Carrie Underwood joined forces with the Gospel-great Yolanda Adams to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” during a tribute program for Elvis Presley. The duo brought the crowd to tears with the powerful song which emphasizes God’s ever-present nature and attentive care for us.
A very pregnant Underwood sang alongside Adams, the “Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music”. Underwood shares Adams’ faith, although her own music doesn’t always fall into a Christian category.
Yolanda Adams, the First Lady of Modern Gospel
Adams has sold over 4.5 million albums since her debut in 1987 with Just as I Am. In addition to singing gospel, Adams also hosted her own radio show, The Yolanda Adams Morning Show, which aired on 39 stations for nine years.
Underwood recently released “Cry Pretty”, which contains some of her most personal songs to date. Underwood worked on the songs on the album over a course of a year where she experienced three miscarriages. The singer has opened up in the past about her faith and has even recorded some songs that speak to it.
The lyrics of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” speak about the ability of a person to walk through storms and darkness due to hope of something better on the other side.
When you walk through a storm hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone,
You’ll never, ever walk alone.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone,
You’ll never, ever walk alone.
The song is a show tune from the 1945 musical Carousel by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Although it doesn’t have an explicitly Christian origin, the lyrics lend themselves well to the hope Christians experience walking with Christ.
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” was featured on a collection of gospel recordings done by Presley and released in 1971 on an album by the same title.
The tribute to Elvis aired on Sunday, February 18, 2019 on NBC. A star-studded program featured tribute performances by singers such as Shawn Mendes, Post Malone, Blake Shelton, and Jennifer Lopez.
