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Shadowlands – Nathan Oswalt
Words by Nathan Oswalt, Heidi Oswalt, & Steve Hotra
Music by Nathan Oswalt & Ian Manubens
©️2019, 2022 Nathan Oswalt
Dedicated to Ingrid Salter (1938-2022)
STORY BEHIND THE SONG:
This song is dedicated to Ingrid Salter (1938-2022), the World’s Greatest Grandma and one of the strongest and Godliest people I know. You will be missed, until we meet again. See you on the other side.
I initially wrote “Shadowlands” based on a conversation that I overheard between my mom and my sister about death, grief, and the afterlife in October 2019. C.S. Lewis was brought up, and it was discussed how he wrestled with – and ultimately grew stronger in – his faith after losing his wife to cancer. That same day, news broke that TobyMac, one of my favorite Christian artists, had just lost his oldest son, 21-year-old Truett, to an unexpected drug overdose, and was handling the tragedy with a great deal of courage and faith in God’s sovereignty and the promise of Heaven for all who believe in the saving work of Christ. I was immediately inspired that day to write and post on YouTube a song about grieving the loss of a child with that hope in mind. I called it “Shadowlands”, after the biographical film centered on Lewis’s later life. I later tweaked the song from a pop-rap track to more of an R&B-influenced ballad, and expanded its message to apply to those who have lost a parent, a spouse, a friend, or simply anyone else who has ever experienced the difficult sting of losing someone they love. The song was finalized while my grandmother, Ingrid Salter, was in the middle of her 20th year fighting cancer. She had been given only 18 months to live when initially diagnosed, so the fact that she lived for a whopping 20 years and got to watch her grandchildren grow is nothing short of a miraculous blessing from above. Grandma went to be with the LORD on January 9, 2022, just weeks after turning 83 and three days before my 21st birthday. I dedicated “Shadowlands” to her, and recorded a demo version with local music producer (and my good friend) Ian Manubens for the slideshow at her memorial service. My favorite line of the song is “I wore navy blue at your funeral today”. Navy blue, besides being my favorite color, is a dark color, but it’s not quite as dark as straight-up black. For me, it was symbolic of death’s lack of power over those who have the hope of eternal life through Christ to lean on in times of suffering, sorrow, and grief. True to my word, I did, indeed, wear navy blue at Grandma’s memorial service.
LYRICS:
I wore navy blue at your funeral today
No, I didn’t dress up in black
And yeah, I’m sad, but I’m happy, too
‘Cause I know you’re doing well where you’re at
I can only picture in my mind
What it’s like up there in the clouds
As I wait to be where you are right now
This hurts so bad I can barely stand
But I believe that this is not the end
And I’ll see you on the other side of these shadowlands
Where there’ll be no more hard goodbyes
No more heartache, no more tears to cry
So I’ll see you later, until we meet again
I’ve been thinking about you lately
I miss that heart full of love
And I’m counting down the days till we reunite
In the blue skies up above
This world is not where I belong, not my final destination
I know beyond a doubt
That my real home is where you are right now
And someday I’ll be there with you, but for now
This hurts so bad I can barely stand
But I believe that this is not the end (Not the end)
And I’ll see you on the other side of these shadowlands (Shadowlands, yeah)
Where there’ll be no more hard goodbyes
No more heartache, no more tears to cry (All made right)
So I’ll see you later, until we meet again, yeah
And I’ll keep living my life to the fullest
Just like I know you’d want me to do (Want me to)
And I’ll never forget all the times we shared
The memories will pull me through (Pull me through)
And when I leave this world behind me
When I finish this race that I run (Race I run)
I’ll see you and Jesus standing there
Saying, “Welcome home, well done”
This hurts so bad I can barely stand
But I believe that this is not the end
And I’ll see you on the other side of these shadowlands
Where there’ll be no more hard goodbyes
No more heartache, no more tears to cry
So I’ll see you later, until we meet again (Shadowlands, yeah)
Yeah I’ll see you later, until we meet again (Everything’s gonna be made right on the other side)
Oh I’ll see you later, can’t wait till we meet again
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