From "Promised Land", released May 15, 2015
All songs written by John Lucas Kovasckitz.
Produced and engineered by Everett Hardin.
Recorded in Harvest House Studio in Boone, NC.
Mastered by Joey Diehl at War Height Audio.
John Lucas Kovasckitz: Acoustic guitars, vocals
Benjamin James Roberts: Piano, vocals
Josh Roberts: Bass
Everett Hardin: Cello
Caroline Hardin: Violin
Justin Mower: Electric guitars
Tim Roberts: Drums
Erin Deuel: Vocals
Group vocals: Glenn Deuel, Josh Morgan, Brandi Truesdell, Caitlin Swick, Ben Roberts, Ali Carr, Brett Queen, Emily Dobberstein, Tim Roberts, Danielle Kovasckitz, Hannah Grant, Abby Grant, Josh Anding, Eli Stroud, James Sears, Meghan Hockaday, Mariel Silva.
We're Lions, You and I
Your warmth comes in the early spring
With hope like snow still clinging to the ground
And miracles, they rise up all around
All for you, everything is made new
And we will jump for joy through the dewy soil
As you lay me down in peace
In the fields where I’ve toiled
And we will rise with barefooted abandon
And I will chase the depths of your heart
Oh the depths of your heart
And we will laugh as we run without tiring
A lion and a boy who both can’t stop smiling
And we will bound mountains with a single leap
As you shout your promises
That you always keep
And we open up our mouths, our mouths to sing
But what echoes is just one mighty roar
And you delight more than ever before
For I’m not the boy I was
Oh I’m not him anymore
We’re lions, we’re lions
You and I
And I don’t need a looking glass
Or the praise of men, for it will pass
I know the roar now inside my chest
I claim this love, you can have the rest
We’re lions, we’re lions
You and I
We’re Lions, You and I CCLI #: 7136113
Love Is Kind
How come love was simpler when I could barely stand?
Worrying was harder when I had to hold your hand
‘Cause my two feet hadn’t yet learned how to walk
And my own voice hadn’t yet come out to talk
But I knew love because I knew you
And I believed that everything you told me
Would come out true
‘Cause love is patient, and love is kind
Love delights in the truth and is all you need to find
But as I grew older I learned to complicate
Things you made so simple and I did some things I hate
And I became so afraid of making mistakes
‘Cause one hard fall is all that it takes
To make you question the man you thought you’d be
And I began to question the bright things you see in me
But love is patient, and love is kind
Love doesn’t keep a record of what’s behind
And I’ve heard my strength comes from your joy
Maybe that’s why I felt stronger when I was a boy
Maybe I grew up too fast, or maybe I never did
But I learned to bury and to chain
And from you I ran and hid
You know I want to finish strong
But I’m having trouble at the start
And I’ve forgotten where to dig
To unearth my beating heart
But love is patient, and love is kind
Love revives the heart and transforms the mind
And you say, son, throw your delight on me
And you’ll become the man you want to be
And my love will never fail you
And always remember
That love is kind
Love is Kind CCLI #: 7136114
Clearing Stones
We came to the water
Sinners all were we
For we’d heard a man could be reborn
And then he’d be set free
Oh I’ve never done hard time
But I’ve had a few
And some of the wrongs that I have done
Would make you shift in your Sunday pew
And I am oft’ intoxicated
On sorrow and my shame
And guilt makes a right fine prison cell
When you’re afraid of your own name
_
We came to the stream of life
As clear as glass and as cold as ice
And my heart sank as I looked in
But I’d a pint of faith and I’d rolled my dice
On the water so sweet that was just ankle deep
But we had prisons to bury
So we rolled our clothes and braced for the cold
To leave all that we had to carry
And we dammed the water that frees the damned
And we dug the stones from the riverbed
In the stream of life we formed a coffin
And I’d be damned if that water didn’t cover my head
_
We drowned the young and old in that sea of grace
But we all rose the same
We splashed like children, we did, in that sea of grace
And we danced in the forest like flames
Grace was enough and grace is enough
And grace always will be
More than enough to change an old man young
And an ankle-deep stream to a sea
Grace can’t be bought and grace can’t be sold
Not for the wages of a thousand days
Grace is the gift of a King who longs
For His children to see they’re not slaves
And grace gets deeper the more you trust
That the King is good and the King is just
