Added Song 13 of 69 · The Added Songs — Songs of Praise
I Choose to Praise
Thread
Learning to praise Him — the graduate's commitment
Instruments
Graduate ensemble — arranged, rehearsed, and produced by the seniors themselves.
The notes and instruments stand exactly as created — skilled musicians can already play this music as written.
Lyrics
Verse 1
Twelve years of songs have led me here,
Through every joy, through every tear.
The little tunes I used to sing
Have grown into a bigger thing.
Chorus
I choose to praise — not forced, not blind,
With open eyes and open mind!
Yahweh, my Creator, Father, Friend —
I will praise You to the end!
I choose to praise!
Verse 2
The world will offer other songs,
Loud and shiny, sweet and wrong.
But I've been taught, and now I know
Which melody will make me grow.
(Chorus)
Bridge
Kindergarten's simple tune,
Grade school mornings, afternoon —
Every song was building me
For the praise that's wild and free!
Final Chorus
I choose to praise — my own voice now,
Not my teacher's, anyhow!
Yahweh, take this song I raise:
My life, my choice, my praise!
Teaching Note
Sing the Grade 1 and Grade 5 songs in the same service as this one. Let the graduates hear how far they've come — from "clap your hands" to "I choose." That arc is the curriculum. This song belongs at every graduation.
Download & Print — for the studio
Download this song’s sheet (PDF)
This song’s sheet as held in the collection — its lyrics, its notes, its frequency arc and its instruments. Print this page or the sheet and take it into the studio.