“It’s important to know what’s on the page, but even more important to know what’s off the page.”
- Matt Coss
Song charts and song stories
This is a fun song. Very different from many other songs of mine. This is one of my favorites because it covers all of my roots: Memphis blues, call-and-response, and lots of room for instrumentation, plus it hits on some good theology: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost together. We need more of this in our worship! I also wrote this song in a few minutes, very quick, without an instrument. We words and melody all hit me at once; I later grabbed a guitar and started figuring out instrumentation. A little different than most of my writing.
I wrote this song on the piano. This chart, like some others, is written in Nashville Numbers. If you don’t know how to read those charts, then email me. I’m happy to send you a charted version in whatever key you want it in. But because I wrote it in Gb, I didn’t want to limit the chart reader by listing all the funky flat 7th chords, especially guitarists. :)
I remember my friend, Jeremy Horn singing in a pre-service sound check “Shekinah Glory, sweet perfume, every time you walk in the room.” We both looked at each other with “the look.” I also remember sitting to co-write the rest with him we were trying to figure out an epic chord progression. I said, “Just sit on one chord for like half the song, then break it wide open later… to like 2 chords.” We laughed, but it worked and here you have it: Open Heaven.
This song has taken shape through the years. I wrote the first verse in 2016 and played that during harp & bowl sessions or intimate worship times when it fit. Jeremy Horn and I added the chorus in late 2017, early 2018, then we tweaked some words and finished the whole song early 2019. Some songs take a journey like this. I can be a beautiful thing!
Thanks for checking these out, y’all! More songs on the way, but if you ever need a particular song chart or have questions about chords, reach out to me!
- Matt