And that naked forgiveness is stronger than the grave
And sometimes grace takes clearing stones
With a weary heart and aching bones
To prove to that new child it was worth it all
Roll away the stones
Roll away the stones
Roll away the stones
And come alive
Promised Land
Love will bring you to your knees
To sow the seeds of grace
Your heart I’ve made of earth and sea
And your eyes are time and space
Like a carpenter I carved your hands
From driftwood from the deep
And I placed my veins inside your dreams
To woo you while you sleep
And in your heart I've placed a journey
And like a garden it will grow
And when you taste the fruits of bravery
I will part the seas below
I composed your bones from symphonies
And I danced to form your name
From the womb you leapt in innocence
And your innocence remains
For I’ve ransomed you upon my blood
From the wilderness of pain
With fire by night I’ll lead you home
And you’ll know you’re mine again
And in your heart I've placed a journey
And like a garden it will grow
And when you taste the fruits of bravery
I will part the seas below
Your heart is my promised land
Promised Land CCLI #: 7136115
Time
My heart has known the winters
And my feet have known the snow
But mine eyes have seen the glory
Of a seed begin to grow
There is a time to uproot, darling
But most days just hold on tight
For there’s a time for darkness, honey
But dawn will always beat the night
Sometimes death will come calling
When you’ve been good and warned
And other times its cold hands will cradle
Dreams yet to be born
There is a time to dance on sorrow
And a time to kiss her cheek
There is a time to mourn in silence
But justice aches to hear you speak
And I don’t know the end, or tomorrow’s story
But I have found the one who gives me rest
And I will make my bed in His promises
For He holds true when nothing’s left...When nothing’s left
There is a time when laughter will echo
Through your halls of peace
But war is known to change your locks
And carry off the family keys
There is a time for healing and pain
A time for drought and a time for rain
There is a time for everything
Until we crown the risen King…Until we crown the risen King
And I don’t know the end, or tomorrow’s story
But I have found the one who gives me rest
And I will make my bed in His promises
For He holds true when nothing’s left...When nothing’s left
So crown Him in your mourning
And crown Him in your laughter
And crown Him when it all turns dark
Crown Him when you bury
And crown Him when you marry
And crown Him when your faith finds a spark
Crown Him for He’s faithful
And crown Him for He’s worthy
And crown Him for He is good
Crown Him for His promises
Cut through the blindness
Of children that have barely understood
The beauty that has come
And the beauty yet to come
And the beauty that is yours and that is mine
And that death produces life
And that we are made alive
By the King who paints beauty with time
By the King who paints beauty with time
By the King who paints beauty with time
And I don’t know the end, or tomorrow’s story
But I have found the one who gives me rest
And I will make my bed in His promises
For He holds true when nothing’s left...When nothing’s left
Time CCLI #: 7136002
Quilts, Coats, and Colors
I want to live simply like my father
He never has much been for colors
But I think
That his colors are his children
And I want to live fearlessly
Believing nothing could ever hurt me
If I’d just love
If I’d just love relentlessly
And I don’t have an extravagant plan
For who I’ll be when I’m an older man
But the best adventures
Follow no maps
And when I was born a quilt was sewn
By the one who held my father
Before he had grown
Before he’d met my mother
And more were made as our family grew
A name is just a name
But it holds me to you
For there’s love in every letter
And my name says that I am light
And I want to learn how to fight
For the ones
This dark world has barred from hope
And I want to see with clear eyes
To see beauty underneath
Every painful disguise
I want the bravery to dream
But it’s not the coat that makes the dreamer
Nor the stitches of a quilt
It’s not the colors that you wear, son
It’s the colors that you’ve spilled
When you fight
When you fight
When you fight
Fight for love
Heart Gone Wild
Dance past the whitewashed tombs
And make way for the Bridegroom
Oh He’s come to bring life to the dead
Dance past the dry wells
And run from the desert’s curses and spells
For you will never thirst again
Can you find a righteous man?
Do you know a faultless land?
