I’ve long been a fan of The Waterboys. Mike Scott was the lead singer and chief songwriter for the Waterboys from the time the band came together in London in 1981 until it reconstituted with new personnel in Dublin in 1987, and finally fell apart in New York in 1991. Scott has a knack for amazing melodies and evocative lyrics of spiritual yearning - and for singing them in a raw personal voice. This song is from his post-Waterboys solo album of the same name – and I only discovered it recently. Do yourself a favour and listen to some old Waterboys and some new Mike Scott albums. (mikescottwaterboys.com)
This lyric can be interpreted in a numerous ways, but here’s what stands out to me: The song seems so relevant in these days of divisive politics and small-minded tribalism. It’s an invitation to EVERYONE to see the big picture from a divine perspective. “Bring em all into my heart”. It’s a poetic statement that God has invited all - even those ‘others’ that we despise and with whom we disagree. “bring the little fishes, bring the sharks ... bring the unforgiven, bring the unredeemed ... bring em out of exile, bring em out of sleep”.
I arranged the song as a tap-style acoustic piece because I loved how the percussive intensity accentuated the repetitive lyric. ‘bring em, bring em, bring em!’ But the recording took on a grand cinematic and anthemic feel when Zachari Smith added the wonderful thundering drum part, and Eric Disero brought out the sense of yearning in the lyric with his surprising and delicate piano part.

"Bring 'em All In"
by Andrew Smith
written by Mike Scott © 1995 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring the little fishes
Bring the sharks
Bring 'em from the brightness
Bring 'em from the dark
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring 'em from the caverns
Bring 'em from the heights
Bring 'em from the shadows
Stand 'em in the light
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring 'em out of purdah
Bring 'em out of store
Bring 'em out of hiding
Lay them at my door
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring the unforgiven
Bring the unredeemed
Bring the lost and nameless
Let 'em all be seen
Bring 'em out of exile
Bring 'em out of sleep
Bring 'em to the ?
Lay them at my feet
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart