When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God

Standing on the highest hill with a sense of wonder ...

Pictures painted once again of the glory of natural creation in this deeply moving psalm. Van and companion, once more down in Avalon, as "suffering long time angels," the wonder revealed, by the beauty which surrounds them, that everything was made in God.  A revelation which returns a sense of lost innocence.  There is also a feeling of frustration contained within the title that this is still something not yet achieved, that despite the knowledge being accepted it is all too easy to be distracted.

This God is a presence in which all things are created "down through the history of time." One that "is and was in the beginning and evermore shall be." The pilgrimage route of "turning down the old and bringing up the new" is a highly personal one as "you've got to do it your own way."  The lyrics and melody wonderfully complimented by a passionate solo from Georgie Fame. By the end of the song, it is accepted that everything, the suffering, the forgetting and the wonder, is something for which to be thankful.

The sun was setting over Avalon

The last time we stood in the west

Suffering long time angels enraptured by Blake

Burn out the dross innocence captured again

Standing on the beach at sunset 

 And all the boats keep moving slow

In the glory of the flashing light

In the evening's glow

When will I ever learn to live in God?

When will I ever learn?

He gives me everything I need and more

When will I ever learn?

You brought it to my attention 

That everything was made in God

Down through centuries of great writings and paintings

Everything was in God

Seen through architecture of great cathedrals

Is and was in the beginning and evermore shall be

When will I ever learn to live in God?

When will I ever learn?

He gives me everything I need and more

When will I ever learn?

Whatever it takes to fulfil his mission

That is the way we must go

But you've got to do it in your own way

Tear down the old bring up the new

And up on the hillside it's quiet

Where the shepherd is tending his sheep

And over the mountains and valleys

The countryside is so green

Standing on the highest hill with a sense of wonder

You can see everything is made in God

Head back down the roadside and give thanks for it all

When will I ever learn to live in God?

When will I ever learn?

He gives me everything I need and more

When will I ever learn?

When will I ever learn?