Washed by the Water

"Washed by the Water"
Single by Needtobreathe
from the album The Heat
Released Late 2007
Genre Rock
Length 3:29
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Bear Rinehart, Bo Rinehart
Producer(s) Ed Roland, Rick Beato
Needtobreathe singles chronology
"More Time"
(2007)
"Washed by the Water"
(2007)
"Streets of Gold"
(2008)

"Washed by the Water" is a 2007 song by the Christian rock band Needtobreathe from their second studio album The Heat. It was released as a radio single at the end of 2007, becoming a #1 hit in the spring of 2008. It was the sixth most-played song on R&R's Christian CHR chart for 2008.[1]

Background

The song was written by the Rinehart brothers about their father who was a pastor. Lead singer Bear Rinehart said, "It's a song about my dad. He's a pastor...There was some stuff that got said at our church that actually turned out to not be true when it all came out. I just thought it was a cool thing that my dad kept his integrity throughout that whole situation."[2]

Composition

The song is a piano-based rock ballad.[3] It takes influence from a southern style of music and has been labeled as "gospel-tinged".[4]

Release

The song reached #1 on R&R's CHR chart at the end of May 2008. By June 6, "Washed by the Water" had stayed at the #1 position for three consecutive weeks.[5]

Reception

The song was generally well received by music critics. Jesus Freak Hideout editor John DiBiase said that it is "another one of the album's true gems, a piano-driven southern delight ... [It is] new territory that will no doubt spread a smile across the listener's face."[3] Christa Banister of Christianity Today was also positive towards "Washed by the Water", saying that it "[packs] more emotional punch while Bear Rinehart's gravelly vocal rises to the top".[4]

In February 2009, the song won the "Rock/Contemporary Song of the Year" award at the 2009 GMA Dove Awards.[6] The song was also featured as About.com's Christian Music Song of the Week on October 15, 2007; editor Kim Jones labeled it as a "bluesy" and "awesome tune".[7]

Compilation

This song was also by the appearances by the compilation album WOW Hits 2009.

Music video

In the week of February 11–16, 2008, a music video was filmed for "Washed by the Water".[8] The video premiered on April 5, 2008, airing on JCTV's monthly Top Ten music video countdown.[9]

References

  1. "2008 Year End Charts: Top Christian CHR songs". R&R. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  2. "Needtobreathe Interview". musicfaith.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  3. 3.0 3.1 John DiBiase (2007-07-16). "Needtobreathe, "The Heat" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Christa Banister. "Needtobreathe - The Heat". Christian Music Today. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  5. "Christian CHR National Airplay". R&R. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  6. "40th Annual Dove Awards Nominees - Songs of the Year". About.com. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  7. Kim Jones (2007-10-13). "Song of the Week - needtobreathe is Cleaning Up With "Washed By The Water"". About.com. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  8. "NEEDTOBREATHE Shoot Music Video For "Washed By The Water"". Jesus Freak Hideout. 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  9. "NEEDTOBREATHE Celebrates ‘Washed By The Water’ Video Debut". CCM Magazine. 2008-04-04. Retrieved 2008-06-08.

External links