Christian hip-hop by the Latino band Group 1 Crew. Not many groups are likely to mention Michael Buble, Beethoven, Stevie Wonder and flamenco music in the same breath. But it’s diversity that inspires them, not to mention their unique faith backgrounds that makes new Fervent artist Group 1 Crew stand out in a crowd.

Manwell explains the name of this band, "Group 1 was a descriptive of how we all felt. Like we all met for one purpose, which was God. We had one passion, which was music and God. We had one vision; to make excellent music FOR God. So it was easy. The name kind of came easy because it was a group but at the same time we all had one thing in common in every aspect of our lives, whether it be spiritual or just in the physical. So the group always represented one mind, one faith, one God. And that's how we got Group 1."

Father, I'm going through some heavy things
  (- Where are you coming from, ma?)
It seems like this world ain't getting any better
  (- none of your business)
The more we try to get closer to You
  (- Why are you drinking again? I'm tired of living in this car)
The farther we run from Your throne
  (- don't walk away)
  (- let go of me!)

I've spent so many nights wonderin' when will it end
When will the day come when happiness begins
I'm running the race but it seems so hard to win
I'm sick of mourning, my stomach is throwing up in the morning

I'm calling for help and watching it melt away
My heart's been put on display and put away
In many ways, many times I told myself it was ok
And anger was the price that was paid
While these faded dreams just screamed to bring them home

The burden was too heavy, I kept running from the throne
I can't take it any longer
I can taste my spirit hunger
God please, help me get home

Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I'm not scared cause You're holding my breath
I only fear that I don't have enough time left
To tell the world that there's no time left, Lord, please

Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I'm not scared cause You're holding my breath
I only fear that I don't have enough time left
To tell the world that there's no time left

I've come to terms that I'm burning both sides of the rope
And I'm hoping that self-control would kick in before I'm choking off
The sin that be destroying every fibre I got
I need the Lord in every way, I'll never make it I'm not
Going back to the way I was before Christ in my life
I couldn't do it, I would lose it, there's no point to the fight
And I'm writing this song, for the people who don't belong
I pray away the pain you feel from all the things that went wrong
Inside a life that's filled with anger and disappointment
Cause daddy treated you weaker than all of the other kids
It's annoying and I feel for all of you who wanna give up
You feel stuck I feel the same way Lord help us stay up
You couldn't pay me to abandon the idea of true hope
That I could make it through this life into a place where there's no crying
I'm dying to find You with open arms when I go
Knowing You love me and You're waiting to give rest to my soul, oh

Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I'm not scared cause You're holding my breath
I only fear that I don't have enough time left
To tell the world that there's no time left, Lord please

Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I'm not scared cause You're holding my breath
I only fear that I don't have enough time left
To tell the world that there's no time left

Lord, I don't know what I'm struggling for
There's got to be more
Than this life I know
But still I'm here fighting to never give up
I find strength in Your love
And You will see me through

Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I'm not scared cause You're holding my breath
I only fear that I don't have enough time left
To tell the world that there's no time left, Lord please

Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I'm not scared cause You're holding my breath
I only fear that I don't have enough time left
To tell the world that there's no time left, Lord please

Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Lord, please

Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I'm not scared cause You're holding my breath
I only fear that I don't have enough time left
To tell the world that there's no time left

FATHER= God

GOING THROUGH= If you're going through a bad situation, you are experiencing it and suffering it at this moment.

HEAVY THINGS= Big problems.

MA= (coll.) Mama, mother.

AIN'T= (coll.) Isn't.

(it's) NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS= (rude) You don't care; I don't want to tell you.

THE MORE...THE FARTHER= Two comparatives with the article mean that when the first quality increases, the second one increases as well.
- The more we try to get closer to You, the farther we run from Your throne = When we try to approach you, we run away from you. If we try harder, we run farther away. (So this sentence expresses a paradox: when I try to move towards you, I get away from you). Basically this means that he is too weak, and though he tries to be good, he can't.

YOUR THRONE= Your presence, the place where you are.
A traditional image of God is a king sitting on his throne, so the throne of God is where God is.

WONDERING= Wanting to know.

I'M RUNNING THE RACE= I'm trying hard.

I'M SICK OF...= If you're sick of something, you're really tired of it and want it to stop. (a more emphatic form is "I'm sick and tired of...").

MOURNING= /mɔ:*nɪŋ/ Crying and/or feeling deeply sad about a bad situation, usually a loss (often used when a loved person has died, but not here).

THROWING UP= Vomiting.

MELT AWAY= Disappear.

PUT ON DISPLAY= Shown publically so that everybody can see it.

PUT AWAY= Discarded, rejected.

