Story behind "Au Peb Tug Tswv Yexus"

This Hmong song has so much history I probably won't be able to write all about it on here. Reason is, this song has been around for so long that my parents and even folks older than my parents remember singing this song when they were kids in Thailand/Laos. I remember this song as a kid and watching other worship leaders sing it. I always loved it because it was so melodic and easy to learn. On top of that, it had a great message behind the song. This song is one of those songs you can rely on when you run out of Hmong songs to do!

When I finally decided that I would cover this song on my album, I did a bit of research. I knew the song probably wasn't copyrighted but wanted to find out who wrote it so I could ask for permission and give credit to the song writer. First of all, I asked a few pastors if they had a clue who wrote it. All of them answered, "Hmmm?? I'm not completely sure but we sang that song in Thailand when we were kids." Some pastors suggested I get in contact with two missionaries in Thailand well known for their song writing and music. My first thought was, "How in the world am I going to reach someone from Thailand who might not even have internet access or a phone?" The song Au Peb Tug Tswv Yexus made such a big impact on me and many others that I had to have it on the album! Which means, I had to find the song writer no matter what!

Through some major digging by a friend of mine in Fresno, Ca, I got my hands on XH Txhawj Pes Vaj's e-mail in Thailand. So I e-mailed XH and not really expecting an answer back because I wasn't sure if they would have internet connection or not, but to my surprise, XH wrote back the next day. Sadly, he told me he wasn't the one who wrote the song. My buddy Albert and I had to start from square one again. We asked the older pastors, got in touch with XH from Thailand, asked friends/family, and was still unsuccessful in finding the song writer. For all we know, the song writer could be in the jungle of Thailand/Laos somewhere or might not even be living now. Legally, since the song hasn't been recorded and copyrighted before, I could record it and be completely fine but the most important thing for me was to ask for permission and give credit where credit was due.

Since, I couldn't find and don't know who the song writer is, I want to give credit to him/her here! Thank you for writing this beautiful song for all of us to enjoy. Your song has influenced so many lives today and even before the Hmong people came to the United States. A song that passes through generations is not an ordinary song yet an annointed one! Au Peb Tug Tswv Yexus is an annointed song and I want the whole world to know it. I would've never thought this song would be that old:)

I'm a big fan of an original song the way it is but also have so much fun "Brewsterizing" it! The original song is very simple to play and sing along to because it only consists of three chords: G, C, D! I wanted to try something new to modernize the song so I wrote a crazy riff for the intro. The intro starts with a minor chord therefore already giving the song a unique beginning. As the intro ends with a short drum solo, the vocals and instruments then all come in revealing the song.

The main purpose of having this song on the new record is to add a little bit of Old School flavor with the new style. I wanted this song to continue to be known accross all the nation and echo into everybody's life as it did in mine. Hopefully my cover version of this song will make the original song writer proud to hear his/her song live on.

Thank you!