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When I Couldn't Do It By Myself

When I Couldn’t Do It By Myself
Words & Music by Jeff Crossan

My father could not stand alone
I couldn’t lift him on my own
The time had finally come to make that call
They sent us James, a gentle man
I watched him shake my father’s hand
An answer to a prayer is what I saw

When I couldn’t do it by myself
When I knew I needed the strength of someone else
I was grateful to be blessed with two strong hands to help
When I couldn’t do it by myself

It was hard for me to face the truth
To change the bandage, dress the wound
Sometimes I wasn’t sure I’d done it right
When things went from bad to worse
Hospice sent my dad a nurse
Her name was Marge
She was a welcome sight

When I couldn’t do it by myself
When I knew I needed the skills of someone else
I was grateful to be blessed with two healing hands to help
When I couldn’t do it by myself

James would sit with my dad and talk
Give me the time to take a walk
Before too long he called my dad his buddy
And Marge brought ice cream sometimes in
Springsteen CDs, we both were fans
When I’d need a laugh she’d say something funny

As winter passed dad’s voice grew weak
Spring arrived, he could hardly speak
One day in May the sun set in his sky
I held his hand
I let him go
The tears that fell weren’t just my own
The three of us were there to say goodbye

When I couldn’t do it by myself
When I knew I needed the grace of someone else
I was grateful to be blessed with two loving hearts to help
When I couldn’t do it by myself

© Ninety Forty Ten Music ASCAP (Administered by ClearBox Rights, LLC)

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This is a rough subject because it has been played so many ways in sermons and music and poetry and paintings. You pulled it off.

James Y, Washington, DC

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Jeff Crossan

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Jeff Crossan

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Songwriter

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DIGNITY When I Couldn't Do it By Myself

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Kent Hooper

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Kent Hooper

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Co-Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Mastering, Arranging, and Keyboards

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AFTER THE STORM Engineer spoken pieces, Engineering, mixing, and mastering THE APOLOGY Engineering, mixing, and mastering BEFORE WE SAID HELLO Engineering, mixing, and mastering BROKEN TO BLESS Engineering, mixing, and mastering CELEBRATION TABLE Engineering, mixing, and mastering CHAOS OF THE HEART Programming - Chaos of the Heart / Piano - Interludes / Mixing & Mastering - Chaos of the Heart, Keep Breathing, & How Could You / Producer - Every Single Tear - used Courtesy of Spring Hill Music Group, Inc. CHILD OF GOD Engineering, mixing, and mastering CROOKED ROAD Engineering, mixing, and mastering DAYS OF HOPE Engineering, mixing, and mastering DIGNITY Co-Producer, engineering, mixing, and mastering - All tracks / Piano - Do You Know I Love You, Precious Lord Take My Hand DRINK DEEP Co-Producer, engineering, mixing, and mastering - All tracks FIFTY YEARS FROM NOW Programming, piano, & mixing - I Don't Know You Anymore / Love as I Have Been Loved - programming / Engineer for spoken pieces HEROES UNSUNG Engineer for spoken pieces IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR Engineering, mixing, and mastering MERCY GREAT ENOUGH Co-Producer, arranging, engineering, mixing, and mastering - All tracks MORE BEAUTIFUL Programming, Keyboards, Engineer, mixing - Wildest Ride on Earth, Keyboards & Engineer - Interlude for More Beautiful on Guitar, Engineer - Affirmation MORE THAN A SURVIVOR Co-Producer, engineering, mixing, and mastering ROCK BOTTOM SOON Vocal Engineer & Mix SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER Songwriter & programming - All of Me / Keyboards, mixing - Somebody's Daughter / Programming, mixing - Into the Light/ Keyboards, mixing - Every Man's Battle / Engineer & mixing - Is it Me? / I Commit My Eyes / Traitor TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE Engineered, mixed, and mastered all tracks / Also Wurlitzer - Swept Away / Keyboards - Tell Me What You See, To Be Free, In the Image of God / Guitar - Piece Me Together / Programming & Keyboards - You Love Me TWENTY THREE Producer UNDER MY SKIN Mix and mastering WHOLE IN THE SIGHT OF GOD Engineer & MIx

Mark Baldwin

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Mark Baldwin

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Guitar

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BEFORE WE SAID HELLO Guitar BROKEN TO BLESS Guitar / Innocent Child, Walking Each Other Home, Child of Mine CELEBRATION TABLE Guitar / No Power Over Me, Rock Bottom Soon, Say Anything CHAOS OF THE HEART Guitar / Keep Breathing, How Could You DIGNITY Guitar / Love Will Have to Do It, In the Middle of the Mess, Do You Know How I Love You, When I Couldn't Do It By Myself DRINK DEEP Every Single Tear, Twenty Three, Today, Death Has Been Conquered / Also - speaker on No! IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR Guitar MERCY GREAT ENOUGH Guitar / Broken into Beautiful, I Lay it Down Listen with Love SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER Guitar / Somebody's Daughter TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE Guitar / In the Image of God, No One Can Love Me like You Do, You Love Me SOFT RAIN Guitar / You're with Me

Tim Lauer

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Tim Lauer

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Squeeze Box

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DIGNITY When I Couldn't Do it By Myself

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