Last year, Tenth Avenue North won the Dove Award for best new artist and this year the trio won the Dove for song of the year for “By Your Side.” Wow what a ride, but Mike Donehey is more modest.
“You know people ask us all the time what’s it like to be successful and play in front of all these people. And I say, ‘You don’t understand why we write music. We write music because I see these kids who just don’t get it. I write songs to make disciples out of them.’ I have this ache in my heart. You can tell when you talk to people about Jesus … you can see if they get it. And I see these kids and it only increases the ache.”
Jason Ingram who co-wrote the song with Donehey and Philip Larue, said: “I’ve never been around musicians who are as passionate about God. They are not pursuing music, they are pursuing God.”
Larue also said about the songwriting process: “We write what we want to hear.” Added Donehey: “A song is like a relationship. The hook is the first date and the lyrics is what keeps the relationship going.”
And get this the song was written 2.5 years ago.