"Celebrate Chattanooga...because of you, it's really been nice!"
TN Arts Commission Teaching Artist and BMI singer/songwriter/recording artist Tekelia Kelly with Sounds of Memphis Studios Bill Lucchesi in Memphis, TN in the 1980's
Chattanooga Choo Choo Me Home Music Lyric Video by Tekelia Kelly Copyright 2012, BMI, All rights reserved. No copy/use without permission.
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It's Really Been Nice (Chattanooga Choo Choo Me Home) by Tekelia Kelly
(Instrumental Demo)
Lyrics
Verse 1
I never thought it would go like this but it’s really been nice
I had a plan it would go like that, but it still turned out nice
Life has a way of changing things that we do
But that’s okay as long as I still have You
So, here’s a song, I sing it all the day long
Because of You..it’s really been nice!
Verse 2
Now I can remember those days In Memphis--it really was nice
Then everything was goin' my way in Memphis
My name was in lights
It was so cool just being away on my own
I was doing things I never had done
Then one day I said it’s time to be gone
Chattanooga Choo Choo won’t you choo choo me home
Vamp 1
My Chattanooga…oh, how I really, really miss you
You have so many great things to do
I just cant' wait to get back home to you
Oh, Chattanooga Choo Choo won’t you choochoo me home
Vamp 2
Chattanooga, Tennessee!
A great place to visit, a great place to be
With so many wonderful attractions and fun things to do
And plenty of opportunity just waiting for you!
Chattanooga--live, work, learn and play here
(Music instrument Piano and/or saxophone solos)
Chattanooga Choo Choo won’t you choochoo me home
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Chattanooga Choo Choo won’t you choochoo me home
Won’t you choo choo me home?
Chattanooga Choo Choo won’t you choochoo me home
You know there’s no place home
Chattanooga Choo Choo won’t you…. Ch Ch…
Here’ we go....choochoo me home!
(Music Modulates up and Piano and/or saxophone solos)
Choochoo me home, Choochoo me home
Oh, oh, oh yes it’s true life changes things that we do
But that’s okay as long as I got YOU
Cause You make my day, so please hear me say
Because of You…it’s really been nice
Faithful and True it’s all about You
Because of You…it’s really been nice
And after all, I’m still having a ball (hold note on “ball” and big band topple down sound)
Because of You…it’s…. really been….
It’s been so really
It’s been really, really, really,
Ooo, It’s really been nice
It’s been so really, yeah
It’s been really, really, really,
Ooo, ooo, It’s been nice
(Repeat adding background vocals added in to HARMONY SATB parts) (Solist Ad lib)
It’s been so REALLY REALLY
It’s really been nice
YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!
Repeat
Because of You, it’s been nice, it’s been nice, it’s been nice Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (Solist Ad lib)
My Chattanooga, oh how I really, really love you!
My Chattanooga, it's really been nice because of you!
My Chattanooga, oh how I really, really love you!
My Chattanooga, it's really been nice because of you!
I love you!
I love you!
One thing I know.
There's no one like family, and
There's no place like home.
CHATTANOOGA'S NEW COMMEMORATIVE SONG "IT’S REALLY BEEN NICE (CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO ME HOME)" is written, performed and produced by Tekelia C. Kelly Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. For licensing and use information, please contact tekeliakelly@comcast.net. For more vocal demos please visit www.tekeliakelly.com
Is Somebody Singing?
By Julie Ackerman Link,
Our Daily Bread, August 17, 2014
http://odb.org/2014/08/17/is-somebody-singing/
Read: John 17:20-26
[Bear] with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. —Ephesians 4:2-3
Bible in a Year:
Psalms 97-99; Romans 16
From 200 miles above Earth, Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut and commander of the International Space Station, joined in song with a group of students in a studio on Earth. Together they performed “Is Somebody Singing,” co-written by Hadfield and Ed Robertson.
One phrase of the song caught my attention: “You can’t make out borders from up here.” Although we humans draw many lines to separate ourselves from one another—national, ethnic, ideological—the song reminded me that God doesn’t see such distinctions. The important thing to God is that we love Him and each other (Mark 12:30-31).
Like a loving father, God wants His family united. We cannot accomplish what God has for us to do if we refuse to be reconciled with one another. In His most impassioned prayer, on the night before He was crucified, Jesus pleaded with God to unite His followers: “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:21).
Singing illustrates unity as we agree on the lyrics, chords, and rhythms. Singing can also promote unity as it binds us together in peace, proclaims God’s power through praise, and demonstrates God’s glory to the world.
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace. —Wesley
Singing God’s praises will never go out of style.
Chattanooga's New Commerative Song
After two years in the making, "It's Really Been Nice" aka "Chattanooga Choo Choo Me Home" and Celebrate Chattanooga have come into frution. Praise God! The project is about celebrating life and history, and is dedicated to capturing and sharing the stories and glories of Chattanooga and its people. Site host Tekelia Kelly believes that when people share their story, as a celebration and sincere appreciation of life , they not only share their history, but also tell of 'His Story'--of God's love for them. (John 3:16) (Rev. 12:11) The song "It's Really Been Nice Chattanooga Choo Choo Me Home" is a about such a story.
