"Savior's Shadow" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

artist

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

, taken as the second single from his tenth studio album, ''

If I'm Honest ''If I'm Honest'' is the tenth studio album by American country music singer Blake Shelton. It was released on May 20, 2016 via Warner Bros. Nashville. The album was produced by Shelton's longtime producer Scott Hendricks and features collaborati ...

'' (2016). It was released digitally on April 8, 2016, before being sent to

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

and

country radio Country radio refers to radio stations that play country music. Most country radio stations are commercial radio stations. Most country radio stations usually play only music which has been officially released to country radio by record labels. The ...

on April 11. The track was written by Shelton,

Jessi Alexander Jessica Leigh Alexander (born November 18, 1976) is an American country music artist and songwriter. Biography She has had her songs recorded by Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood and Little Big Town. She also launched her own recording career in ...

and

Jon Randall Jon Randall Stewart (born February 17, 1969) is an American producer, songwriter, and musician. His career began as a guitarist for Emmylou Harris' Nash Ramblers with whom he won his first Grammy for their ''Live at the Ryman'' album in 1992. ...

, while production was handled by

Scott Hendricks Scott Hendricks (born July 26, 1956) is an American record producer who has produced over 30 country music artists. His productions have garnered 121 Top 10s, and 78 Number One hits. Between 1995 and 1997, he was President and Chief Executive Off ...

. A

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

song with

themes, "Savior's Shadow" served as a reminder that his faith was strong. Additionally, its lyrics detail losing faith during troubling times in his life, but ultimately result in him gaining more. It was generally well received by

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, who applauded Shelton's change in musical genre. Some critics even positively noted his maturity through the track. A black and white music video was filmed for the track, and premiered on May 19, 2016. The singer performed it live for the first time on May 26, 2016 for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2016 on

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Background and composition

According to Shelton himself, the initial idea for "Savior's Shadow" came to him in his sleep in May 2015. Although the singer did not remember the exact dream, he recalled "four lines of lyrics and hemelody", which drew him to "grab his smartphone and s ngthe passage into the memo function before it was lost". He enlisted the help of married couple

and

to complete the track, who were ironically experiencing changes in their lives, much like Shelton. The finalized recording was done at Shelton's private home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

in his bedroom's closet for "best effect". Alexander claimed that the track "came deep from Blake's soul" and demonstrated that his tenth studio album ''If I'm Honest'' would "be extremely personal". She remarked that the writing became more emotional, as the track was finished "just one month after his divorce from

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

". When Shelton released the single on April 8, 2016 through Warner Bros. Nashville, he expressed gratitude from his fans, stating: "In all the years I've been doing this I've never experience this kind of reaction from a song. So proud." "Savior's Shadow" was written by Shelton, Alexander, and Randall, while production was handled by longtime collaborator

. It is composed in the key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : ...

using

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 96-100

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. His vocal range, which spanned from A3-E5, was accompanied by a piano, in addition to backup vocals. An "introspective"

song, it serves as "a guide" to demonstrate his faith "through trying times". The gospel section and string arrangements was imagined by Charlie Judge, while Russ Pahl helped Shelton in creating "bittersweet steel notes" for the production. Shelton sings: "I feel the rain, I hear the thunder / As He cries for me", demonstrating that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

was "a powerful source of strength" for the singer. The first verse displays Shelton's "longing and willingness to stand" with Jesus after his relationship struggles: "Though the devil tried to break me / My sweet Jesus won't forsake me / When I'm in my Savior's shadow where I'm supposed to be". Jeff Nelson of ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of proper ...

'' claimed that the single offered some of Shelton's "most revealing lyrics", particularly the aforementioned lines. The song commences with the singer praying: "I'm standing in my Savior's shadow, following his footsteps there / Every mountain, every ocean, He hears my prayer".

Reception

"Savior's Shadow" was well received by

. AXS's Lori Melton applauded Shelton for making "a huge creative departure" from his previous work. Keith Harris, writing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' enjoyed the single, and felt "that the good ol' boy's maturing into a man". Scott Stroud from '' The National'' appreciated the recording's honesty, in addition to it for containing "emotional sincerity".

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's Sophie Schillaci declared it a "deeply heartfelt ballad" and lauded its lyrics contrasting the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

and Jesus. Mikael Wood of the ''

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'' was more mixed in his review of the parent album; Wood was not impressed by the lyrics, summarizing that instead of being about religion and Christian faith, they are "mostly familiar images of thunder and rain, mountains and oceans". For the week ending April 30, 2016, "Savior's Shadow" debuted at the bottom position of the Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number 50. Additionally, the single was the week's forty-third best selling digital country song, selling approximately 7,000 copies in its first week available, which allowed it to chart at number 43 on the Country Digital Songs, and at number 4 on both the

Christian Digital Songs The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

and Christian/Gospel Digital Songs component charts. The single did not appear the following week on the Country Digital Songs chart, but lasted an additional seven weeks on the Christian Digital Songs and Christian/Gospel Digital Songs charts. On the

Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...

chart, it debuted at number 17, for the week ending April 30, and managed to peak at number 14 two months later, for the week ending June 18.

Promotion

A black-and-white music video for "Savior's Shadow" premiered on May 19, 2016 on Shelton's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

account. For the entirety of the video's duration, it features the singer sitting on a stool and playing the guitar. He sits in front of a solid white background while close-ups of Shelton strumming the guitar occasionally appear. Shelton performed the song live for the first time as part of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2016 on May 26, 2016.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

;Personnel *

– lead vocals, songwriting *

– songwriting *

– production * Charlie Judge – string arrangements * Russ Pahl – additional instruments *

– songwriting Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''If I'm Honest''.

Charts

Release history

References

{{Good article 2016 songs 2016 singles Blake Shelton songs Songs written by Blake Shelton Songs written by Jessi Alexander Songs written by Jon Randall Song recordings produced by Scott Hendricks Warner Records Nashville singles Country ballads