Author: inertus

Tom writes:

I am known for my using contemporary popular music in worship, but to be honest, it’s usually done in the context of worship in which the only music is secular – occasions like “Outro” (the playlist for which once appeared as the Good Friday Fix), occasional contemplative Communion services in Cornwall, and the Covid-defeated series, Ink-R-n8, in Essex. The number of occasions I’ve used contemporary music in ordinary Sunday services is actually relatively small. “Shooting Stars”, by Rival Sons, is one of those songs I have used.

It’s one of those songs that I first heard while in the shadow of Black Dog, and which had the power to draw me out from that beast’s shadow, if even for a short while. It left its mark, and I have returned to it many, many times – including, on one occasion, using at least the lyrics in a Sunday morning service.

To me, it’s verses seem to speak strongly to the call of Jesus to creative resistance against the powers of the world. The way of Jesus is a way that does not turn the ways of the world back on it, but finds creative ways to offer something better – love that is stronger than hate, faith that is deeper than doubt (I’d probably prefer the term cynicism here, because I don’t think doubt is a bad thing, but that’s not the lyrics!), laughter that is louder than shouting, dancing (even my terrible dad dancing) that is better than marching will ever, ever be.

Meanwhile, the chorus seems to speak of the way in which light, even a brief shooting star, shines bright against the darkness and illuminates our lives in ways that bring hope and new possibilities. All of this seems to me to speak to the heart of the Christian faith – that true justice, true peace, true light, true love, is not found through adding to world’s already significant levels of injustice, violence, darkness and hatred, but is found only through offering an alternative story, an alternative method, an alternative way forward. That is our calling – not to be bound up in the ways of the world, but to offer the alternative, to reflect light in the midst of darkness and to offer love in the face of hate.

As the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

My love is stronger than… your hate will ever be.
My faith is deeper than… your doubt will ever be.
My laughter is louder than… your shouting will ever be.
My dancing is better than… your marching will ever be.
We move through the world like shooting stars across the sky.
Splitting through the darkness, putting the light into their eyes.

Find out more about Rival Sons at https://www.rivalsons.com/

Gill writes:

I should probably warn you that if you are having a reflective, intentionally quiet Good Friday then it might be worth playing this song when you are ready for a bit of noise. Maybe you might even want to leave it until tomorrow.

When I first heard this song just over a month ago, it took me straight to what I think the first Good Friday might have felt and sounded like. I wasn’t sure whether this would be a helpful Good Friday Fix – we generally opt for tracks that might sit in that quiet, thoughtful space better. But I had a couple of nudges including Red Rum Club opening with this song at their gig at Trinity Centre, Bristol (a former church) when I saw them live a couple of weeks ago, so I thought let’s go for it.

I’ve been thinking about that first Good Friday and how it must have been for the followers, friends and family of Jesus that day. Jesus followers today have a day of contemplation, lament and sorrow; Jesus followers then would have had an emotionally-charged day that was frenetic and full of incredulity. Some will have seen parts of it; others will have heard about it rather than been there. Some will have been alongside and ‘in it’ all (as much as they could be), others might not have heard until it was all over.

The common thing that would have bound them all together would have been the feelings about this complete and utter injustice; the sense of disbelief, anger, uncertainty, helplessness, shame, guilt and the desire for revenge. These are the feelings that barrel around our bodies when we are confronted with injustice. The time for contemplation and lament comes later.

I’ve lost my way, misunderstood
Should I pray for explanation?
I wait all day for something good
But nothin’ good ever comes from waitin’

Each one would have replayed moments of that day and week, alongside the times that they had spent with Jesus over the years. Trying to make sense of it all. Asking questions of themselves. Could they have done anything differently? Could they have found some way of intervening? Why did God let this happen? God? Is there even a God?

Give me a God to believe in
I fear the Heavens have left us now
The one I believed in let me down

From the late-night arrest in Gethsemene to the tortuous (probably literally) trial in the early hours at the High Priest’s house to the early morning sentencing by Pontius Pilate to the carrying of the cross to Golgotha and the crucifixion around 9am (the commonly believed time), we can sense the chaotic scramble of the Romans to process and sentence this seditious Jesus once and for all.

And there he is hanging on a tree with others beside him. Being mocked. Being laughed at. Being helplessly watched by his mother and a couple of friends. Even Jesus at one point asks why he’s been forsaken by God – even Jesus had a moment of feeling let down.

Give me a God to believe in
I fear the Heavens have left us now
The one I believed in let me down

And after it was over, the chaos continued as the body of Jesus was taken down and carried to the tomb – maybe with a sense of needing to get him buried and sealed in a tomb as quickly as possible, just in case the authorities wanted the body for some reason. Who knows what might happen when an occupying and brutal force is ruling your country. Let’s get Jesus safe and buried.