Oh He’s come to wipe our records clean
Hear the ring of the fallen chains
See the world forget its aches and pains
At the mention of His very name
Come on and dance like a child
Come on and dance like a man whose heart’s gone wild
Come and dance like a river to the sea
Come on and dance, ‘cause you have been set free
Hear the march of the victor’s feet
Hear the thunder of His heart as it beats
For the taking of His bride
And He has prepared a place
Where we’ll finally see His face
And we’ll be lifted from our knees
Come on and dance like a child
Come on and dance like a man whose heart’s gone wild
Come and dance like a river to the sea
Come on and dance, ‘cause you have been set free
Let the filthy dance with the righteous
Let the filthy dance with the righteous
He’s covered our shame with His blood and a wedding ring
So dance, come on dance…On your own graves
Oh dance, come on dance…He calls us lovers, not slaves
He makes the shamed beautiful
He makes the broken whole
He makes the darkness turn and flee
Heart Gone Wild CCLI #: 7136116
Love Endures All Things
You are the one who holds
The ring of my love
You are the one whose whispers
Kiss my very heart
And in your embrace my walls crumble apart
My walls, my walls crumble apart
You are the one I will dream with
While our coffee steams
You are the one I will dance with
To the melodies of dreams
And I will sing you to sleep each night
And I will wake by your side
Through every pain and sorrow
Through the adventure of tomorrow
Through the joy of every morning
My love will be yours
You are the one I will hold tight
Through every winter wind
You are the one that I will cover
Through every storm that’s sent
To prove that love endures all things
Oh love endures all things
Through every pain and sorrow
Through the adventure of tomorrow
Through the joy of every morning
My love will be yours
The Entrance
Gather the saints in the mist
Beneath our favorite tree
And forge your vows in stone
And from the roots beneath
And measure out my tent
And the tables where we’ll feast
And invite the stars for dancing
For when the shadows have journeyed east
Go on, go on
Go on, go on and say I do
And remember the treasure you glimpse
When you’ve glimpsed my heart for you
And I will keep you like a promise
Stored beneath my wings
As you camp beside my mountains
And wait for my heart’s strings
And I will call you with thunder to return
To return to the tree
And there I will meet you without mist
Without mist or mystery
Go on, go on
Go on, go on and say I do
And remember the treasure you glimpse
When you’ve glimpsed my heart for you
And time itself will paralyze
To take in every moment
Of the entrance of the promise
Of love untold or ever spoken
And with wildflowers
The angels will sew our hearts as one
But neither angels nor demons can ever cut
Can ever cut the knots undone
Go on, go on
Go on, go on and say I do
And remember the treasure you glimpse
When you’ve glimpsed my heart for you
This Will Be Our Home
Close your eyes, my darling
And let me sweep you off your feet
There’s a home in the meadow
And it’s a home you ought to meet
This will be our threshold
To our home of joy and peace
This will be the place
Where our sorrows are released
I know the walls are for now a little empty
But you’ve the eye of an artist
So let’s paint the walls with laughter
Until not a spot is missed
Entwine your treasures on the shelves with mine
And hang your dresses by the mirror
I’ve never heard my heart sing
The way it is now that you’re here
This, oh this, this will be our home
For tonight let’s leave the dishes in the sink
And our shoes by the bottom stair
For dancin’ in the kitchen’s better
When your feet are bare
And one day we’ll own a piano
And a fireplace where all the music will go
Up through the chimney
Oh we’ll play for all the stars
This, oh this, this will be our home
And one day we’ll add a room or two
For little feet to come pattering through
But for now, this home will just hold me and you
And our home may soon change places
As we bound mountains
And walk on oceans without fear
But for now our adventure lies here
Oh for now, our adventure lies here
This, oh this, this will be our home
This, oh this, this is our home
The Return
I miss the days before every love song had been writ
And every story penned
Another mind hadn’t beat you to it
I miss the days before every land had been mapped
When you could go explore
And know the world was still untapped
I miss the days before men couldn’t outwit God
When He still spoke to us
And we still spoke to God
I miss the days before men could do everything
When we still dreamed like birds
Before we forged our wings
Oh when did we stop missing things?
When did we trade our garden and the King of Kings
For a land that’s bare and a God that’s blind
How can we not yearn for what’s behind?
I miss the days before rings came off so easy
When I could promise you
And believe that you believed me
I miss the days before everything had a price
When we couldn’t count the cost
Of every single sacrifice
I miss the days before we all had useless hands
When our tools were young
And hadn’t yet raped our lands
I miss the days before we knew when rain would fall
When we’d plant seeds with hope
And now we don’t hope at all
Oh when did we stop missing things?
When did we trade our garden and the King of Kings
For a land that’s bare and a God that’s blind
How can we not yearn for what’s behind?
But I’ve heard whispers that this earth
Holds the deepest mysteries yet
Oh I’ve heard whispers when I listen to the trees
And I’ve tasted eternity
A sweetness my tongue has never known
I’ve felt an ache deep down in my bones
That proves there’s something more
(Where are you? Where are you?)
And I’ve heard laughter rolling from the canyons
Laughter at the man who claims to hold more wisdom
Than the One who stretched the heavens
And treads upon the sea
And I’ve heard the song of the return
A song as pure as light
Sung by a King with eyes that burn
For a bride to be taken in the night
So maybe the past isn’t what I’m truly missing
Maybe I’m missing what’s to come
Or maybe eternity has already begun
Come and Find Me
Come and find me, come and find me
In the wild places that can’t be tamed
Come and find me, come and find me
In the bars of a prison
Where my sons are chained
Come and feast with the hungry
And dine with me among outlaws and thieves
Come and trace my veins in an old oak tree
And in the rivers that run
Into my seas
Come and find me on every unknown street
And in every song that leads you home
Come and kiss my face on a newborn’s feet
Come and fall in love
Like you’ve never known
Come and fall
In love again for the first time
Come and Find Me CCLI #: 7136121
