It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Chris West wrote one of Blue Moon Rising’s most popular songs in his sleep . . . literally.

“I kind of dreamed the song,” chuckles the co-lead vocalist and guitarist for the five-year-old East Tennessee band. His song, “He Arose,” one of three gospel numbers on the band’s third release, came to Chris while he fitfully slept one night. “I was twenty-one at the time,” he recalls, “going through one of those ‘funny’ (difficult) times of life. I would dream one of the verses, wake up, and then write it down.” He would drift back off and then would awaken with another verse. While he takes song writing credit for the ringing testimony to Jesus’ resurrection, “I hate to say I wrote the song,” Chris says, “because it was kind of given to me.”

While there may well have been divine inspiration at work, the song remains one of Blue Moon Rising’s most requested. It is just one of a CD full of memorable tunes written by band members, making Blue Moon Rising impressive not only for its musical chops and top-flight vocals, but also for its promising song writing.

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