FADED= Something faded is something that lost intensity or has been degraded and is now in a poor condition. Faded dreams are dreams that are almost rejected because, after a long time, they still didn't come true, so I stopped believing in them.

BURDEN= Something heavy that you have to carry with you. Also, as a metaphor, big problems.

HELP ME GET HOME= When they talk about "home" in this song, they are not talking about their house, but about heaven or a spiritual state which is in harmony with God (good, peaceful, full of love), because Christians believe that our soul comes from God, so only in God we can find our true home and be happy.
 
LORD= A common way to address God.

THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH=
This sentence comes from the Psalm 23, written by King David 3000 years ago and probably the most famous psalm in the Bible. It begins "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." And later it says " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: For thou art with me" (read it here or read under the Meaning tab)
So if we know the psalm we can understand that this paragraph means "although there are many dangers in my life, I'm not afraid because You are with me".

SCARED= Frightened, afraid.

CAUSE= (coll.) Because.

HOLDING= If you hold something, you have it in your hand.

MY BREATH= My life (because if you stop breathing, you die)

I ONLY FEAR THAT...= I'm only afraid of...
THERE'S NO TIME LEFT= Jesus often taught that our life may end any minute, so we must always be ready for that moment. We have to live the present and never think "I'll do this tomorrow, I'll be better tomorrow, I'll help him some other day". So we must always try to live in peace and harmony. That's what the singer means when she says she wants to tell the world that "there's no time left" (= there's no more time): people must change and be better now, not in the future: "Always be ready! Because you don't know the day or the time" (Matthew 25:13)

ENOUGH TIME LEFT= If you have something left, you spent part of it but you still have something remaining.

I'VE COME TO TERMS= If you come to terms with something, you finally accept that it is true.

I'M BURNING BOTH SIDES OF THE ROPE= I'm spoiling all my opportunities to get out of this bad situation. I'm living too fast, too bad.
The original English expression is "I'm burning both sides of my candle" and it comes from a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which reads:
I burn my candle at both ends,
It will not last the night.
But ah, my foes*, and oh, my friends,
It gives a lovely light.
[*foes = enemies]
Basically, it means that if you burn a candle at both ends, the light it gives forth will be brighter, but it won't last as long. This expression is used to say that somebody is working too much or living wildly but destructively (which is the meaning in this song). So in this song, instead of a candle they talk of a rope. If you are in a desperate situation you feel like you are hanging from a rope in a precipice and if the rope breaks, you fall down and you die. So if you are burning both sides of the rope, it is certain that soon the rope will be destroyed and you will die, that is, you are living a dangerous life.

KICK IN= Be activated, start.

CHOKING OFF= If you choke off, you block your throat with food or something and you can't breathe, so maybe you can die from it.

SIN= An action which is morally bad and which damages yourself and maybe other people too. The sentence "the sin that be destroying..." is bad grammar, it should be "the sin that is destroying" (but using BE for the present forms happens a lot in black English and rap songs).

EVERY FIBRE I GOT= Every part of me, my whole person.

I'LL NEVER MAKE IT= I wil never succeed, I won't do it correctly.

THE WAY I WAS BEFORE CHRIST IN MY LIFE= My personality before I found Jesus.

THERE'S NO POINT= It's useless.

THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T BELONG= If you belong to a place or a group of people, you feel comfortable and accepted there. If you don't belong, you feel that you are so different that nobody accepts you, you feel alone.

WANNA= (coll.) Want to.

YOU COULDN'T PAY ME TO...= I won't do it (even if you give me a lot of money, I still won't do it).

MAKE IT THROUGH THIS LIFE= Live this life and all its difficult situations.

I'M DYING TO FIND YOU= I really really want to find You (You = God)

REST TO MY SOUL= Peace to my spirit.

STRUGGLING= If you're struggling for something, you are really trying hard and making big efforts to get it.

GIVE UP= Surrender.

YOU WILL SEE ME THROUGH= You will help me to get out of all my problems and dangers. You will take care of me in this difficult situation.

This song is a modern recreation of Psalm 23, written by King David 3000 years ago and goes like this:

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.
 
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

This is King Jame's Version (the most common version of the Bible used in English speaking countries) and the language is very old fashioned (for example the verb endings –ETH are today the –S for the third person singular). A more modern translation is this:

The Lord is my shepherd so all my needs will be satisfied. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me to quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid of dangers because you are with me ; your rod and staff comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

This poem is often used for comfort in difficult situations. If your life is hard and miserable you must remember that if you accept God as your guide, your life will be happy and you will find the strength to go through your problems.

It is sometimes used as an image of heaven, but the meaning of the poem is clearly present (all the verbs are in the present tense), so it's not talking about a future life of happiness if you accept God, it's talking about a present life of happiness. And this is also the message of the song.