Some songs show up because you sit down and decide you’re going to write a song. This one didn’t quite work that way. It started with a sermon.

On Easter Sunday, Pastor Dave was talking about Jesus entering Jerusalem and the people praising Him. Somewhere in that message was Luke 19:40:

“If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” That line stuck with me.

I don’t think I immediately knew what I was going to do with it. But the idea wouldn’t leave me alone. There was something about those words that felt bigger than just that moment in Scripture. You can try to silence people. You can try to quiet the message. But that doesn’t mean the truth disappears.

If the people won’t speak, the stones will. So I started working on a song around that idea. And, as sometimes happens with my songs, it took a while. A long while.

The song eventually became something I wanted to give to Evan. He’s a classically trained pianist who was preparing to move to England, and I thought this might make a good going-away gift. Maybe someday he could even perform it.

I called it “The Stones Will Cry.” Later, I started thinking of it as “Evan’s Song.”

Now, here’s where this one took a turn I wasn’t expecting. I don’t read music very well, and I certainly don’t play an instrument. I’ve had AI help me with melodies and arrangements before, but when I started trying to get this one into something that could actually be played as sheet music, I wasn’t completely convinced it was going to work. Eventually, I had the piece professionally transcribed. And to my surprise, it came out really well.

I showed it to Jamel, our worship leader. He doesn’t read sheet music either, but he plays by ear. He listened to it, looked at the lyrics, and then told me something I wasn’t expecting: He had already come up with a melody for the same lyrics. He sang his version with his guitar, and suddenly I was hearing the song from a completely different direction. That’s one of the things I love about songs. Once you put the words out there, sometimes somebody else hears something in them that you never heard yourself.

So now this little song that started with a line from an Easter sermon has taken on a life of its own.

That’s kind of cool.

I didn’t write The Stones Will Cry because I thought I had some great musical revelation to share. I wrote it because those words from Luke stuck in my head, and I couldn’t quite let them go.

Maybe that’s the way some songs are supposed to happen. You hear something. It gets under your skin. You start writing. And then, somewhere along the way, the song belongs to more than just the person who started it.

For me, the heart of it is still pretty simple:

You can try to quiet the voice.
You can try to stop the song.
But the message doesn’t disappear.
If the people keep quiet.

Original lyrics by D. Larson / [OG]FaithCore
All rights reserved
August 13, 2025

[Intro]
Whispers in the ether, a promise drawing near,
A humble guide arriving on a path we hold dear.
Branches in our hands, the road His love has spread,
"Save us" are the cries as doubters scorned His trust.

[Verse 1]
The city held its breath as kindness strolled so low,
No throne of iron here, just love in every flow.
The cobblestones were gentle 'neath the feet of hope,
While doubters turned away, they couldn’t learn to cope.
But children caught the tune the angels taught the dawn,
And if we held our peace, the rocks would sing the song.

[Chorus]
Faith is your anthem; our King is passing by,
Lay down your burdens; He comes in peace, not pride.
Hosanna! Can you feel the promise come alive?
When every heart is still, the stones will testify.
Oh-oh-oh, let the stones reply!

[Verse 2]
The critics raised their voices, “This joy is out of place!”
Yet heaven's choir thundered through the doubters' empty space.
A prophet? So much more—the Word that breaks the chains,
The heart that walked the road where every branch feels pain.
Yet still His answer burns like lightning in the dust:
"If silence falls like chains, creation shakes them loose."

[Chorus]
Hosanna! Lift your voice, our King is passing by,
Lay down your burdens; He comes in peace, not pride.
Hosanna! Can you see the prophecy alive?
When every heart is still, the stones will testify.
Oh-oh-oh, the stones will cry!

[Verse 3]
Now history unfolds—He knocks upon our door,
Still riding in the meek, those whom the world ignores.
Will we be the open road or barriers that stall?
The rocks are primed to praise—will we out-sing them all?
The question lingers bright: Who is this? We reply—
"The love that draws us near, the name no stone denies"

[Chorus]
Hosanna! Lift your song; the King is passing by,
Lay down your burdens, let humility comply.
Hosanna! Can’t you see the prophecy alive?
When every heart is still, the stones will testify.
Oh-oh-oh, the stones will cry!

[Outro]
So shout it while you can, let earth and heaven soar,
For mercy rides once more—our Shepherd, Lord, and More.
And if our voices break, let the dust raise its roar,
Creation’s choir won’t cease till every heart adores.

[Chorus]
Hosanna! Lift your song; the King is passing by,
Lay down your burdens, let humility comply.
Hosanna! Can’t you see the prophecy alive?
When every heart is still, the stones will testify.
Oh-oh-oh, the stones will cry!

[Outro]
So shout it while you can, let earth and heaven soar,
For mercy rides once more—our Shepherd, Lord, and More.
And if our voices break, let the dust raise its roar,
Creation’s choir won’t cease till every heart adores.