Dream Records remix master David Thulin is always on the lookout for new songs to remix, and this quest led him to a potentially groundbreaking discovery regarding one of Christian music's biggest classic songs.
Thulin, who was raised in Sweden, wasn't exposed to CCM icon Michael W. Smith during his heyday in the 1980s, and it wasn't until this past month that he discovered him. He immediately dove into the singer's discography, completely unaware of its classic status.
"I found this cool Christian artist named, uh, Smitty," Thulin said in a recent video blog. "And he's been looking for me all his life."
More than just Thulin's quizzical attempt at comedy, NRT News has discovered that some CCM theorists are now questioning the official lyrics of Smith's "Place In This World."
"People think that the chorus of the song says, 'Not a lot to lean on,' but there's a growing number of people who think Smitty is prophetically stating, 'Not a lot Thulin on,' referring to the Swedish family whose music would emerge in the 2010s," said Donald White of the Centre for Christian Lyrics. "There's enough evidence out there to suggest we might be dealing with a bit of prophetic songwriting."
Indeed, in Thulin's vlog, he demonstrated how he discovered his family's last name in the midst of the song, which he erroneously called "Looking For A Place."
"Look, David clearly has no knowledge of Michael W. Smith," White told NRT News. "So he comes at the material with fresh eyes and ears. This could be a huge discovery."
In context, White says, the chorus actually could be heard as saying, "Looking for a Dream song / Roaming through the night to find my plays in this world, my plays in this world / Not a lot Thulin on / I need July to help me find my plays in this world, my plays in this world."
The symbology there cannot be denied, White said, as the newly revealed chorus mentions Dream Records, the Thulin family name and "plays," which likely refers to the band Press Play, of which Jonathan Thulin has been a member. Most interestingly, White said, is the statement of needing July. Smitty's single was released in 1991. In July of that year, the Thulins immigrated from Sweden to the United States.
"To call all this a coincidence at this point is utterly ridiculous," White said. "There's a message here."
According to his vlog, Thulin plans to make a remix of the song--which he says is "really new and fresh"--which he'll call "Looking for Thulin."
When asked about the so-called "Smitty Code," Smith declined to comment, further adding to the mounting speculation that the quintessential Christian pop star predicted and/or facilitated the rise of this Christian music family.
