Music for Your Heart: Reflections from Your Favorite Songs

The Stories Behind the Songs That Stick in Your Mind and Warm Your Heart Did you know that the classic song "Over the Rainbow" was almost cut from the final edit of The Wizard of Oz? The "Battle Hymn of the Republic," a song Abraham Lincoln called the most uplifting composition he had ever heard, was adapted from a depressing ballad frequently chanted by Civil War soldiers trudging home from battle. “Tie a Yellow Ribbon," which has become a patriotic anthem for military families, originally told the story not of a soldier coming home from war but of a newly released prisoner and his fear regarding whether he would be welcomed upon his return. Master storyteller and best-selling author Ace Collins takes you behind the lyrics and the music to show you the people, places, and events that brought these songs into being. As you journey through faith, pop culture, and history, you’ll cross paths with Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, and others. Their stories inspire stirring reflections on more than eighty of your adored classics, holiday carols, love songs, and old-time hymns—songs that have come to mean so much to you and now will mean so much more. Praise for Ace Collins “Behind every song is a story. Ace Collins's meticulous research and wonderful writing have shown me how my favorite inspirations and gospel songs came to be.” —Joe Bonsall, The Oak Ridge Boys “You'll thrill at the stories behind the songs: who wrote them, when, and why. It's all here and you're gonna love it.” —Don Reid, The Statler Brothers “Ace Collins is my favorite writer and the best storyteller I have ever known.” —Louise Mandrell