Jimmy Clifton

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Evaluation Essay The evaluated song in this essay is More by Jimmy Clifton, from his album I Love You All The More. The single was first released on YouTube in 2023 as one of his first Christian gospel songs. In More, Jimmy sings from the perspective of Jesus talking to a believer who is falling away from their faith. The song acts as a letter from the Lord to the person about their beliefs. It has a more modern gospel instrumental approach with a simple acoustic and bass guitar that is accompanied by the occasional ad-lib. The lyric video posted on YouTube by Jimmy Clifton is overly simple as it's just a white screen with black letters. The actual video is underwhelming so the primary focus will be the song. More has a somber tone to it, …show more content…

Jimmy himself is a believer, but also one who understands what it's like to stagnate or never take his faith seriously. In his interview with Movieguide, he talks about how he grew up in church and he “never really came to know the Lord until later”. I know the Scripture. I know everything about it. But, I never fully believed the promises [of the Bible]”(Dowd). Not only did he write from a friend's testimony, but his own experience with superficial belief. He knows what it's like to have Christ reach out to him and it reflects in the music composition. Instead of a loud and overbearing lead voice or hard drums or bass, the music is quite passive and consistent. The ends of the lines are long and drawn out, almost as if the words were made to linger. It still has moments where it might pick up, such as when it leads into the chorus, but the calm way it is composed mimics feelings of longing that are pointed toward the listener. The people Jimmy Clifton is trying to reach through are more numerous than expected. The Pew Research Center found that about 53% of adult US citizens identify as Christian (Mitchell). Which is great for regular gospel music, but the song connects with those stale in faith. It turns out that only 45% of those who identify with Christianity attend church regularly, with the other 54% going yearly or less. It is important to point out that Pews

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