Jenny's Songwriting Autobiography
Our heavenly Father not only gives each of us talents, He also develops them. Many times, He uses other people to do that. By sharing my life story as it relates to songwriting, I’m saying thank you to God and to the people who taught me, encouraged me and gave me opportunities — usually opportunities that exceeded my skill level, allowing me to grow.
I was born in Missouri. Before my father and mother divorced when I was four years old, they wrote songs together. My father wrote the words; my mother, the music. Years later, it occurred to me that because I could write both words and music, by using those natural abilities I was continuing something that had united my parents.
Growing up with my father and stepmom (whom I called mom) in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, I could always find my father’s books of poetry — such as Robert Frost — on the bookshelf, or my mom’s sheet music — mostly folk songs and musical numbers — in the piano bench. My father was a gifted storyteller. I listened and laughed along with family and friends, and I absorbed his sense of rhythm. My mom faithfully took me to piano lessons and made me practice. Through the years, my younger brother Gabe had to put up with a lot of piano playing.
In the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, where Gabe and I spent our summers with our mother and stepdad, we tagged along to practices and gigs with their band: The Never Ready Band. I can still hear, in my mind, their harmonious blend on Seven Bridges Road. My mother owned a piano, and although I recall her practicing the flute, and singing and playing me to sleep with her guitar, I don’t remember her sitting at the piano. I played it, though. My stepdad, who was a songwriter, singer and guitarist, hosted a weekly radio show at KVNF, where my brother and I sang one of the first songs I ever wrote: Ice Cream Sundae.
“I had an ice cream Monday
I had an ice cream Tuesday
I had an ice cream Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
I had an ice cream sundae”
One day, sitting in my playhouse in Upstate New York, my best friend Kellie told me about the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus on behalf of sinners, and I became a child of light. Kellie had recently moved with her family from England. Her dad who had been a member of the UK Christian pop band The Joy Strings was now a pastor, and God brought him to our remote area in the Adirondacks where he planted a church and started a school. The youth performed at the church and school in shows he wrote, we went on tour in England, and we spent some time in a recording studio. As teenagers, we heard a clear message: that we had a purpose. Today, I still listen to Bill Davidson’s songs, such as Star Wars of Darkness & Light, and I’m thankful that he obeyed the call of God.
At Geneva College in Pennsylvania, where I earned my B.S. in English, I sang in the choir under the direction of Dr. Bob Copeland. His wife Louise led several of the smaller ensembles in which I sang or played the piano. In addition to gaining more touring and recording experience, my ability to read music improved during these four years, although I still relied heavily on my ear. Due to the college’s affiliation with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, which believes in singing only a cappella Psalms in worship, I spent a lot of time singing Scripture, and I’m thankful for that. It’s my favorite way to sing to God on an individual level now. I still laugh at the theological jump I made without understanding beforehand what I was doing: from my earlier years in a charismatic church and school to a Reformed college.
After getting married and having children, I played with praise bands and served in a variety of other musical roles at local churches. During these years, I also played percussion at Lancaster Bible College in their winds ensemble and in the orchestra for several of their musicals.
I enjoyed all these experiences and was fully engaged in them, but I sensed there was an underlying reason God set me in the places He did: to develop my songwriting ability. I had been writing songs all along, starting in my pre-teen years. As time went by, I became more and more convinced that songwriting was a call of God on my life. Defining that call, though, took many years longer than I expected.
Having a songwriting ministry — comprised of this website, my YouTube channel and more — provides an opportunity for me to artistically communicate about themes such as life and death. As I collaborate with others, from vocalists to visual artists, I want our creative works to honor the Creator.
I thank God the Father for His continued provision, knowing that I’m just as dependent upon Him now as I was in my earlier days. To Him be the glory!
Jenny Weiss
Copyright 2021