Speaking of popular songs, we used to rock our kids to sleep singing Paul Simon’s Loves Me Like a Rock.
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Big favorite of mine too. One tune on it was new to me with a sound I liked a lot:
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Such power in quiet words, in light of these days.
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Yeah, Shotgun Angel was a wonderful early release from the band. Subsequently they moved away from that “country” sound to more alternative rock/ new wave…..and just unconventional greatness in their 4-album “Alarma Chronicles”. At that point, they lost many of their earlier followers and apparently transitioned into a niche audience of devotees. Anyways, in the ‘70s and ‘80s their lyrics and concepts always seemed sincere, edgy and thought-provoking in a way most Christian bands of that era lacked I.MO.
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Nothing like a 6-yr-old thread being resurrected. haha. Love it. I could go on for days here.
Thanks for introducing me to an unfamiliar artist. I’ll check them out. My Spotify “spiritual” playlist keeps growing. I call it “Songs of Faith and Doubt.” (It’s public and my username is jayjohnson313 if anyone wants to look it up and steal a few for themselves.)
My contribution for today is one that has gotten me through many tough time.
Calling All Angels by k.d. lang and Jane Siberry.
A man is placed upon the steps and baby cries
High above you can hear the church bells start to ring
And as the heaviness, oh, the heaviness the bodies settles in
Somewhere you can hear a mother sing
Then it’s one foot then the other as you step out on the road
Step out on the road, how much weight? How much?
Then it’s how long and how far
And how many times before it’s too late?
Calling all angels, calling all angels
Walk me through this one, don’t leave me alone
Calling all angels, calling all angels
We’re tryin’, we’re hopin’ but we’re not sure how
Oh, and every day you gaze upon the sunset
With such love and intensity, why?
It’s a, it’s almost as if you could only crack the code
Then you’d finally understand what this all means
Oh, but if you could, do you think you would
Trade in all, all the pain and suffering?
Oh, but then you’d miss the beauty of the light upon this earth
And the, and the sweetness of the leaving
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I considered Daniel Amos “Shotgun Angel” album to be on any best CCM shortlist.
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Another unfamiliar one. Good song from the 80s. Here’s what I was wearing out in the 80s:
All in Your Mind – Echo and the Bunnymen
You say you’re proud to be
One of the people
hands on the money
and your feet on the ground
Shouting out loud
From the top of the steeple
Counting the flock while
collecting their pounds
all you thieving wheeler dealers
in the healing zone
giving me Fever Fever Fever Fever
down to my bones
I pray
and nothing happens
Jesus
it’s all in my mind
You say
stop looking for answers
and reasons
they’re all in your mind
all in your mind
Ian McCulloch eventually came around, though.
New Direction – Echo & the Bunnymen
I have changed
but still my heart
remains intact
and true love stays
but will our hearts
retain their lack of
No sense and no direction
Who in the world am I?
I took the word the word was resurrection
and then you took me out to climb
(repeat) Higher and higher…
Much more a song of doubt than a song of faith, it’s full context gets expressed within the larger album but this song does make me tear up a bit every time I listen to it. It puts so succinctly the thoughts I have felt in many seasons of doubt in life, especially during my college years. The full album Tamed Tounges is one of my all time favorites.
“Oh, how I long to plant roots
But where are the labors from this empty womb?
I anxiously tend what I’ve sown
But it’s taking longer than I would have hoped
And it doesn’t change, it’s so frustrating
Now I’m asking when
Today if I’m honest, you must be asleep
So now if you’ve noticed, this feels like eternity
When will this end?
Oh, how this blight never ends
Can this season be over and new life begin?
I’m desperate to see something grow
But there’s no more time now and I’m losing hope
It feels like you’re indifferent to me
Now I’m screaming when
Today if I’m honest, you must be asleep
So now if you noticed, this feels like eternity
Maybe I’ll burn it down and watch the flames
Step back from this scorched earth and just walk away
I thought I could have it all and leave a legacy
Maybe I’ve got it wrong and it just ends with me
Maybe it just ends with me
Today I’m being honest, you must be asleep
So now, God if you’ve noticed, this feels like eternity
When will this end?
When will this end?
Oh, you must be asleep”
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Good gosh. Another unfamiliar artist that I now need to look up. Y’all are a treasure trove. I’ll restrain myself and let someone else reply for a change.
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“What if God were one of us
Alone and lost, just like us
What if He were here,
Sitting right in front of you?
Would you still say yes to everything,
Or would you ask:
‘Why did you put us here
With all these illusions,
And temptations, and disappointments?’
And… and then why?
And if—if God exists,
What if, what if He does?
What if God were one of us,
Alone and lost, just like us,
Him too, with all His troubles,
No one ever calling Him?
I know what I would do:
I’d look Him straight in the eyes
And ask
If there was at least a reason,
Or if it’s a punishment,
Or maybe it was all just chance,
Or a moment of distraction.
Come on, if you’re there,
Come on, why is it so?
Come on, if you know…
What if God were one of us,
Alone and lost, just like us,
Him too, with all His troubles,
No one ever calling Him,
Just to say, ‘How are you?’
Instead, they ask for attention,
For miracles or forgiveness,
Or to grant absolution.
What if God were one of us,
Alone and lost, just like us,
Him too, with all His troubles,
No one ever calling Him,
Just to say, ‘How are you?’”
Good song. A note-for-note homage to Joan Osborne’s mid-90s hit, One of Us.
Reminds me of a similar song by The Fray, You Found Me.
I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad
Where the West was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said, “Where you been?” He said, “Ask anything”
Where were you when everything was falling apart?
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad
Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me
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Just a song that I woke up singing today. I find more gospel in this one than in most worship music. (And the video is great, by the way.)
Mondo Cozmo – Shine
Stick with me Jesus through the comin’ storm
I’ve come to you in search of something I have lost
Shine down a light on me and show a path
I promise you I will return if you take me back
Let 'em get high
Let 'em get stoned
Everything will be alright if you let it go
Let 'em get high
Let 'em get stoned
Everything will be alright if you let it go
My friends are so alone and it breaks my heart
My friends don’t understand we all are lost
Shine down a light on them and show a path
I promise you they will return if you take 'em back
“I come from another planet, from another dimension
I know this world and all the lies that matter
We’re born, then we grow and then we die…
evolution of what kind of species?
There’s a hole shaped like God… what does it mean?
Maybe it doesn’t end here, maybe it’s true
There’s a meaning, there’s a reason
Inside of me
The answer lies on the other side of the mind
The answer waits on the other side of the gate
Searching for an alibi in the mystery
I stop for a moment and look at the sky
There’s a hole shaped like God…
Maybe it doesn’t end here, maybe it’s true
There’s a meaning, there’s a reason
Inside of me
The answer lies on the other side of the mind
The answer waits on the other side of the gate”
