Written Then, Reimagined Now
Discover the music of D. R. Young—thoughtful, expressive, and made to stay with you. Step in, press play, and find the sound that speaks to you.
Available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and other major music platforms on November 18, 2026.
Lyrics and music, written then.
The sound he imagined, realized now.
In the mid-1990s, D. R. Young wrote lyrics and music for more than 50 original songs. Many of those pieces were inspired by his life in church, a place that, for a long time, felt like a second home.
Starting with handwritten words and music composed at his piano, he recorded the songs first on cassette tapes and, eventually, CDs. Those recordings featured just him and the piano, with him doing his best to sing, and those copies stayed on a shelf in his St. Louis home. The reason why? He’d be the first to admit that his voice didn’t quite do justice to the full sound he heard in his head.
In 1996, complications from eye surgeries left D. R. Young with vision so severely limited that he could barely see for three years. During that time, he often sat at the piano in the dark, eyes closed, playing his songs and singing their words while imagining a sound beyond what he could create alone. He sometimes wonders whether losing his sight sharpened the symphony he heard in his head—and whether that experience planted an idea that would later find its way into “What a Sight.”
Not long after, getting married and starting a family took center stage, and the music took a back seat. His songs stayed with him, and the melodies lingered. As not all the music had been written down, some of it faded with time. But the songs that mattered most to him never left.
With music generated using Suno, he’s now been able to bring these songs closer to the way he’s heard them in his head for 30 years. It took a lot of patient tinkering—making small tweaks to the lyrics, trying different sounds, and refining them until they felt—and sounded—right. Sometimes, it felt like magic. In a few cases, Suno seemed to pick up on the words and their syllabic rhythms, creating melodies and performances that came remarkably close to what he created on the piano so many years ago.
This album also showcases D. R. Young’s songwriting. His hope is that other artists might one day make these songs their own—whether in an intimate venue, a mid-sized concert hall, or a sold-out stadium.
Finally, he’s proud to share these songs with all of you.
His new album, “Reimagined Faith,” brings new life to the lyrics and musical ideas he first created over 30 years ago. The songs reflect his life growing up in the church and some of the challenges he encountered along the way. His hope is that this album helps listeners reimagine—or reignite—their faith, too.
Across its nine songs, the album weaves a story through recurring words, phrases, and ideas. Though the songs span different genres, each one connects to others in some way. See how many of those threads you can find—and what story they tell when you listen to the album from beginning to end.
THE SONGS
1
Resplendent Glory
The idea for “Resplendent Glory” appeared like a bolt of lightning during a church service in 1996. When the sermon used the specific phrase to describe Jesus, D. R. Young began scribbling lyrics in the margins of his bulletin. Within minutes, the chorus and melody came to him; by the time he got home, the verses had followed. Though he has refined the verses over the years, the chorus—and its message—has remained unchanged. It is also one of the few songs he has performed publicly, first heard by about 150 people on August 11, 1996.
2
Living Stones
“Living Stones” grew out of a season when D. R. Young’s view of church changed. As a teenager, he was deeply involved in his church, singing in choir, serving as a deacon, performing special music, and even guest preaching. But when changes at the church left his family feeling pushed out, his understanding of the community he’d called home was shaken and, in some ways, remains that way to this day. Make no mistake—the song isn’t meant to discourage church attendance; it’s a reminder that faith rests not in a building or a pastor, but in Christ—the Rock on which people of faith, living stones, are built.
3
The Intended Me
“The Intended Me” draws on memories of the faith and community that shaped D. R. Young, along with lyric fragments he’d saved over the years. As he heard his other songs in their new form, those memories returned, and the lyrics began to fall into place. The result is a prayer for God to show him the way back—not by erasing the past or forcing change, but by helping him choose, step by step, the path toward the person God intended him to be.
4
What Remains
Originally titled “Look Up to the Sky,” “What Remains” has long been one of D. R. Young’s favorite songs for its depth and storytelling. It follows a man facing a terminal diagnosis, but in its original form, the chorus never felt as powerful as the verses. Years later, while revisiting saved lyrics and one-liners, he found the words for a new chorus. It masterfully transformed the song from a story about one man into a prayer anyone can sing—asking God to take “what remains” of them and turn it into praise.
5
Lead Me, Lord
“Lead Me, Lord” began with a melody that came to D. R. Young in 1995 and stayed with him. He imagined a reverent song with a singable chorus, but translating the melody from his head and piano into Suno proved challenging. He realized the three-line chorus needed a fourth line to carry the melody, and drew on saved lyric fragments to build it around the image of “fling wide the gates,” echoing Psalm 24. Each chorus becomes a different request at Heaven’s gates, making the song both a melody and a prayer.
6
What a Sight
“What a Sight” began as a single hopeful entry in an Easter cantata D. R. Young hoped to write. It follows Jesus’ story from birth through the crucifixion to the Resurrection. Though the cantata never came together, the song remained a favorite of his to play on the piano. Written in 1996, it has kept nearly all its original lyrics, with only two lines in the first verse revised. A female voice brings added emotion to its sweeping chorus and deeply felt verses.
7
I Am Headed for a Place
“I Am Headed for a Place” opens the album’s three-song finale with lively Southern gospel, inspired by D. R. Young’s childhood in a Baptist church in St. Louis and visits to a Southern Methodist church in Coldwater, Missouri. It’s one of the few songs whose lyrics remain exactly as he wrote them in 1995. When he first entered them into Suno, the song came back with the cadence he remembered singing at the piano—so close, it felt like the music had reached into his memory. A few more iterations brought the voices into place. Fair warning: your toes will tap, and your feet may start bouncing.
8
Face to Face
“Face to Face” is another stand-up-and-clap song. For over 30 years, it existed as a single verse and half a chorus. When D. R. Young revisited it with fresh eyes, he expanded it into a complete song. Though it began in 1997 and was finished in 2026, it feels right at home in the middle of the album’s three-song Southern gospel finale.
9
In His Right Hand
“In His Right Hand” was written in 1995, inspired by an idea that reached back to Sunday School in the 1980s, where D. R. Young learned about the Holy Trinity and Jesus seated at God’s right hand. The song tells of Jesus giving his life to save us from sin and offers hope for difficult times: even when we stumble, Jesus is there to lift us up. As the album’s final track, it closes on a joyful, toe-tapping note.