The fallen sun
Has been and gone, now darkness
Falls apart, you and me
The fallen sun
Has been and gone, now darkness
Falls apart, you and me

What a day.

You can find out more about Red Rum Club at https://www.redrumclub.com.

James (aka Metal Methodist) says:

So I nominate Chaos AD by Brazilian death metallers and groove metal pioneers Sepultura. This song is a rage against corrupt and unjust systems so links to liberation theology given the band’s Latin American roots. The lyrics talk about the fear and the need to take a stand. 

As we journey through Holy Week I also wonder to what extent it describes the worst-case scenario of the ruling elite at the time of Jesus… 

Chaos A.D.
Tanks on the streets
Confronting police
Bleeding the plebs
Raging crowd
Burning cars
Bloodshed starts
Who’ll be alive?

Chaos A.D.
Army in siege
Total alarm
I’m sick of this
Inside the state
War is created
No man’s land
What is this shit?

Refuse
Resist
Refuse

Chaos A.D.
Disorder unleashed
Starting to burn
Starting to lynch
Silence means death
Stand on your feet
Inner fear
Your worst enemy

Refuse
Resist
Refuse
Resist

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Andreas Rudolf Kisser / Igor Cavalera / Massimiliano A. Cavalera / Paulo Xisto Jr. Pinto

Refuse/Resist lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Find out more about Sepultura at https://www.sepultura.com.br/

David writes:

What is there to loathe about this song? This song presses all the buttons, it’s a feel-good song about a social justice issue. The feel-good vibe of honky tonk piano, gospel choir, haunting backing vocals, tight, tight brass section, and social justice lyrics asking who is going to save our planet! It deserves to have you dancing around the kitchen – if that’s your thing – or singing along with eyes screwed up tight!

So why has it made it into this Loathing Lyrics in Lent series? Surely this track gives us reasons to be cheerful rather than loathing. Well here are my 5 reasons why it makes this music-loving activist a grumpy old man…

Reason 1
This song is 53 years old and is more relevant today than it was over half a century ago. It reminds me that as a race we have not saved the planet and in fact, we have continued to irrevocably damage this God-given, life-giving, miracle. This song reminds me that we are a selfish race.

Reason 2
The phrase that is repeated is ‘who is going to save the planet?’ implying that it is someone else’s problem to solve. It is the sort of song you hear live and really get into, and believe that you have been part of the solution by protesting. The kind of song that lulls us into an activist’s self-righteous smug fingerpointing! I have done my bit by asking someone else to solve it. This is at the heart of us being a selfish race, we are aware of the issue, but we are not prepared to change our lifestyles to ensure that part of the answer as to who is going to save the planet is me!

Reason 3
Hang on you say – it includes the question ‘will it be you, will it be me?’ Here is another problem with the twentieth and twenty-first-century climate debacle: we fell for Big Oil’s clever greenwashing. We bought into the belief that an individual’s climate footprint is the real problem, instead of looking at capitalism and the drive for more and more profit to be shared between fewer and fewer people. The capitalist economic system builds in obsolescence and packages and promotes innovation to create desire and ‘must-have’ in consumers so as to increase demand that, at the cost of the earth, lines the pockets of the rich.

Reason 4
‘Who’s going to volunteer?’. Plenty of us have volunteered. We have cut our carbon footprint, we have changed our habits and used our cash to make ethical choices, but we are still heading for a change in the planet’s balance that cannot be reversed. We are well past the point of plucky volunteers saving the day. Only a concerted effort by governments, corporations and the public will be enough to limit the effects.

Reason 5
‘Don’t you know we love our planet – judgment time is here’. The evidence is that quite clearly the majority of us don’t actually love our planet – if we had done so back in 1971, and in the half-century since, we would have acted to stop this catastrophe.

Perhaps the truest lyric in this song is ‘Lord knows who will it be’! Many of us have tried to do our bit, but in all honesty it hasn’t been enough. God knows as a race we have taken this divine gift and, as we did with Christ, crucified it. The difference is that we are passing the point of resurrection for the earth.

Our generation are living in Earth’s lenten period. We can repent of our flagrant disregard for God’s creation, but we can’t save the planet. So, in answer to Edgar Winter’s question: no one can save the planet. All we can do is try and limit the damage, but we can’t do it on our own. We need a paradigm shift and that is beyond even this great feel-good song!

So, I refuse to feel good despite every bone in my body wanting to love this song…

You can find out more about Edgar Winter’s White Trash at https://edgarwinter.com/white-trash/

Bridget writes:

Can I not just be sad?

Have you ever noticed how we are influenced by the voice of social media, friends, culture, church, and music, to move from the place of sadness to sunshine as quickly as possible?

The pace and lyrics of this song, jar; irritate; frustrate. I am in no hurry here!
Sorry Messrs Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr. The Beatles.

