Your Love Is Strong
Written by Elton Smith, Steve Israel and Larry Holder
Links to contributors: Steve Israel, Larry Holder, Peter Gringhuis videos
This song started on a picnic bench at a state park in Virginia. My family and I were on vacation, 1000 miles from home. It was very early in the morning and I was the only one awake. We were planning to drive north into the Washington DC area (where Steve Israel lives) that day, but we had received unhappy news from the Israel family. Barbara's father had been in an accident and wasn't expected to live. So I sat there, thinking about the accident, the clouds threatening to rain on my guitar, my sleeping family, how frail life is... and I wrote this melody, along with a few of the words. Several days later we were at Steve's house and he arrived back from the funeral. We were tired, but we took a few minutes to work on the music and lyrics together, making some significant enhancements. After the vacation was over, Larry joined us in the effort by completing the lyrics. I hope the song is a blessing to you. - Elton, June 14, 2002
Languages for this song:
Dutch/Flemish, Finnish