Back in the 80s, at around the time we got married, Fiona and I went to a couple of Bible weeks at Staffordshire County Showground; these were called ‘Festival’, and in our case, we went to Festival ’83 and Festival ’84. At those weeks, which were basically camping with Christian worship and teaching, we had a great time and learned lots of new songs. We also learned a lot about who we were/are in Christ, and also picked up a lot of baggage that we had to get rid of later in life. But I guess you can’t have everything; like all things Christian offered to you by other believers, you need to filter out what is for you and what is not. It’s a bit like panning for gold…

Anyhow, one of the parts of those Festivals that we especially liked was some of the music of Christian musician Dave Bryant. One of Dave’s songs in particular was grabbed with both hands by Fiona and her best friend Cath (the girls are featured singing together in this track) and the song was called ‘Lord don’t ever let me go’. They went on to perform that song for congregations wherever our band went (sometimes we used to minister in other churches) to great effect. Personally, at the time, I felt that the lyrics were somewhat ‘condemnatory’, probably because of the background I was in at the time; nowadays I do not think that at all. This is a lovely song, that reminds me of those days when Fiona, Cath and I used to sing together for the building up of others. We did it well, and the anointing of the Spirit was upon us. Of course, I have come a long way since then, in terms of my belief structure, but still that same Spirit guides me, comforts me, teaches and corrects me. For me, this song looks back at that time when we had such an immense and life-changing experience of God; one that set us up for the rest of our lives, in good times and bad, hardship and plenty, sickness and health, life and death. And the legacy of that anointing continues and deepens even now. This song reminds me of Fiona. This song also reminds me of the depth of the inheritance I have with Jesus as the cornerstone of my life – both then and now.

Thank You, Jesus.

Your love for me is a mystery
And I don’t understand
How You can keep on loving me
Exactly as I am
Though I may not understand You
One thing I know
You are all my heart desires
Lord don’t ever let me go

You’re precious, always near to me
And I am feeling sure
That you will never, ever let me down
I know that I’m secure
Though I may not understand You
One thing I know
You are all my heart desires
Lord don’t ever let me go

In those times when I have let You down
You’re never standing far away
All I’ve had to do is turn my face to You
To find where love and mercy lay

And Your forgiveness floods my being
A river deep and wide
A stream of living water
Flows from deep inside
And I still don’t understand You
But this I know
You’ll always be my heart’s desire
I can’t ever let You go

Lord don’t ever let me go

– Words and Music by Dave Bryant, performed by Dave Bryant

For the benefit of May Ling, the lady who commented below, here are the chords for this piece:

Opening vamp:

Bb – Dm – Cm – F

Bb                                    Dm
Your love for me is a mystery

Gm                              Cm       F
And I don’t understand

Bb                                      Dm
How You can keep on loving me

Gm                 Cm     F
Exactly as I am

Dm                                          Ebmaj7
Though I may not understand You

Bb                   F
One thing I know

Eb           F                              Bb    Dm
You are all my heart desires

Cm                F                     Bb
Lord don’t ever let me go

Use the intro vamp to bridge the verses
Other verses use the same chord structure.

Bridge:

Cm7                                              Bb
In those times when I have let You down

Cm                   F                        Bb
You’re never standing far away

Gm                           Cm                                      Eb
All I’ve had to do is turn my face to You

Eb                         Eb                           Fsus4   F
To find where love and mercy lay

… and then straight back into verse 3 with a Bb.

B-flat can more easily be played on a guitar using Capo 3 [G]

In that case, use the following ‘translation’:

For Bb, use G, thus:

Bb -> G
Dm -> Bm
Gm -> Em
Eb -> C
Ebmaj7 -> Cmaj7
Cm -> Am
Cm7 -> Am7
F -> D
Fsus4 -> Dsus4