I love this Passover song for the way that it brings traditional Seder rituals, along with our modern viewpoint to life! Its lyrics are a contemporary, thought provoking translation of our annual Passover Seder experience.
I asked Mark, “Is there anything that you wanted to share about the piece?” Mark wrote to me, “The idea for it came when I was reading through a young adult book about Passover. The explanation of why we use "what He did for 'me'" in the liturgy….. Even though it was our ancestors, it prompted me to think about how we all have personal mountains to climb, and how we can use the telling for our own inspiration.”
“I am dear friends with Rabbi Hara Person, who is now the Chief Executive of Central Conference of American Rabbis. I cantor for a small congregation that she still officiates at during the High Holy Days. She suggested that I apply for the Transcontinental Publishing’s Ruach project and the song was accepted and published. This is where most people have heard Egypts to Leave for the first time.”
Mark Aaron James is a singer songwriter in the “introspective pop” style. He was born in California, attended Vanderbilt University- Nashville, and stayed in Nashville for years, co-writing with prestigious songwriters in Nashville’s songwriting scene. In 2008, Mark was awarded a rare Artist Visa for the UK and moved to London for a year. For the last decade or so, Mark has been living in NYC where he performs and writes his original music, including his new show, HERO: An Original Story.
Egypts to Leave
It’s not about rebuilding time
Or just Let My People Go
That’s history, that’s theater, that’s not always life!
It's what you believe
And we all have our own Egypts to Leave
Don’t turn away the stranger
For now you know the stranger’s heart
From history, from theater, sometimes that’s life!
It comes down to what you believe
And we all have our own Egypts to Leave
We look back in order to look forward
We see that we are among redemptions and acts of freedom
And births of possibilities
We might not have seen
We all have our own Egypts to Leave
Why’s it this way? Why on this night? Why not that way?
Why not upright?
Cause of what He did for me
And to show Him we believe
We all have our own Egypts to Leave
We look back in order to look forward
We see that we are among redemptions and acts of freedom
And births of possibilities
We might not have seen
We all have our own Egypts to Leave
Why’s it this way? Why on this night? Why not that way?
Why not upright?
We look back in order to look forward
We see that we are among redemptions and acts of freedom
And births of possibilities
We might not have seen
We all have our own Egypts to Leave
Yeah Yeah Egypts to Leave….
