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David Gawron writes:
This one lyric line (the favorite I've ever written) sums the song up:
"The broken shackles of humanity cannot compare at all to what lies ahead."

The song stems from the phrase in the rosary, which prompted me to think, "Hmm... what IS it like at the moment we die?" So the lyrics explore that theme, and all the potential emotions attached to that.

The verses were written rather easily, but I couldn't come up with a chorus, opposite of how I usually write. My housemate at the time (I was in graduate school at the Franciscan University of Steubenville), Jim Moran, had a little tune he'd wander around humming sometimes. He didn't have words for it or or verse ideas, but it was a great tune. It is now the At The Hour chorus, and it works fantastically as a complement to the verses.

The verses are very pensive and melancholy, as we say goodbye to the corporal life we've known. The chorus is supposed to be the angels greeting us as we pass into eternity with our Lord Jesus.

An artist created two watercolor paintings to illustrate the lyrics:

At the Hour of Our Death
Words and Music by David Gawron
Time stands still from where I lay
I feel my life slippin’ away
The Holy Spirit breathes into me, O Lord
My bruised and battered soul is set free
In communion with all the angels and saints
I feel the Raw and Pure Energy
I feel the overwhelming desire, O Lord
Your hands lift me higher and higher

It’s only now that I realize
I see eternity in Your eyes
I’ve never been, but I feel like I’ve been here before
And into Heaven my soul soars

I think of all I did with my life
All the blessings, all of the gifts
All the sorrow, and all of the pain
But I pressed on, my love never strayed
My prayers are answered, my debt is paid

The broken shackles of humanity
Cannot compare to what lies ahead -- And I heard the word He said

This Sunday marks the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, otherwise known as All Souls' Day. It is a day where we remember the dead. We remember those who have passed on to the next life, specifically those who are undergoing purgation for their sins.
Purgatory is an interesting doctrine, and there are those who believe that the Church does not teach this anymore. Not true. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has dedicated a section to this often understood doctrine. (CCC #1030-32). Indeed, there are many other excellent resources out there that explain what purgatory is.
This song list is a personal list of songs that I feel speak to this theme the strongest:

1. Song of Farewell by Father David Hemann off of the album Holy Warriors
2. Consuming Fire by Third Day off of the album Offerings: A Worship Album
3. With the Lord There Is Mercy by Bob Hurd and Anawim off of the album A Lenten Journey
4. Pie Jesu by Celtic Woman off of the album The Greatest Journey - Essential Collection
5. With the Lord There Is Mercy by Paul Tate off of the album Bring Us Home: Celebrating God's Love and Mercy
6. Jerusalem, My Happy Home by Saint Clement's Choir & Peter Richard Conte off of the album Hymns of Heaven and Earth
7. With the Lord There Is Mercy by Angus McDonell off of the album River of Life
8. Restless Is the Heart by Bernadette Farrell off of the album Restless Is the Heart
9. With The Lord There Is Mercy by News At Eleven off of the album Here Till The End
10. Savior of Souls by basic off of the album Another Road Trip

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