Expert: Michael Woodruff - 7/18/2011

Question
I am looking for a song from the 70s or early 80s.


The words to the chorus are something like:

What are you gonna do when you leave here
What are you gonna do when you go from here
You can sing and pray and shout all night
but what are you gonna do when you leave here.

Verse (partial)
There are multitudes of people dying
and seems we are satisfied
to be like the scribes and the pharises
we take off our coats before we leave
you can almost hear Jesus cry....

Answer
Great news! I know the song! Written by Steve Chapman in 1972 Then later performed in 1976 by him, his wife Annie and Ron Elder (AKA Dogwood)on the record "Love Note". Sadly, like all Dogwood records, it is out of print and I doubt it will ever be re-released on Itunes. While this is mere speculation, it is based on a few factors. The band broke up in the early 80's with Steve and Annie producing their own records and Elder performing and producing with other artists (mainly Amy Grant). From a net search there has not been re-releases of Dogwood on CD (the master recordings may have been lost or the Chapmans/Elder are hoarding them). Then in 2008 they had a reunion tour but it was short lived.

As for the Chapmans, I visited their website and found they are still singing/producing and  have written many books. The Dogwood years are pretty much forgotten aside from a casual mention on their site and other artists they worked with in the past. It also doesn't help that Steve Chapman is confused with Steven Curtis Chapman or another Christian Punk band Dogwood lead by Matt Aragon comes up when googling.

Okay I've given you some background now I will fill in your memory gap. Here's the entire song

CHORUS
Oh, what do you plan to do when you leave here?
What do you plan to do when you go from here?
You can shout all day, all night
You can sing and pray till the morning light
But I want to know, tonight
What do you plan to do when you leave here?
 
VERSE 1
Now this is where we come to worship Him
This is not where we come to serve
But some of us are guilty when we leave this building
We leave behind our holy nerve.
 
CHORUS
So tell me, what do you plan to do when you leave here?
What do you plan to do when you go from here?
You can shout all day, all night
You can sing and pray till the morning light
But I want to know, tonight
What do you plan to do?
 
VERSE 2
There are multitudes helplessly dying
And it seems we are satisfied
To be like the Scribes and the Pharisees
We take off our coat before we leave
I can almost hear Jesus cry.
 
CHORUS
What do you plan to do when you leave here?
What do you plan to do when you go from here?
You can shout all day, all night
You can sing and pray till the morning light
But I want to know, tonight
What do you plan to do?
What do you plan to do when you leave here?
 
 
REPEAT CHORUS

You can get the perfomance track from http://www.bensonsound.com/lyrics/0697.htm

or...you can get Steve Chapman-Genesis "The Best of the Early Years" from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002MJJ8K

I got this CD on faith last year. While I wished it had "Remember the Rebels" I was pleased to find such a treasure. This leads me to believe someone is hoarding this fine work..lol








References:
http://oldchristianmusic.wordpress.com/category/dogwood/
http://www.one-way.org/jesusmusic/index.html
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7480778
http://www.myspace.com/dogwoodreunion
http://www.steveandanniechapman.com/music.shtml
http://www.ccentertainment.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45&I...
http://www.musicstack.com/records-cds/dogwood
http://www.bensonsound.com/lyrics/0697.htm