bono@andromeda.rutgers.edu.rutgers.edu (Joseph Bono) (12/17/90)
Hi, I was wondering if someone out there can help me out.
I am a sponsor cathecist for a confirmation class. We are currently studying
Hebrew Scriptures (with Christian Scriptures to follow, of cuss). Some of this
is very dry to the students. To "liven" it up, I was hoping to make a connect-
ion between Scripture and music, something that these 9th graders seem to
relate to very well. I am hoping that if they see this connection from some of
their favorite artist, they might become curious. Does anyone know of ref-
erences to Scripture in music?
I know of the Byrds song "Turn, Turn, Turn" (taken almost entirely from
Ecclesiastes 3), the Don Henley song "The End of the Innocence" which reverses
the "turning swords into plowshears" quote. I also vaguely recall a U2 song
that is taken from one of the Psalms.
Please e-mail any repsonses to me, as I don't read the newsgroup very often.
If I get a significant response, I'll post. Thanx in advance for any help!
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Joe Bono | "A boy without mischief is like a
Rutgers University | bowling ball without a liquid center"
Newark, NJ | - Homer Simpson, "The Simpsons"
bono@andromeda.rutgers.edu or |
motown!xybion!jbono@rutgers.edu | Go NJ Giants! (no relation to Sonny)
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joseph@cs.albany.edu (Jody Richardson) (12/19/90)
I am replying to you via a friend's account - I do not have one of my own. If you want to reply, e-mail me through his address. I used to do a Christian radio show on WRPI (at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and we tried as much as possible to relate Scriptures to music. I am pretty sure the U2 song you mentioned is "40", which is a direct quote of Psalm 40. It's on their album "War." If you really want to stretch it a bit, Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" also includes a lot of common scriptural imagery from the prophets, but I can't really relate it to any direct quotes. You may want to look into Dylan some more - I can't think of anything offhand at the moment, but I wouldn't be surprised to find some references in other songs by him. That's all I can think of for now, but if anything else comes to mind, I'll let you know. Ken Dales
vvrcd@csduts1.lerc.nasa.gov (Robert Dibacco) (12/24/90)
[Jody Richardson commented on the relationship of several songs to Scripture. > If you really want to stretch it a bit, Dylan's "All >Along the Watchtower" also includes a lot of common scriptural >imagery from the prophets, but I can't really relate it to any >direct quotes. You may want to look into Dylan some more - I >can't think of anything offhand at the moment, but I wouldn't be >surprised to find some references in other songs by him. --clh] Just a side note because I am unclear of the original discussion but approx. 10 years ago Dylan was a professing Christian and did two "christian" oriented albums. Then he supposedly reverted back to his old ways. This might explain why his newer songs may reflect biblical tones. He also had Jewish background roots. Sincerely, Bob DiBacco
jkk@.uucp (John Kingston) (12/24/90)
I missed the original article so I'm not sure if you're looking for
Scripture in music as sung by Christians (or Jews), or Scriptural
references in other songs.
I'm sure there's a great deal of material in the first category, much of
which is sung as hymns or choruses. If I had to recommend something, I'd
recommend a guy called Ian White. He's probably unknown outside the U.K.,
but his music is worth listening to. To cut his testimony very short, the
Lord led him to set the Psalms to modern music -- by modern, I'm thinking of
Amy Grant / Cliff Richard style, although Ian has his own style. The words
are lifted almost directly from the New International Version of the Bible.
He's released four albums so far (Psalms set to music vol. 1, Psalms set to
music vol. 2, Many Will See (vol. 3) and He is My Rock (vol. 4)). Some of
the tracks are excellent, and none of them are dreadful. The best bit is
that, when you go through the day, if a song comes to mind then you're
singing the word of God. It also makes the Psalms much easier to learn.
The favourite album from a number of opinions is probably volume 3,
although volume 1 is pretty good too. I love the restfulness of Ps. 131
("Not a proud heart, not a proud mind"), the haunting melody of Ps. 126
("When the Lord brought back captives to Zion"), the emotive saxophone on
Ps. 49 ("No man can redeem the life of another") and the upbeat jazz of
Ps. 47 ("Clap your hands, all you nations").
Ian's record label is Little Misty Music, based in Perth, Scotland. For a
full address, mail me.
For scriptural references in other music, there are a number of oblique
references, mostly (I suspect) because Biblical metaphor and story has
become rooted in the English language and associated culture. Direct
references are few, though. U2's "40" is indeed taken from the first verses
of Psalm 40 - I believe some members of U2 are Christians, but there was
so much speculation over whether they'd become a "Christian" band
that they're fed up and won't talk about that any more. Then there were
Boney M, who took "Rivers of Babylon" (Ps. 137) to number 1 in the UK
charts about 12 years ago.
Is that helpful?
John K.
"Open my lips O my Lord and I will give praise to you, my mouth will sing it,
Burnt offerings and sacrifice are not your desire, or surely I would bring it
A broken spirit is a sacrifice
A broken and a contrite heart you will not despise"
John Kingston, AI Applications Institute, University of Edinburgh,
80 South Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1HN, Scotland
E-mail jkk@uk.ac.ed.aiai, phone 031-225 4464 ext. 229 FAX: 031 226 2730
Arpanet: J.Kingston%uk.ac.ed@nfsnet-relay.ac.uk TELEX: 727442 UNIVED G