I need to remain here, at a pace and timing that bears witness to injustice,
bereavement, loss.

Survival of the fittest and evolution speaks of the avoidance of sadness.

We shush the crying baby – “don’t cry.”

Even the irritating lyrics of the well-known, well-meaning Christmas Carol adds volume to the message – “No crying he makes” … why on earth not? I shout! The message is there – imprinted; sadness is bad and should be avoided.

Research says sadness is essential. More importantly, the genius Pixar film ‘Inside Out’ illustrates what happens when we don’t recognise its place. And if we need the icing on the top, Brene Browne’s writing on Empathy cements the deal with a cherry and sprinkles as well.

Sadness is a live emotion that can serve to remind us of what matters to us and what gives our life meaning in the life song of ourselves or others.

Micah 6:8 – Life Livers, know that we can’t turn from injustice and simply look the other way, in the knowledge that the sun is coming!

Without sadness, are our emotions able to be stirred? Our heart cry realised? Our call to action…. Kicking our butt?

As a person of faith, my theology must allow room for suffering. It can’t not address it. I lament this week for the bereavement a friend is feeling. Deep, aggrieved anger rises in me and I struggle to put words to it. Whilst she suffers…. I silently pray.

I cry for a loved one walking a journey of mental health frustrations …. I SHOUT in prayer for God to be peace in the torment.

And I sit in stillness, immobilised in powerlessness, as I see injustice, destitution rising, and abuse of power…..

I open my hands.

Throughout the Psalms, there are examples of songs that describe the shifting of emotions in the sphere of deep convicted sadness of lament, trading this emotion for joy in a transaction through prayer or surrender.

These seem to get more radio space than the less popular ones which remain
patiently, purposefully, and probingly in the place of lament. One such Psalm is truly a ‘lament on high-octane’, Psalm 88.

It comes as comfort.

It’s okay to stay here.

God’s here too, you invited them here

‘LORD, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to
you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.’

Through lament, we can grieve and struggle with suffering. Through lament, we foster empathy, connecting us with people close or far. We stop being rescuers because instead, we want to be people of integrity; people who do messy real life from a place amongst and not on an ivory tower; standing with the hurting as they go through their trials. This is their story, their owned song, but we can sit beside, without the need to utter – here comes the sun!

So whether you need to be in the place of lament today or whether you are walking with another soul who has this as their emotion currently, don’t be too quick to dish out the happy pills, or point out that the sun is coming, when actually all that falls is rain.

Just sit, stand, walk, pray beside, and be here a little while longer…

You can find out more about The Beatles at https://www.thebeatles.com/

Sally writes:

The struggle I feel is I find a lot of Ed Sheeran’s music, including this song, boring and bland. Why is this a struggle for me? Well I feel I owe some loyalty to Ed Sheeran as I come from Suffolk, and he is probably the most famous person to have grown up there for several centuries. This is compounded because Ed Sheeran has sponsored Ipswich Town Football Club shirts for the last couple of seasons. I own a number of these, (home, away and blackout kit). I am wearing clothing which advertises the music I’m not so keen on.

If I’m honest this tension between something I find boring but feel a sense of duty to is not new. I have often felt like this about church. I have felt a duty to attend, volunteer and be involved in church communities because I am a Christian but to be honest have found it as boring as listening to Thinking Out Loud a fair bit of the time. It’s not that I actively dislike a lot of church services, but it’s that I don’t connect with them. I feel closer to God in the Tate Modern than I do most churches.

I want to stress there is nothing wrong with most church services. Indeed like Ed Sheeran’s music, there are lots of people who like mainstream hymn sandwiches, choral evensong, or lively worship events. It’s just I find all of these boring and either a bit too wholesome or inauthentic. It’s a bit like in The Smiths song Panic when it says “The music they constantly play, it says nothing to me about my life”. I think this sums up my problem with Ed Sheeran too.

My struggle with Ed Sheeran and his music was brought to a bit of a head in autumn last year when he made a personal appearance at my local record shop, Banquet Records in Kingston. Did I go or not? I’m not a fan of his music but I am grateful for what he has done for my football club. My decision was to go but to make clear to everybody that I was just there because of the football.

Church-wise I nearly left church, being clear I still held faith but feeling I had had enough of being bored and unconnected to God in church a lot of the time. But then I read the Brian McLaren book, ‘Do I Stay Christian?’ I decided to give church one more go and go to my current inclusive Methodist church in South West London because it is basically the church equivalent of indie, punk or metal, (although their music isn’t from those genres) – a bit more edgy and accepting of difference rather than bland, inoffensive and mainstream.

Find out more about Ed Sheeran at https://www.edsheeran.com/

Gill writes:

Oh, I struggle with this song on more than one level. Where do I start?

