Separation is always difficult, whether it be by death or by distance (in some ways death is just a seemingly further distance...?). I've experienced loss in both of these forms, and was amazed to note how similar, even nearly identical, the feelings run in both situations. The original inspiration for this song was from my experiences with the first - separation by distance - from my first set of children, and one child in particular who I was very close to at the time. The second version of this song, the one you'll be listening to, is a case of the second separation: death; inspired by my personal loss of 2 children, and also the case of a friend of ours who lost a daughter to a kidnapping & resultant death in the process. All I can say, in all cases, is 'thank God for Heaven...' where we'll be reunited with loved ones.

Here is the promised final video of this song, written in 1974 while living in Bahia, Brazil, found on the Honeymoon album “New Song in My Mouth” on my website. I made some lyric changes to help it make more sense 50 years later (now that I've learned so much more than in those beginning years), but message and spirit the same. Find the audio version here: 🎧https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/all-i-ever-wanted And a special thanks to Ken Paone for the sax part done when requested on such short notice, and for making that happen--a real boost to the song!

Here’s an oldie goldie many know and understandably love…I mean, what’s not to love about this story of the Father’s great unconditional love for His children, both the faithful and the wayward? I certainly identify with it deeply, as it is my own story: I was a believer in my youth and drifted away for different reasons, but happily returned to Him when I finally hit bottom in a distant land…What a joyous moment that reception was, when He came running to me to embrace me and welcome me back into the Kingdom He has been preparing for me and all of us His children since the beginning of time!