Arden, North Carolina — Even as the title track of their last collection, “There’s A Song For That,” rises in the charts, the Down East Boys are keeping fans happy with a new single — this time, a beloved classic from Dottie Rambo, who wrote its simple, yet profound lyric more than 50 years ago.
Written to the melody of “Londonderry Air,” which also supplied the musical framework for the popular Irish ballad, “Danny Boy,” “He Looked Beyond My Fault” offers, in just eight lines, a profound account of Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s mercy:
Amazing grace shall always be my song of praise
For it was grace that brought my liberty
I’ll never know just why He came to love me so
He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs
I shall forever lift my eyes to Calvary
To view the cross where Jesus died for me
And how marvelous the grace that caught my falling soul
He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs
Though the field is crowded, the Down East Boys’ arrangement of this majestic hymn stands out as an original, thanks to a rare — and powerful — bass lead vocal from Alex Utech on the song’s lone verse before the rest of the group joins him in a series of alternating solo and fully harmonized lines and passages. Indeed, it’s unusual and compelling enough a performance that it may take the listener some time to notice the absence of typical Southern Gospel instrumentation — a bold musical move that underlines the majestic orchestral accompaniment, arranged and conducted by producer Jason Webb.
“An emotional lyric penned by one of the greatest lyricists our genre will ever know,” says the group’s usual lead singer, Ricky Carden. “Words that bring a spirit of praise when you realize He looked past all of our faults and saw our need for a Savior.”
Listen to “He Looked Beyond My Fault” HERE.
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