch 'til that unexpected hour
When you come again from heaven's hidden tower
Oh oh oh
These are troubled days
I want to live my life in some special way
These are troubled days
I want to give my life to you and show your way
If I were a singer I would sing my songs for you
My pen would write down all the truth you're made of
And the only songs that I would sing would be about your love
I would sing it 'til the faithless ones believed it
And the children of your wayward church received it
I would sing it to the governments and leaders
To the writers who have misled all the readers
I would sing it though they jailed me and they killed me
Let them empty me of life for you have filled me
You have filled me
And my pen would write down all the truth you're made of
The only songs that I would sing would be about your love
Oh oh oh
If I were the blue sky my winds would blow for you
And I'd rain upon the earth with heavy showers
And I would rage with hurricanes to make men cower
Make them look up and watch 'til that unexpected hour
When you come again from heaven's hidden tower
Oh oh oh
These are troubled days
I want to live my life in some special way
These are troubled days
I want to give my life to you and show your way
If I were a singer I would sing my songs for you
My pen would write down all the truth you're made of
And the only songs that I would sing would be about your love
I would sing it 'til the faithless ones believed it
And the children of your wayward church received it
I would sing it to the governments and leaders
To the writers who have misled all the readers
I would sing it though they jailed me and they killed me
Let them empty me of life for you have filled me
You have filled me
lyrics version 3
And let us be all we could be
And help us learn to feel love
Someday feel free
Everything we have, let us learn to give it to you
Share it with one another, love one another
Choose wisely in all that we do [Spoken]
If I were a singer I could sing some songs for you
My pen could write down all the truth you're made of
And the only songs that I would choose to sing would be about your love
Oh oh ho
Oh oh oh
And help us learn to feel love
Someday feel free
Everything we have, let us learn to give it to you
Share it with one another, love one another
Choose wisely in all that we do [Spoken]
If I were a singer I could sing some songs for you
My pen could write down all the truth you're made of
And the only songs that I would choose to sing would be about your love
Oh oh ho
Oh oh oh
lyrics version 4
If I were a singer I could sing some songs for you
My pen could write down all the truth you're made of
And the only songs that I would choose to sing would be about your love
Oh oh ho
Oh oh oh
If I were a forest, if I only had one tree
I could still stand above the land and stretch toward heaven
Reach out my limbs to all the children of your kingdom
Be like a marker, a sign, welcome them up on top of this mountain
And let them satisfy their thirst from these running fountains
Oh oh ho
Oh oh ho
These are troubled days
And I want to live my life in some special way
These are troubled days
I'd like to give my life to love and show your way
Well if I were the blue sky my winds could blow for you
Or I could rage with hurricanes to make men cower
Make them afraid and watch me 'til that unexpected hour
When you come again from heaven's hidden tower
Wo oh ho
These are troubled, troubled days
And I want to live my life in some joyful way
These are troubled days
I'd like to live my life for love and show your way
Well if I were a singer I could sing my songs for you
My pen could write down all the truth I can see you're made of
The only songs that I would choose would be about your love
I would sing it 'til the faithless ones believed it
The children of your wayward church received it
I could sing it to the governments and leaders
And to the writers who have misled all the readers
I could sing it though they jailed me and they killed me
They could empty me of life but you have filled me
You have filled me
My pen could write down all the truth you're made of
And the only songs that I would choose to sing would be about your love
Oh oh ho
Oh oh oh
If I were a forest, if I only had one tree
I could still stand above the land and stretch toward heaven
Reach out my limbs to all the children of your kingdom
Be like a marker, a sign, welcome them up on top of this mountain
And let them satisfy their thirst from these running fountains
Oh oh ho
Oh oh ho
These are troubled days
And I want to live my life in some special way
These are troubled days
I'd like to give my life to love and show your way
Well if I were the blue sky my winds could blow for you
Or I could rage with hurricanes to make men cower
Make them afraid and watch me 'til that unexpected hour
When you come again from heaven's hidden tower
Wo oh ho
These are troubled, troubled days
And I want to live my life in some joyful way
These are troubled days
I'd like to live my life for love and show your way
Well if I were a singer I could sing my songs for you
My pen could write down all the truth I can see you're made of
The only songs that I would choose would be about your love
I would sing it 'til the faithless ones believed it
The children of your wayward church received it
I could sing it to the governments and leaders
And to the writers who have misled all the readers
I could sing it though they jailed me and they killed me
They could empty me of life but you have filled me
You have filled me