I wrote this song about a year ago. It is a personal account of an encounter I had with a homeless man. I include many of the things he said to me in our conversation as well as what I learned and got out of the experience.
The Greatest in the Kingdom
He told me he’s sorry for who he was
He told me the waters were over his head
He told me there’s diamonds in my eyes
Look kool, keep smiling, he said
He played his guitar and he asked me to sign it
His voice was raw, his words were real
He said I couldn’t shake his hand if I wasn’t wearing gloves
Cuz his hands were too dirty but I feel
I never saw a more beautiful face
I never heard such a beautiful song
I never felt anything more meaningful
Than hearing his story, didn’t matter how long
Oh and when he goes to heaven
I know he’ll be free
And the greatest in the kingdom
Will be on this street
Doesn’t matter what color you are
He said, his eyes filled with pain
You are my sister
And we all bleed the same
Says the man with the beautiful name
Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire
I am in deep water I can’t find a foothold
My throat is parched from crying, I am all alone
That’s the song from his soul
He said to read Psalm 69, for it is my life
So I wept over pages unknown
Never had I read words so meaningful
And in them I now know
Chorus
And I prayed with him
Didn’t know if it even helped
But when I was done
I can’t describe how I felt
It was joy it was sorrow
It was praise, it was tears
It was everything beautiful
And I knew you were near
Closer than ever
On that dark street
And I was a princess of royalty
Is this what it means to be your hands and feet?
To try to help someone else and then they turn around
And help me
Chorus
Is this what it means to be your hands and feet?
To try to help someone else and then they turn around
And help me
The Greatest in the Kingdom
He told me he’s sorry for who he was
He told me the waters were over his head
He told me there’s diamonds in my eyes
Look kool, keep smiling, he said
He played his guitar and he asked me to sign it
His voice was raw, his words were real
He said I couldn’t shake his hand if I wasn’t wearing gloves
Cuz his hands were too dirty but I feel
I never saw a more beautiful face
I never heard such a beautiful song
I never felt anything more meaningful
Than hearing his story, didn’t matter how long
Oh and when he goes to heaven
I know he’ll be free
And the greatest in the kingdom
Will be on this street
Doesn’t matter what color you are
He said, his eyes filled with pain
You are my sister
And we all bleed the same
Says the man with the beautiful name
Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire
I am in deep water I can’t find a foothold
My throat is parched from crying, I am all alone
That’s the song from his soul
He said to read Psalm 69, for it is my life
So I wept over pages unknown
Never had I read words so meaningful
And in them I now know
Chorus
And I prayed with him
Didn’t know if it even helped
But when I was done
I can’t describe how I felt
It was joy it was sorrow
It was praise, it was tears
It was everything beautiful
And I knew you were near
Closer than ever
On that dark street
And I was a princess of royalty
Is this what it means to be your hands and feet?
To try to help someone else and then they turn around
And help me
Chorus
Is this what it means to be your hands and feet?
To try to help someone else and then they turn around
And help me
