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God's Children on Every Side
He started young with a rising aim,
Bright halls of learning fed his flame,
A sharp mind set on a life of pride,
Not yet aware of the call inside.
By land and sea he kept his pace,
Foot, ship, and boat to every place,
Through colours, tongues and lives so wide,
He met God’s children on every side.
He walked in heat where the crowds ran deep,
New scents, colours and many souls meek,
Sacred cows moving through the busy tide,
And countless lives with God inside.
By land and sea he kept his pace,
Foot, ship, and boat to every place,
Through colours, tongues and lives so wide,
He met God’s children on every side.
Gold in the dawn where the prayers ran deep,
Jade in the dusk where the old winds sweep,
Rice filled bowls giving life night and day,
He walked his call the East-ward way.
By land and sea he kept his pace,
Foot, ship, and boat to every place,
Through colours, tongues and lives so wide,
He met God’s children on every side.
Spain first shaped him with a rising aim,
India stirred him with its heat and frame,
East Asia called him through gold, jade, and rice,
And all God’s children moved his heart to Christ.
In every step, in every stride,
He found the love that won't divide,
Together we rise, together we sing,
With open hearts, we praise and cling.
STORY BOARD
SONG OVERVIEW
Written and produced by Tasmanian Songwriter Jason Bresnehan, God's Children on Every Side is a Christian soft-rock journey song built around movement, distance, discovery and human connection. Inspired by the life of Saint Francis Xavier, one of the greatest missionaries in Christian history, the song follows a young scholar whose ambitions gradually give way to a larger calling that carries him across oceans, cultures and languages.
The song deliberately avoids focusing on theological debates or institutional history. Instead, it centres on what Francis Xavier would have encountered as an observer walking through unfamiliar lands. Crowded markets, different languages, sacred traditions, distant coastlines, rice fields, ships, villages and cities become the backdrop for a simple but profound discovery: wherever he travelled, he encountered the same humanity. The repeated chorus reinforces the song's central theme that beneath differences of culture, language and appearance, people remain God's children.
FRANCIS XAVIER'S MOVEMENT
Francis Xavier began as an ambitious university student whose goals revolved around success and recognition before a friendship with Ignatius of Loyola redirected the course of his life. He eventually became one of the Church's greatest missionaries, travelling across Europe, India, Southeast Asia and Japan.
His willingness to keep moving into unfamiliar places makes him one of the strongest examples of physical and spiritual movement found anywhere in Saints & Sinners. The lyric captures this movement through recurring references to walking, ships, boats, oceans, coastlines and distant cultures. Unlike many saints whose stories centre on a single city or nation, Francis Xavier's story unfolds across a vast geographical stage. The listener is taken from European universities to Indian streets and onward toward East Asia. The song therefore functions almost like a travel journal written in musical form.
CULTURES, LANGUAGES AND HUMANITY
One of the strongest themes within the song is observation. Francis Xavier enters unfamiliar environments and notices what is around him. The lyric references colours, languages, sacred cows, rice, jade and bustling crowds. These details are not presented as curiosities or novelties. They are presented as signs of lives already being lived long before he arrived.
The chorus carries the song's central message. Everywhere Francis Xavier travels, he discovers people who matter to God. The song presents this as a moment of expansion rather than conversion. The world becomes larger, richer and more diverse while simultaneously revealing a shared human dignity. The phrase "God's children on every side" becomes a summary of that discovery.
THE ARTWORK
The artwork presents a visual representation of the journey described in the song. A solitary boat moves forward along a broad river at sunset, creating an immediate sense of travel and destination. Towering architectural forms emerge from the landscape ahead, combining elements associated with South Asia and East Asia into a single panoramic scene. The image suggests the vast distances Francis Xavier travelled and the many cultures he encountered during his missionary life.
The warm gold, orange and amber tones dominate the composition, creating a feeling of hope and forward movement. The river acts as both a physical pathway and a symbolic representation of Francis Xavier's life. It carries the eye from the foreground into the distant horizon, mirroring the song's progression from Spain through India and further east into Asia. The boat itself becomes a symbol of mission, persistence and the willingness to travel wherever the journey leads.
MUSICAL DIRECTION
God's Children on Every Side is a male vocal Christian soft-rock song running just under five minutes. The song moves at a steady, respectful pace consistent with Francis Xavier's journey from Spain through India and into East Asia. Acoustic guitars, light percussion and subtle electric instrumentation create a sense of travel and movement while keeping the lyric front and centre.
PERSONAL CONNECTION TO JASON BRESNEHAN SONGWRITER AND PRODUCER
Francis Xavier's story aligns strongly with Jason Bresnehan's recurring theme of movement, one of the three foundations within the Trinity Stars Doctrine that appears throughout his writing, recovery work and songwriting. Francis Xavier did not remain where he started. He continued moving physically, culturally and spiritually throughout his life.
That pattern reflects a broader belief that growth often requires people to leave familiar environments and engage with the wider world. Throughout business consulting, recovery consulting, writing and music, Jason regularly encounters people with different histories, experiences and perspectives. Yet beneath those differences remain many of the same hopes, fears, struggles and aspirations.
God's Children on Every Side expresses that observation through the life of Francis Xavier, presenting a world that is extraordinarily diverse while still united by a shared humanity. The song ultimately celebrates curiosity, respect and the belief that wherever we travel, we encounter people who carry the same God-given dignity as ourselves.