The classic-sounding 1940's style tune is about homecoming--Tekelia's journey back home to Chattanooga, after living in Memphis, Tennessee for seventeen years. Tekelia's love for God permeates her enjoyment of classic jazz and passion for American history, circa 1930s, 40s and 50s, resulting in the song. The song was written in praise and worship to God, Tekelia's Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The "you" in the lyrics is ultimately God. In reference to how God showed her that even when life plans get changed, Tekelia wrote: "Life has a way of changing things that we do. But that's okay as long as I still have You! So, here's a song, I sing it all the day because of You (God), it's really been nice". In other words, all things work together for good to them who love the Lord and who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28).
Having relocated back home, the song goes on to tell about how Tekelia appreciates the pleasures of living in a city so rich in natural beauty, and with "so many wonderful attractions and fun things to do, and plenty of opportunity just waiting for you...Chattanooga...live, work, learn and play here!".
"Celebrating life through song and story", Tekelia debuts "It's Really Been Nice (aka Chattanooga ChooChoo Me Home) on her new website www.Celebrate Chattanooga.com. In light of City of Chattanooga's 175th Anniversary, Tekelia designed the site to spotlight the city, its anniversary, and provide a platform for Chattanoogas to connect, communicate and engage, particularly during the week-long anniversary celebration. The site also was designed to spotlight the wonderful people, places, pleasures and projects and products of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
People are invited to share their stories, news, events...anything nice, and include links to audio, video, images and other media. Stories may be spotlighted on Celebrate Chattanooga's website, Facebook page and/or online newsletters and print publications.
Let Me Be Singing
By David C. McCasland
Our Daily Bread
Read: Psalm 150
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. —Psalm 150:6
Bible in a Year:
Psalms 148-150; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58
When I asked a friend how his mother was getting along, he told me that dementia had robbed her of the ability to remember a great many names and events from the past. “Even so,” he added, “she can still sit down at the piano and, without sheet music, beautifully play hymns by memory.”
Plato and Aristotle wrote about the helping, healing power of music 2,500 years ago. But centuries before that, the biblical record was saturated with song.
From the first mention of Jubal, “the father of all those who play the harp and flute” (Gen. 4:21), to those who “sing the song of Moses, the servant of God and the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:3), the pages of the Bible resonate with music. The Psalms, often called “the Bible’s songbook,” point us to the love and faithfulness of God. They conclude with an unending call to worship, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (Ps. 150:6).
Today we need God’s ministry of music in our hearts as much as any time in history. Whatever each day brings, may the evening find us singing, “To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; for God is my defense, my God of mercy” (59:17).
Lord, I don’t know what will come this day or
farther into the future, but I’m grateful that You’re
by my side. Grant me a spirit of praise and
thanksgiving in whatever lies ahead.
Praise to God comes naturally when you count your blessings.
Insight
The last five songs of Israel’s hymnbook are also known as Hallelujah Psalms, because each of them (Psalms 146–150) begins and ends with the refrain “Praise the Lord” (Hebrew Hallelujah). Psalm 150 answers three important questions: Who should praise God? (vv.1,6). Why should God be praised? (v.2). How is He to be praised? (vv.3-5). The psalmist calls on “everything that has breath” to worship God (v.6)—including creatures on earth and angels in the heavens (v.1). We should praise God for what He has done (“His mighty acts” v.2) and for who He is (“His excellent greatness” v.2). We are to praise Him with our voices, with the accompaniment of all kinds of instruments, and with dancing (vv.3-6). “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (v.6) is indeed a fitting final doxology to God.
A Song To Remember
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Our Daily Bread
Read: Deuteronomy 31:16-22
Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect. —Deuteronomy 32:3-4
Bible in a Year:
Genesis 49-50; Matthew 13:31-58
I was delighted when I received a free gift in the mail—a CD of Scripture set to music. After listening to it several times, some of the melodies took root in my mind. Before long, I could sing the words to a couple of verses in the book of Psalms without the help of the recording.
Music can help us recall words and ideas we might otherwise forget. God knew that the Israelites would forget Him when they entered the Promised Land (Deut. 31:20). They would forsake Him, turn to idols, and trouble would follow (vv.16-18). Because of this, He asked Moses to compose a song and teach it to the Israelites so they could remember their past closeness with Him and the sin that hurt their relationship (31:19-22). Perhaps most important, God wanted His nation to recall His character: “[God] is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He” (32:4).
Consider what God might want you to remember about Him today. Is it His power, His holiness, His love, or His faithfulness? Can you think of a song that celebrates God’s character? Sing it in your heart to the Lord (Eph. 5:19).
Give me a spirit of praise, dear Lord,
That I may adore Your name,
Sing praises from the depths of a grateful heart
To the One who is always the same. —Dawe
Remembering God’s goodness puts a song in your heart.