Addison Road’s new album, Stories, opens with a unique song for Addison Road. Never before had they recorded a song written for them by another artist. But when tobyMac came calling with “Fight Another Day,” the band couldn’t pass it up. Ironically, when the track was recorded they had no idea how accurately the lyrics would soon describe their own lives. The band understood the song more acutely than they could have ever hoped for when their rented RV and most of their possessions burned to the ground.
That same night, they stood on stage and found a resolve only God can bring while performing this verse: “Will you step aside when it all falls down and watch it burn away? Will you walk away when the fire gets hot? Or fight another day?”
The song’s optimistic outro concludes a strong message of encouragement and finds the band on the other side of a season of trials with their heads to the sun.
I had the great privilege to speak with Jenny Simmons again about current single “Fight Another Day.”
NRT: Please tell me about the background in being sent the song "Fight Another Day" by TobyMac.
Jenny: Although Toby had already recorded the song for his album, he decided that the song wasn’t for him and instead decided that the song was for our band. That’s been the story of Addison Road this past year. It’s been the longest, hardest year in our history. The fire that burned down our bus was icing on the cake. We felt it was so kind of God to provide a song for us a year before the incident that just gave us the resolve to get through everything. Toby told his label that this song sounded like us and wanted us to record the song. We’re all songwriters and artists who don’t want to record other people’s songs. We’ve never had anyone write a song for us before. We eventually relented and agreed to record the song. Seven months after we recorded the song, we had a fire that destroyed our vehicle and most of our possessions. We couldn’t believe that we had been given a song to record that reflected a real life situation that we hadn’t even endured yet. So, when I just wanted to cry and give up and call my Dad to come pick me up, I had to live the message of the song. My Dad told me the same thing, “Jenny, you’re 30 and married, you can make it through this.”
NRT: Do you have a life verse or any Bible verses that goes with the song?
Jenny: My life verse is Isaiah 43:1-4: But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.
NRT: What's the take-away message for listeners regarding this song?
Jenny: That moment when you are on the ground on your knees and you want to quit, that’s the moment when Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit breathes life into you and says, “You are my child, and I will pick you up and take care of you.” Even though we wanted to just crawl in a hole and wallow and eat ice cream, we needed to live out the words of this song and “fight another day.”
God tells us in the midst of our brokenness, He will lift us up and redeem us. That’s the hardest part of living out Scripture. We have this album about being part of God’s story, and a huge part of God’s story is that the world will break us down. However, He will redeem us from the nastiness of this world.
Only God’s providence could have allowed tobyMac to write a song called “Fight Another Day” with lyrics “will you walk away when the fire gets hot” for a band who, seven months after recording the song, would end up losing everything in a fire and had to live out the words of the song. Jenny and the band have been living in a season of struggle. She and her husband Ryan delivered a baby girl, Anniston, last year. They lost all of her baby gifts and clothing and over $200,000 of gear and most of the band's possessions. In fact, they had to get on stage and perform right after the fire destroyed everything, and Jenny shared that the band had never had a more emotional night. They have learned to put all of their hope and trust in Christ as well as to let themselves be part of God’s story and let Him reflect His glory. I get goose bumps when I listen to the new album Stories, and God’s promise is being lived out by this great band. The messages behind the songs are what truly lift this album to that upper echelon of albums released this year, and for me, this is one of the top five albums of the year. This is an excellent album, and I can’t get enough of the musical hooks, Jenny’s vulnerable and sincere vocals and the extremely poignant lyrics.
Story courtesty of New Release Tuesday. Author Kevin Davis is a long time fan of Christian music, an avid music collector and credits the message of Christian music for leading him to Christ. Kevin also writes reviews for ChristianMusicReview.org. He currently lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and three daughters.
