Under the Sun
Song by Mariah Hlatywayo, album artwork by Cynthia Yong (The Lazy Painter)
Round and round the water does flow,
From rain to river to sea.
And yet the ocean can never be filled,
It’s all in vanity.
The man wants to know all he can know
But the more he learns, he grieves.
He finds no profit here under the sun,
Ashes in the breeze.
A shadow but flickers in the wind,
The end of it is me.
But I seek the kingdom that is yet to come,
It all points back to He.
A few years ago, I had the privilege of singing backing vocals for a friend’s graduation recital. All of the songs in her concert were themed around a person’s journey to finding Christ. Heavily inspired by the thematic nature of her concert, I also decided I would like to create something of a similar nature, and over the month of October, will be releasing the end result.
Two songs, written six years apart. The first inspired by a sermon that was preached at my church about the book of Ecclesiastes, and the second written in 2018 about the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. I have chosen to link these two together as the first speaks of searching for purpose and meaning, while the second points towards Christ, who has given my life purpose as I have chosen to follow Him. Musically, I have worked with my band to link the two songs together so that ‘Under the Sun’ and ‘This is Your Purpose’ can be played consecutively with a smooth transition between tempo and key. Similarly, the cover art can be layered vertically to create a bigger picture of my band performing ‘Under the Sun’ on a rooftop, while Jesus exchanges a crown of thorns for a crown of flowers with a little girl inside the building on the first floor.
Under the Sun released on 6 October, you can listen to it here. Pre-save Mariah’s second single, This is Your Purpose.
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Mariah Hlatywayo—Regular Contributor
Mariah Hlatywayo (lutch-why-oh) is a singer-songwriter and drummer from Perth, Western Australia. She grew up in a musical family and enjoys writing, singing and playing songs inspired by her Christian faith and life experiences. When she is not making music, you can find her teaching music to teenagers, drinking coffee, and annoying Felicity – her fluffy rag-doll cat. Find more at mariahhlatywayo.com