DescriptionI am a literary lyricist.| SOCAN - affiliated member. -------------------- When Richard Marx wrote Now and Forever, he used only 4.86 words per line. How do I know this? Because I am foremost a student of lyricism. Always being schooled, re-educated, and humbled by how much of this beautiful craft I still have to learn. -------------------- Many years ago, I took night school classes in creative writing. My employer asked me to work late one evening, and I said no, I had class. He asked what I was studying. When I answered 'creative writing,' he laughed, shook his head, and said, 'What a waste of time.' -------------------- Looking back, it was the best decision I ever made. Nothing has given me as much joy as writing. -------------------- I never want to reach the point where I think I have arrived. That would be limiting, crippling. That is why I keep the horizon of improvement in this craft of writing just ahead of me. -------------------- I am searching for this person -- someone who has verified their identity on the verse-chorus website. -------------------- A musician-composer. Who has the passion and desire to produce something that matters not only for themselves but to enrich the world in song, in hope, in laughter, and in thought. -------------------- And if you tell me you are always learning, always the student, always excited that something new is on the horizon. -------------------- Then I would like to know you. Lyricist John Osinga St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada

Dreams & AmbitionsI write across a wide range of human experience - folk, soul, Gospel, Americana, dark comedy, and narrative lyric. My strongest work comes from empathy writing: stepping inside lives that aren't mine- addiction, grief, abuse, loss and giving them a voice. In my personal life, I view the world in duality. In double meanings, puns, and metaphors, it can be irritating, as my mind is in a constant flux, constantly rendering this in my mind's eye. In lyrics, I tend to build in multiple layers. The story you think you're reading is rarely the only one provided to the reader and listener. I value compression over elaboration, the single line that reframes everything, and storytelling that outlasts the moment it was written in. My wish -- that in 200 years someone researching John Osinga finds lyricist alongside husband, father, Roomba guy, good person. Lyricist John Osinga St. Thomas, Ontario. Canada

EquipmentMy heart -- mind --- time --- coffee --- a computer -- and a great wife who understands. Lyricist John Osinga St. Thomas, Ontario. Canada

Use of AI"I use AI as a sounding board and editorial partner; it does not write my lyrics. All creative decisions and final wording are my own."

Lyrics

Genres: Indie, Folk, Christian, Singer-Songwriter

[Chorus]
I live between the beats
In arteries of silence
The locked chambers
Hold in trust my love

[Verse 1]
I have prayed for
My veil of ignorance to be lifted
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani
Leaving me a living crucible
To accept your sacred gift
To save me

[Verse 2]
Your chalice is my holy grail
An eternity on the waiting list
To be one of eight owners
Gifted life by your fate

[Verse 3]
They say surgery went well
Yet I feel unwell
Like those who loved you
I have come to know Charon's hell

[Verse 4]
The soul price
You paid the ferryman
Now I hold the repair bill
One I can never repay

[Bridge]
I have become
A living reliquary
Of you

[Chorus]
I live between the beats
In arteries of silence
The chambers exposed
I hold in trust your love

[Outro]
There in the silence
I listen to this shared heart
Living to hear you say
I am glad

You have become
A living reliquary
Of me

© 2026 John Osinga. All rights reserved. St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.

For the donors. For the recipients. For those who loved them. 

About Reliquary

A heart transplant (or any transplant), told from the perspective of the recipient. The recipient often can carry guilt knowing what it cost -- someone who passed away so they could live.

However, People signed their donor cards in case of their death. So the gift of life they share is done with love. That is why, at the end of this lyric, I gave voice to the donor. 


I am glad
You have become
A living reliquary
Of me

Reliquary: a container built to hold something sacred. A saint's bone. A fragment of the true cross. Here: a human body holding another person's beating heart.

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani: Christ's words from the cross. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The recipient's darkest moment alive, and not always sure they deserved to be.

Charon, the ferryman of Greek mythology, who carries the dead across the river Styx. The donor paid him for another to live. 

Eight owners: a single donor can gift life to up to eight recipients. 

Living crucible: a vessel built to contain something that transforms under heat. The recipient isn't just healed. They're changed for all time in multiple ways.

© 2026 John Osinga. All rights reserved. St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.

View all lyrics by John