“Words make you think. Music makes you feel. A song makes you feel a thought.”
Yip Harburg
Music makes an impact. Impact results in change. Music makes a change in us, in our lives, and therefore in our world. What change is it making?
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the calling we have as humans? To live a life seeking and pointing others to God while living in a sinful world? I don’t believe that means listening to only “Christian” music or picking apart every lyric in a theological battleground, but I do believe that it should affect our decisions, because every choice we make affects both ourselves and those around us. So how do we find, choose, and listen to music that furthers that call? Music is all around and affects everyone differently. Even though it affects everyone differently, you can be sure that it does affect everyone, even if they don’t realize it. We are constantly consuming message after message in a world where Satan tries his best to disguise his lies as self-goodness. How do we discern what’s true from what’s not? Where do we draw the line? How does God call us to live, and what does that actually look like?
This is The Song Behind. An online resource designed for you. We work to navigate the world of music in order to introduce you to music and artists that we truly believe in, and feel safe recommending to you. Between our lists, profiles, reviews, playlists, and blogs, we hope to do as much as we can to ensure that you have music that inspires you to be who you were created to be. Now, to some, this might sound like a restrictive fish bowl. That couldn’t be farther from what we’re doing. We’re working to open doors and show you that rather than restrictive, it’s truly astonishing how much good material there is to be discovered.
I launched The Song Behind because I wish I would have had something like this for myself. As I grew older, even though I loved Christian radio, it got old sometimes. So I tried to listen to different styles while still staying true to my values. When I found something I liked, whether through recommendations from others, social media, playlists, just browsing, movie credits, etc. I would listen to it on repeat, always wishing I could find more like it. So that’s what this is. Me trying to help you find what I have struggled so much to find, while at the same time digging deep into the power of music and why it matters.
Despite what you may think, music isn’t a human invention. It was created by an all-powerful, awe-inspiring, totally awesome God who also created you. It was designed by Him to draw people together, and draw us to Him. We serve a creative God who equips and forms us each individually with different creative gifts, interests, and outlets. You may not believe it now, but I pray that one day you will open your heart to see who you were created to be, by knowing the one Who created you.
One of my favorite verses is from Exodus 15 (yeah, I know random)
The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise Him.
Exodus 15:2ab
What is really interesting to me, is that depending on the translation you use, the word song is often translated to deliverance. I don’t know about you, but there have certainly been times when music was my escape. I use it to see things more clearly when my head is stuck in the clouds, or when I’m overwhelmed with the dauntingness of life.
Everyone has something bigger driving what they do and pressing them forward in this thing we call life. I’m sure I’m not the only one that sometimes wishes that life were like a movie and the perfect overlay/background song would just start out of nowhere or that everyone would just start dancing in a giant musical number. Music can be anything. The sounds of life. The rustle of the wind, the running water of a creek, a baby’s smile, a grandparent’s laugh, a sibling’s hug, the pluck of a guitar string, or fingers tapping on the steering wheel, and endless possibilities are all songs. So let me ask you, what is The Song Behind your life?
Much love, Joy Finnesgard, Founder
Joy Finnesgard
visionary, founder
Joy has grown up not only with music, but has grown up through music. Growing up traveling with her family, watching her dad play trumpet, and then later on the stage herself singing and playing for hundreds, music has always been a huge part of her life. Not just producing sound, but also experiencing how the gift of music can change someone. People’s stories are one of her greatest passions. It amazes her how God is so incredibly and intricately involved with each and every one of us. For her, music is where those stories come to light, sometimes in ways you see, sometimes in ways you don’t. It connects with people in a way that nothing else can.