Shelter

Album: The Shelter (2010)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is the title track of the eleventh studio album by the Christian rock band, Jars of Clay. The record is described as a collection of songs about community, the title of which was taken from the old Irish Proverb, "It is in the shelter of each other that the people live." Frontman Dan Haseltine explained to Reuters: "We wanted to bring other people into the conversation. We were approaching the concept of community and shelter from our angle. But for this to be a well-rounded record, other people had to speak."
  • When both Haseltine and guitarist Matt Odmark's homes were hit by the floods that hit Nashville in May 2010, the whole concept truly hit home. "Matt and I both had some pretty good water damage," the singer told Reuters. "There are a range of emotions when you are watching water pour into your house, and you don't know how deep it's going to get or how much damage it's going to cause. 'How safe are we? Is my family OK?' All these things run through your mind. In the end, people came and took care of us. Churches brought care packages, boxes of food and other things."

    Fortunately an engineer was able to retrieve from the flooded studio the hard disc and other related items concerning the album. "Or else we would have lost the record entirely," Haseltine said. "So it was an act of courage and an act of community that even allowed the record to exist."
  • The song's subject matter is about leaning on one another - "The tears aren't ours alone, let them fall into the hands that hold us."
  • This anthem features Brandon Heath who is best known for his Dove-winning tune, "Give Me Your Eyes."

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