In This Life

In me previous post I described the song from the perspective of the composers, Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin, as a love song to Jesus. You don't need to be Christian to enjoy the song. Many of the cover artists might not be Christian. I like IZ's rendition the best by far. How did he interpret it. Here is an excerpt from his introduction to the song on his CD "IZ in Concert" (2000), track #13 titled "n Dis Life," on the tail end of the preceding track: "... for those of you who have spouses, you know, everyone [sic] wife is incredible. I hope having a husband is even better. But you know, eh, living through life, you know, with each other, is awesome. But living life with God is more awesome. With this song I dedicate to our Father God through His Son Jesus Christ, is why I'm here today. I just wanted for let you guys know that...."

some powerful words... i'm surprised no one has commented yet. this man was a brilliant and blessed soul...RIP israel

He's talking to his fans. Everything wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the people who believed in him. "In this life, I was loved by you" I think he is talking about how he wanted to become famous (in a sense) and then slowly he realized he wasn't doing it for the money. He was doing it because he loved his people and his music. It allowed him to be free of all his trouble. Sorry for this scatter brained explanation.

Such a heartfelt song by a talented man... so sad that he's gone. But when I listen to this, his true feelings just pour out in the words, and he lives on through them and the rest of his songs...

Awesome song. IZ's rendition is my favorite of many. His vocals are phenomenal. But it is not his song. It was composed by Mike Reid (the "American Football" one on Wikipedia) and Allen Shamblin, 1992, Almo Music Corp., Brio Blues Music, Allen Shamblin Music, and BMG Songs, Inc. It was covered by Collin Raye (1992), 4 PM "For Positive Music" (1995), Kirk Whalum (1995), Bette Midler (1995), IZ (1996), Ronan Keating (2000), and probably more, as my search was not exhaustive. So what did Reid and Shamblin mean in the lyrics? Much of their catalog is country and Christian. This song reflects a Christian view. Christians understand "an emptiness in me, imprisoned by the power of gold, one kind touch you set me free, you were the treasure, I would be lost, I won't live forever (these posted lyrics erroneously say "will live forever"), but forever I'll be loving you," and most significantly, "I was loved by you." It's a gorgeous song if taken simply as a human love song. We who love IZ can easily appreciate how he makes it his own. What a showcase for his vocals! And let's not overlook the superb musical performance. Did you notice the absence of ukulele on both studio album renditions (Alone in IZ World and N Dis Life)? Still - It's a worship song when sung by Christians to Jesus. Follow my footsteps: The Israel Kamakawiwo'ole Songbook Collection (2005, Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.), allmusic.com, oldies.com, new.music.yahoo.com, and Amazon.com. My best keywords were "In This Life," Mike Reid, Allen Shamblin, and Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.