Randall Williams: Praying for Land
In 2002, Randall graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Mons, Belgium with a degree in classical vocal performance - at the head of his class. But he was already fed up with classical music - he couldn’t stand the division between performer and audience. And so he returned to the world of traveling, writing songs in train stations and sleeping on couches, then singing and playing on street corners, cafés, and pubs.
In January of 2008, he put out a CD called “Praying For Land.” It’s a well-made thing, all polished and shiny in the right spots. Dave Weber produced it, and did a fantastic job. Randall had done several discs before that, including “One Night in Louisiana,” a live CD with a few international songs.
In addition to performing, Randall’s written three books, and he is the marketing guy for Kyser Musical Products.
For a more in-depth bio, check out Randall’s webpage: http://
Praying for Land
Lyrics:Out past the windward isles
Waves beat their rhythms on the reef
The wind sent them here from (here from) forever
Gifts from the sea
Captains raise their glasses to forever
Fear still sparkling in their eyes
Ships sailed past the first horizon
Planes into night
You were Amelia, when the plane hit the water
Captain Smith, when the iceberg took you down
With the dreams of Columbia's captain
Pieces on the ground
You are the thousands who sailed for the new world
And the hundreds who made it safely home
Sun-bleached and torn by adventure
Weathered to the bone
You are a dreamer
You are the hope of men
Forever hoisting sail
Forever pushing on
Forever praying for land
You are Hilary and Norgay at the summit
Neil Armstong with both feet on the ground
You are Wilbur and Orville yelling madly
As the plane touched down
You are a sailor staring out at the ocean
A child's telescope pointed at the sky
You are a mother who names her child Amelia,
yearning to fly
You are the dreamer
You are the hope of men
Forever hoisting sail
Forever pushing on
Forever praying for land
Randall Williams
Website for musician:
Thanks for the music, Randall. I like the lyrical progression from the moments where it’s harder to see God in the picture (crashes and capsizing), to the iconic moments of great men and women, to the persistence of hope. Well-crafted.
Thanks Brad,
That’s a neat way to sum it up – I hadn’t thought of it in those terms before you said it. Although in the voyage of discovery, it was certainly hard at times to see God in the picture!
My friend Dave pointed out that the leaping melody line at the end was like a call from a crows nest, on arrival. I liked that idea, too. Our songs don’t belong to us – and sometimes (like now) other folks show us what’s in there. I like that.
Cheers,
Randall
Wonderful song. Great lyrics and great music. I’m very, very impressed!
Hi Randall, so good to listen to your song here on this special website. When we heard your song, we always thinking about our sailing trip with you in Hamburg. The song is great, so powerful and full of Love!
Hope to hear you again
Frank and Uli
So much for rose-colored glasses,Randall. You play life as it has always been- the brave stepping out into the unknown world- questioning their Creator, asking their place in this space/time, often not sure, but moving in faith, and going forward.
Thank you for your honesty- this is what Jesus taught, “know thyself,” the “I AM” and this is what he intended for us to practice. This is Christian Science-the faith that reveals the “I AM THAT I AM” even if we can’t quite see it yet.
I love this comment and reflection on Randall’s song!
I love how when one person shares (such as this healing song) it inspires (maybe even allows?!) others to shine brighter, as well.
Randall – one of your biggest fans pointed me to this site. This is one of my favorites of your compositions. For some reason this one is always accompanied by tears of joy at this end. I hear the progress of your travels through life in it, and delight to see how far you’ve gotten so far! Marvelous, simply marvelous!
Hey Randall,
great to hear you on time4thinkers.com today. Great song having just recently watched Amelia on DVD. It’s fun keeping up with your travels and adventures on Facebook. Hope you are well and enjoying life.
All the best, Andy.
Still at Tahoe and just got our first real dump of snow. I was hoping for it to just go into summer, but that was never going to happen! At least the sun is out again today.
I’ve listened to this song several times over now. It’s very soothing and very deep. Are you on iTunes?
@Gordon – yeppers, iTunes will find me pretty quickly, as will YouTube. So fun to see all the friends here – Andy, Frank and Ulli, Ms. M&M. Thanks, everybody.
Just listened to the song “Praying for Land” . I love the journey that inspired it. And I just want to hear the music over and over!