1990 - I had two dates scrawled on this song. The handwritten basic idea was from 1988, and the semi-finalized version was churned out in 1990. I added the bridge (the “Again and again” part) when I recorded it in 2011. When I was working on this song, some people at Foothills were working on the first church album which was titled “IN YOUR PRESENCE” after Mark Crafford’s song. Larry McNamer had me come in and he recorded four or five selections on ADAT tape to be considered for the project. This song was one of them. Ultimately the only one of my songs that survived the cut was BLESSED BE THE NAME OF GOD, which they did a pretty nice job of recording.
Larry said he liked the song, but it’s easy to see why it never made it on that album; the sound is kind of melancholy and the lyrics are introspective- certainly not a worship song, which was the focus of that album. I was just trying to describe how much of a difference having the Holy Spirit inside me had impacted every facet of my life. By this time I had been a ‘practicing’ Christian for five years, and knowing the train wreck of my life before Christ, I sometimes wondered what would have become of me had I continued on without Him. The phrase “something inside me” was meant to intrigue the listener into wanting to know what this ‘something’ was all about. And the answer was of course, the Holy Spirit.
I can picture myself working on this song, sitting on my couch at the house in Lemon Grove. At this point in my life, I really had no venue for the song since it wasn’t a worship song. That was a nagging frustration back then which contributed to the waning of my songwriting. It would be like being a sculptor and everything you ever carved out just got thrown into a big pile in the closet, never to be seen, admired, criticized or acknowledged in any way. Eventually, most people would just quit.
I liked the sound of the opening riff, however, so I played SOMETHING INSIDE ME for my friends every now and then, and if you have the memory of an elephant and you were in my circle of friends back then you might even remember it! Now, I have it targeted for an album I’m calling SONGS FROM THE WOOD. Now on to the lyrics:
SOMETHING INSIDE ME
Words & music by Reggie Michaud © 1988 / 1990
As I walk through this world
As I look through these eyes
As I live in this house of mine
As I’m feeling the press of time
Something inside me keeps me going
Something inside me is keeping me sane
It’s more than the words that I speak now and then
More than the things that I do
More than the feelings of love and happiness
It’s deep in my heart and I know that it’s true
Something inside me keeps me going
Something inside me is keeping me sane
Spirit inside me keeps me growing
Spirit inside me is making me whole
Spirit inside me keeps me going
Spirit inside me is keeping me sane
Spirit inside me keeps me growing
Spirit inside me is healing my pain
Again and again and again and again
Forty times forty and again and again
Spirit inside me again and again
Cleaning my closet and purging the sin…
Something inside me keeps me going
Something inside me is keeping me sane
Spirit inside me keeps me growing
Spirit inside me is healing my pain