The first EP - The Long Winter

Finally, NotBuiltWithHands have recorded and released our first EP. It's called 'The Long Winter', and is, in part about Christmas. Over the next few weeks, I'll post some of the tracks on here. The front and back covers look like this:

As a first offering, here is possibly my favourite Christmas (or more accurately, Advent) song. Sung beautifully by Jo Walter.

If you'd like to buy a copy of the EP (£5), then post a comment below saying so, and depending on interest I might sent up a paypal.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

The other day I found out some frustrating news, that I hadn't received the funding for the PhD I wanted to do. This didn't make me very happy. However, I decided to sack off work for the afternoon and went for a walk. Which was far better. I saw a butterfly (the first one I've seen this year I think), and was reminded of something Jesus said to his worrying disciples:


Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
(Matt 6:28-29)


There is, however a difference between hearing in my head and applying to my heart, and so the next morning I woke up in a foul mood. Out of nowhere I suddenly felt like singing 'Come thou fount of every blessing', so after procrastinating for a while I did. I added some guitar to it, and decided to post it on here.


The original words are by Robert Robinson. However my version is modelled more closely on the one Sufjan Stevens did for his Christmas album a few years ago. Inevitably I will have mixed up words, I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it
Mount of Thy unchanging love

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Here by Thy great help I've come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let that grace now, like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above