Speaking Louder Than Before

Album: Speaking Louder Than Before (2008)
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Songfacts®:

  • Jeremy Camp told CCM magazine that this song expresses his renewed heart for evangelization. He explained: "I was getting to the place where I would ask God what He wanted to do with the new album. I just said, 'I've been doing this for six years now. I don't want to do the same old thing. I want to take the next step and dive into what the next thing is.' I was praying and praying and on my face; and all of a sudden, God showed me this generation and the hurt and the urgency and desperation that He has. I've got this song called 'Speaking Louder Than Before,' and I was on my face myself about everyday life, living my faith to the fullest, putting my words into action and serving people. Mark 16:15 became the theme of this song about going to the nations and preaching the Gospel to every creature. People are just crying out, and there's all this going on. It doesn't mean that [we] have to go around yelling and screaming, but instead, just let our actions speak for us. It means loving and serving and giving our lives. So that's what God's just been doing in my heart."
  • This was helmed by the Grammy-winning producer Brown Bannister (Steven Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant, MercyMe). Camp told CCM magazine how Bannister was able to guide his music-making process to new places, even if it meant challenging what the songwriter was familiar with. He explained: "You always want to increase artistically. God has given me this gift, so I don't want to just leave it dormant or not use it to the full extent. On this new record, musically, there are some amazing twists and turns that God gave us. I think also that, vocally, I really challenged myself. Brown was awesome in that—to challenge me lyrically, making sure every word had a purpose. I think I've taken every little bit seriously, and I want to use it to the full extent. I also wanted to have a little more drive on this record. On the first single, you can't hear it because it's a little more mellow, but most of the record has a more upbeat drive to it.
    Brown just told me that I should make sure that I have exhausted any possibilities musically and lyrically. Exhausted is the key word. We would always try different ideas, and even if they didn't work out, at least we tried. I think that was a cool element. I remember I would sing one thing, and he would ask me to raise it up or sing this word in this way. If it was a desperate word, he would ask me to sing it with desperation, and it brought things to life."

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