I Found the Treasure (AOV 2/22)

Not my favourite Dan Schutte song I must say. Inspired by the Kingdom of God saying in Matt 13:44 the text depicts the longing for Christ and giving all for Christ but the music just seems too laid back for such a commitment.  The other problem is the the Reign of God is being described by Jesus in a succession of abstract metaphors with layers of meaning and challenge. Schutte’s song actually narrows the thought rather than opening it out. So much of his material is so good that I get picky about the merely OK ones. Nonetheless it gets selected a lot by our liturgists and is sung well by the assembly.

You can hear the delicacy with which it is meant to be sung in the snippet from AOV. You’d need a cantor for the verses to achieve that. I like this piano instrumental version.

Verse 1
Lord, to whom can I go?
You alone speak the words of life.
You alone on the earth
or in heaven above
are my Saviour and my Lord.

Chorus
I found the treasure in a field,
that neither time nor death can steal.
I will sell what I have,
give all that I am,
to hold this treasure as my own.

Verse 2
Jesus, Lord of my life,
I can ask for nothing more
than to see and believe
that my life lies in you,
in the kingdom of my Lord.

Chorus

© Daniel Schutte and New Dawn Music 1985.

Another VST melody line experiment: