Ed Vitagliano

AFA Journal news editor

May 2014 – Many Christians probably first heard of the movie Alone Yet Not Alone – and the song of the same name – when controversy erupted just prior to this year’s Academy Awards.

The song was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Song category – shocking Hollywood since the film was independent, low budget and explicitly Christian. (See AFA Journal, 4/14.) The song is a beautiful and haunting Christian hymn, causing even more controversy among the entertainment elite.

Alone Yet Not Alone was composed by Bruce Broughton, who was already well-known in Hollywood for his work, having been nominated for Academy, Grammy and Emmy Awards. (The words for the song were penned by Emmy Award winning lyricist Dennis Spiegel.)

Joni Eareckson Tada, well-known evangelical author and radio host, got involved with the project after singing some hymns during her closing speech at the 2013 National Religious Broadcasters Convention. Friends in attendance, who were connected with the Alone Yet Not Alone project, asked her to sing the theme song.

“A few months later, I recorded the track at a small studio in Santa Monica,” Tada told AFA Journal. “When it was completed, I left the studio and thought, ‘That’s that.’ So you can imagine my shock when, several months later, I learned that it had been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Song category!”

Of course, Broughton’s part in the process began much earlier. Since the film takes place in colonial America during the French and Indian War (1754–1763), he told AFA Journal that the song had to be musically accurate for that time period.

He drew his inspiration from the renowned hymn Amazing Grace. “Alone Yet Not Alone, however, differs from Amazing Grace in that it was meant to be sung as a personal song, a song of devotion,” he said. “It’s not as big or grand as”

Spiegel’s lyrics are undeniably powerful and Tada said they were personally meaningful to her, echoing Hebrews 13:5, where God promises, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 

“Because I have lived with nearly 47 years of quadriplegia in a wheelchair, I often feel alone, sitting down in a standup world…,” she said. “My difficulties may have me feeling alone at times, but never, ever am I separated from the love of my wonderful Savior.”

The song Alone Yet Not Alone received its nomination from a field of 75 songs. Unfortunately, the academy’s board of governors determined that Broughton had violated rules in promoting Alone Yet Not Alone to Oscar decision makers.

The composer responded to that charge, explaining that he had only asked academy members to listen to the song – a far cry from what major Hollywood studios do in promoting their nominated films through big budget lobbying.

“The problem was one essentially of studio marketing with hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in their product versus small independent films such as this one that find it hard to be on a level playing field,” Broughton said.

While he explained that it felt great to see the song get nominated, Broughton admitted that “it felt just as lousy to be de-nominated.”

Nevertheless, both Broughton and Tada say they have been pleased to see Alone Yet Not Alone get so much publicity – and touch so many hearts.

Tada said, “The composer, lyricist and I all agree: This controversy has certainly stirred up more interest in the song than, perhaps, if it had remained in nomination!”  

▶ Hear the song Alone Yet Not Alone here.