Story Behind the Revelation Song

An Interview with songwriter Jennie Lee Riddle 

"Revelation Song" is the 2010 Dove Award-winning "Worship Song of The Year," written by Jennie Lee Riddle in 1999. It is one of the top 5 most downloaded chord charts on CCLI's Song Select website for worship leaders. On PraiseCharts.com--a popular site for worship band charts and orchestrations--"Revelation Song" was both the No. 1 and the No. 5 songs downloaded (two different versions) recently. The song also spent 17 weeks at No. 1 on Christian music charts.

The song has been recorded by Gateway Worship, Kari Jobe, Phillips, Craig & Dean, Jesus Culture featuring Kim Walker-Smith, Avalon's Melissa Greene, Newsboys, Shane & Shane and others, it's sung weekly in hundreds churches around the world.

The song is also featured on Jennie Lee Riddle's new worship project, People & Songs: Opus 1 Collective, featuring a must-hear version with Jennie singing her song with daughter Emily. The song brings me to the throne room of God, and Jennie's tender and even tentative vocals reminds listeners of the reverence of the biblical lyrics.

I gave my life to Jesus back in 1988. There was a new song out at the time entitled, "I Hear Angels" by Garrit Gustafson. The lyrics read: "I hear angels singing praises, I see men from every nation, bowing down before the throne… like the sound of many waters… like the rushing wind around us… multitudes join the song… and a symphony of praise arises… tears are wiped away from eyes as men from every tongue and tribe all sing…. Holy, holy… God almighty… who was, and is, and is to come…"

I remember looking up and around asking, "Where, God? I want to see and hear that too!" Those prophetic words from Mr. Gustafson took residence within me, became the lullaby sung over each of my children, and fueled an earnest, decade-long prayer to see multitudes gathered around the throne.

Back in 1999, I again began telling Him how much I wanted to see and hear all creation worshipping Him. The songs being sung by the bride at that time were focusing on need. My heart longed to focus on something far greater than my need, knowing that all needs would be satisfied with just one glimpse of Him.

Therefore, I asked the Holy Spirit to help me write a song that painted Him--a song that the angels and creation were already singing, so that we could join in with one voice, as one bride, to one King. I put the baby down to play with his toys, picked up the guitar, and began to play four chords I had figured out how to play the day before. Immersed in Scriptures from Ezekiel and Revelation, the Lord helped me paint what I was seeing through those passages: "Clothed in rainbows of living color,  flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder..."

The melody stuck. It had the sound of Heaven in it. The song wouldn't leave me and I sang it for weeks. I can still hear the Lord whispering to me that He would carry this song across the world. I remember thinking how cool it was going to be to have a couple of my missionary friends carry it to the natives in the bush to be sung around campfires. I had no idea.

"Revelation Song" made its very first public outing when I introduced it to my local church on a Sunday when the Lord moved in such a way that it was called for unrehearsed and without preamble. The song resonated with the congregation and the pleasure of the Lord was discernable. It quickly became a loved song. Next, it was introduced to my students at the high school where I served as Dean of Student Life and Fine Arts Director. God met us every time we used it from that point on.

How did you meet Kari Jobe?

The first demo of the song was done for me by Walker Beach a couple of months after I wrote it. Klaus Kuehn helped me do a second demo in 2002. They both remembered it when it came time to select songs for the annual live recording at Christ for the Nations where Klaus was leading worship and Walker was directing the School of Worship.

Klaus said he wanted to do an album that contained "the sounds of Heaven." He called and said he was going to put it on the CFNI album, "Glorious" in 2004. I boldly asked him if that sweet little girl I heard sing at the previous night of worship could sing it. I'm pretty sure he had already decided on that. I didn't even know her name. Klaus had Kari call and request lyrics. I didn't even realize it was her that called. I don't even know if she knew about the song at the time she called--she was just working for Klaus. I didn't know the voice I had heard at the previous CFNI night of worship was the voice on the phone.

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