Last time I wrote about bad church music I said there was another song I wanted to write about but I couldn’t remember what it was. I knew it wouldn’t take long before we sang it again, and sure enough, last week, there it was. I’m sorry, again this is a song that everyone else seems to love, for whatever reason. But I think it is AWFUL.
The tune is pretty, I’ll grant that. The sentiment is nice. But . . . but . . . everything else! It’s got the congregation singing as God, which every expert informs me is a big no no. But I can get past that, obviously, since I like some songs that are written that way. It’s the poetry, if you can call it that, that I cannot stand. Here again the composer bends the words to fit the music. The use of passive voice riles the English major in me: “Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known, will you let my life be grown?” Yuck yuck yuck! It sounds whiny and weak. If it were an essay it would have red pen all over it: Will you show my life, teach my name, plant my life? Well, that’s not a whole lot better, but at least it is stronger.
Here is a source for all the lyrics. I could go through every line and complain but I will resist. Just two more: “Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen?” My kids and I struggle not to laugh when we hear this line. Besides just conjuring up a gross mental picture, this line is an example of poetry bending. To stretch what should be “in secret” or “secretly” into “do such as this unseen” would have Professor Strunk rolling over in his grave, frothing at the mouth and yelling “Omit needless words!” And I don’t even know what to say about “Should your life attract or scare?” I can’t sing it with a straight face, and believe it or not I really do try to sing every song at Mass, no matter how awful.
My advice to Catholic songwriters? You are doing a lovely job with the tunes. Go back to the Glory and Praise days and look for your lyrics in the Scriptures. There’s no way you can go wrong with that.
Bad Songs Revisited
This was hasn’t made the rounds here in Nashville (thank goodness). It just doesn’t make much sense – it sort of rambles through the tune. I can see why you don’t like this one.
Glad you agree with me this time. 🙂 We sing this ALL THE TIME. sigh. Leslie Sholly “Take time just to be. Remember, you are a human being, not a human doing.” http://www.lesliesholly.wordpress.com
Scott swears there is one song in the Glory & Praise hymnal that has the same musical theme as the theme in the old Conan the Barbarian movie and right now I can’t remember the name of it…but it’s usually the recessional hymn. He is so bad about making a joke about it, always trying to make us crack up by singing it with a really bad German accent. I’ll get back to you on it once I remember which one it is.
Please tell me! One of the songs–actually one I like–has the same music as the Brady Bunch theme. Leslie Sholly “Take time just to be. Remember, you are a human being, not a human doing.” http://www.lesliesholly.wordpress.com
There’s another one that sounds like the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, but I can’t remember the name. A lot of the St. Louis Jesuit stuff sounds like that song come to think of it. If you ever heard Carey Landry sing with his throat-rattling vibrato you’d understand what I’m saying (think Elmer Fudd).
I think I’ve heard Carey Landry sing on the “Hi, God!” albums we had at St. Joseph when I was a little girl. All those songs were pretty bad–at least for singing at Mass. I think they were great for singing in classrooms with kids, and I get all nostalgic remembering some of the songs. Those albums are actually on my wish list. Leslie Sholly “Take time just to be. Remember, you are a human being, not a human doing.” http://www.lesliesholly.wordpress.com
I loved the Glory and Praise days, lol!