From the recording Go Anyway! | Louisiana Boy
“Go Anyway” is an upbeat, foot-tapping Louisiana Delta blues testimony that follows a young Louisiana man who believes Jesus has called him to a foreign mission field. Told he is too young, untrained, and might embarrass those who send him, he sells his old four-wheel-drive Dodge, buys the one-way ticket he can afford, and goes anyway.
From Louisiana bayous, crawfish, jambalaya and Creole gumbo to distant mountains, jungles, beans, rice and plantains, the song carries decades of missionary life through humor, hardship and faith—including a homemade cake from Mama that takes three months to arrive green and inedible. Beneath the laughter is a deeper story of parents who worried, a son who kept following, and a God who remained faithful.
Driven by fingerpicked resonator guitar, banjo, harmonica and a stomping Southern blues groove, the story eventually reaches the present day. The missionary is older, but the call isn't finished. After a lifetime of learning how to give and make his own way, he is learning to receive and allow others to stand with him.
Through every season, the testimony remains the same: different hands, same Hand; different seasons, same King. All the glory belongs to Jesus.
Lyrics
Go Anyway = Louisiana Boy
Creation Date
19 Sep 2026, 11:08 PM
Characters
4975
Genres
cajun, harmonica-driven, acoustic, finger picking, louisiana style blues
Languages
English
Vocalist gender
Random
GO ANYWAY
[Upbeat Louisiana Delta Blues | 112 BPM | Driving fingerpicked resonator guitar, rhythmic banjo, strong harmonica, upright bass, boot-stomp percussion | Mature gritty Southern male storyteller with warm Louisiana drawl | Foot-tapping, joyful testimony | Gospel call-and-response | Story-forward, raw and organic, not polished modern country | Brackets NOT sung]
[INTRO - Resonator riff, boot stomp, harmonica answers]
Just a Louisiana boy,
With a Bible and a fire in me.
Told the elders Jesus called me
To preach across the sea.
They said, "Boy, you're too young!"
"You ain't trained!" came number two.
"And you might embarrass all of us
If we go and send you!"
[Band punches, then drops]
Three blows hit me like a hammer,
But one Voice wouldn't fade away.
Everybody else was saying, "No, boy!"
Jesus said, "Go anyway."
[CHORUS - Full band]
Go anyway, boy, go anyway,
When Jesus calls, you don't have to know the way.
Through the swamp, across the ocean,
Through the jungle, mountain rain,
If the One who calls goes before you,
Get up and go anyway!
[Harmonica turnaround]
Sold my old four-wheel-drive Dodge,
Bought a ticket headed out.
One-way was all that I could pay for,
Not enough to turn around.
[Music thins - bayou atmosphere]
Through that rolling bayou fog
I heard my Father say,
"You don't need the other half now, boy.
You won't be back for a long, long time.
When it's time for you to come home,
Your ticket will be there on time."
[Harmonica cries]
Mama worried back in Louisiana,
Daddy worried in his way.
Their boy was somewhere 'cross that ocean,
Half a world away.
Heaven whispered, "Mama, wipe those tears,
Your boy ain't walking alone.
I'll keep him through this leg of his mission,
And when it's done, I'll bring him home."
[Playful banjo]
Mama mailed her boy a homemade cake,
Packed that thing with love.
Three months later it finally found me—
Lord have mercy from above!
[Full stop]
That cake was GREEN!
[Harmonica squawk - band jumps in]
Couldn't eat one bite of Mama's cake,
Wouldn't touch it if I could.
That poor old cake didn't make it,
But Mama's love was good!
[Pause]
No, Mama's cake didn't make it...
But by the grace of God, her boy did!
[Resonator and harmonica trade]
Went from crawfish and jambalaya,
And Creole gumbo too,
To beans and rice and plantains
With folks whose words I hardly knew.
No fish, shrimp, or crabs around me,
Monkeys, cattle, parrots in the trees!
From Louisiana swamps and bayous
To jungles, mountains, across the seas.
[CHORUS]
Go anyway, boy, go anyway,
When Jesus calls, you don't have to know the way.
Different people, different tables,
Different tongues that praise His name,
From the bayou to the nations,
Jesus Christ is still the same!
[Resonator solo]
That day I left Louisiana,
But Louisiana never left me.
Everywhere the Lord has sent me,
I carried some across the sea.
If any light has ever shined
Through anything I've done,
Don't give glory to this Louisiana boy—
Give the glory to God's Son!
[GOSPEL-BLUES LIFT - Call and response]
Every door—
[Backing: JESUS!]
Every provision—
[Backing: JESUS!]
Every life He changed—
[Backing: JESUS!]
Different hands!
[Backing: SAME HAND!]
Different seasons!
[Backing: SAME KING!]
All the glory, all the honor
Belongs to Jesus Christ my King!
[Drop to guitar - years have passed, groove keeps moving]
Well, the young boy started getting older,
And the miles became the years.
There were doors I couldn't open,
There were nights acquainted with tears.
Pastors raised and people taught,
Lives I watched Him change,
Songs and books and preaching,
Prayers in Jesus' name.
If you ask me who accomplished it,
Hear me when I say:
It wasn't this boy from Louisiana—
Jesus made the way!
[Harmonica answers]
Now the road ain't finished with me,
And the call ain't finished yet.
There's another generation,
There are fields I haven't met.
Spent a lifetime finding my own way
To pay the passage when I could.
Learned mighty well how to give,
Never learned receiving quite as good.
Maybe Jesus has another lesson
He's teaching this old boy today:
Sometimes He sends His people
To help His missionary on his way.
[FINAL CHORUS - Full joyful band]
So go anyway, boy, go anyway!
When Jesus calls, you don't have to know the way.
Some will pray and some will give,
Some will help to clear the way.
Different hands bring His provision,
But it's still the same Hand today!
From the bayou to the mountains,
From the jungle through the rain,
I've lived long enough to tell you:
Jesus Christ still makes a way!
[Band drops - resonator only]
They said, "Too young."
[Pluck]
"No training."
[Pluck]
"You might embarrass us all."
[Long harmonica note]
But they were wrong about one thing...
They thought a "no"
Could stop a call.
[Boot stomp returns]
Thank You, Jesus,
For teaching this Louisiana boy...
[Full band hit]
GO ANYWAY!
[OUTRO - Resonator, banjo and harmonica trade joyful riffs; boot-stomp carries the story home]