Nashville-based duo Arbor North not only capture hearts with their divine vocals, but also with their true and pure love story.
Michael Boris & AC Jones have a shared Christian faith that they are keen to share with a UK & US audience, and intend to do so through how they act and what they do and, of course, the songs they write and perform together.
New release, You, Me, and Jesus, was initially written by the now husband and wife duo, with the primary purpose of being the soundtrack for the first dance at their wedding. The song is a simplistic, meaningful and solemn vow to stand by each other and to always rest in their faith. The sensitively managed production complements the purity of the song and allows the vocals and the message to lead the way in connecting with the audience. The clarity of the strings which flow through the track are a true compliment to the vocals, which flow easily across the emotive lyrics.
AC and Michael acknowledge that their Christian faith isn’t necessarily shared with every member of their audience, but You, Me, and Jesus spans religious divides. They hope that other people will connect with the track as a love song in its own right, making it an intrinsic part of the musical backdrop of their special day.
The title, “You, Me, and Jesus”, is a phrase that we started to say to each other during our time as a long-distance couple before we were married. We’d end all of our letters and cards with it when we’d write to each other, and on days when the distance made us miss each other even more than usual, we’d use the saying as a comfort. When we decided to write a wedding song, it was clear that we needed to use this little motto of ours as a title. We finally landed on exactly what we wanted the song to say, and opted for a simply-stated set of vows to each other that, at the very end, goes beyond “’til death do us part”.
The powerful lyrics “Oh, we’ll have a few fights, who’s wrong and who’s right, but I want you to know, at the end of the day, I’m always here to stay. No, you’ll never be alone” are eminently relatable for any couple and the single stands out as a ballad with a strong meaning.
When working on the production for this song, both AC and Michael envisaged acoustic instrumentation with a tender, somber, and almost Celtic style fiddle (performed by Kyle Pudenz). They felt that the somewhat stripped down production would allow the words to be the main focus and give the song a more intimate feel – an aim they have met to perfection. Recorded at The Blue Grotto, Nashville, You, Me, and Jesus is a love song to span genres, bringing people together as it does so.