Firstly, I’m afraid that I have to hold my hands up or stick my head above the parapet – whichever is the more dangerous – and say that I really am not keen on Whitney’s voice. I know that this may upset the majority of people who think that she has a fantastic voice, and that’s fine. Just be mindful that not everyone is there with you. There is at least one person who finds her voice to be on a par with scrunching polystyrene in your hands. I don’t know why. I can say the same about Mariah Carey. I think there is a particular vocal register that my ears just can’t get on with – apart from ‘One Moment in Time’ when I think she, and her voice, nail it superbly.

Secondly, the whole story of this song depresses me. I sometimes wonder whether women’s lib ever really happened. Has this woman really no agency of her own? Why is it that people descend into illicit love affairs where snatching a moment or two with the person you love is all that you live for? I want to shake her and say ‘Wake up Whitney. You are worth more than this. Life is so much more than this!’.

I mean:

A few stolen moments, is all that we share
You’ve got your family, and they need you there
Though I try to resist, being last on your list
But no other man’s gonna do
So I’m saving all my love for you

Seriously? I want to ask – is it the man that you love? Or is the riskiness of the situation that you love?

So many people find this a romantic song – perhaps because of the soulful way that it is sung (I will give her that) – but I honestly struggle to see what is romantic about being a ‘mistress’ (wish I didn’t have to use this word but I couldn’t think of another) who spends most of her life waiting for a message to say ‘I’m free, I can meet you at ….’. To me, such a life is wracked with sadness and loneliness, not romance and excitement.

I know that we humans can fall in love with people who are with others. I know that we can dabble on the edge of dubious relationships, being filled with infatuation. I know that we can find out that a lover is already in another relationship after we’ve embarked on a relationship. I get that we lead messy, complicated lives at times, and I’m not passing judgment on those caught up in relationships like this whatsoever. Goodness knows that my teenage and younger adult years were a catalogue of unrequited love and questionable relationships. ‘“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7) springs to mind.

This song just makes me feel sangry (sad and angry) that a young woman is wasting her life away on a relationship that is not going to go anywhere. He’s not going to leave his wife and children, and she even sings that she knows this. She’s living under a misapprehension that his married relationship is full of woe and misery, and that his life would be better with her.

You used to tell me we’d run away together
Love gives you the right to be free
You said, “Be patient, just wait a little longer.”
But that’s just an old fantasy

Don’t save all your love for him Whitney. Get yourself out and about with your friends, spend your love on other people and passions. Go and find someone else to heap your love on, and in doing so, find out that you can love and value yourself a lot more too.

Even though Whitney is no longer alive, there is still a website where you can find out all about her and her work https://www.whitneyhouston.com/

Jane writes:

I’ve never been more tempted to write a double FF than I have at this moment.

I’m a fickle soul when it comes to music. Tune and lyrical content need to blend seamlessly for me, and the song usually has to do something to my soul. I have to say if I was giving things up for Lent, this pair of songs would be really easy.

I am annoyed at these songs for all sorts of reasons but mostly because people latch onto the words in a chorus and sing them endlessly without pondering what the rest of the song is about.

Because you’re gorgeous. I’d do anything for you

Or/and

You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, you’re Beautiful, it’s true

One is about the exploitation of a person’s beauty and sexy persona by another in a position of power and influence. The other is a kind of hankering over something you can’t have – to a point of drug-induced obsession. A story of stalking in plain sight.

Both situations are never going to end well and yet people sing ‘You’re gorgeous’ or ‘You’re beautiful’ like the songs are anthems to love and all things
joyous. Herrrummphhhh.

Pay attention is what I want to shout. Don’t latch on to two words and then think they’re the answer to everything. I’m not saying it’s bad to be catchy per se. I’m just saying this girl is conscious that it is easy to get distracted with a tune and easy words (in actual fact I have a massive list of these kinds
of songs but you’d be bored by the end of it – well maybe I could seed a few; Under My Thumb by The Stones say, or Every Breath You Take by the Police).

It isn’t always the writer’s fault as many are making a point (well …………) but a song is the whole thing and you have to be absolutely bothered before you burst forth in song.

You, the reader, are undoubtedly gorgeous; you are absolutely beautiful; but believe me, you don’t want someone to sing these songs to you!

I guess the Lenten takeaway from all of this is: give up being lazy and making assumptions about people, life news and all things cultural, and pay attention to the truth of the matter. Any matter.

Don’t live life in a haze of someone else’s story but dig deep for the honest centre. Look beyond the surface. Don’t get carried along but look for more. Be a seeker of the divine in everyone.

PS I’m am actually annoyed at the writers of these particular songs as their choruses themselves are intentionally exploitative of a listening public. Designed to sell records and hang the consequences. However, you can catch up with their music if you like here:
Baby Bird on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BabybirdOfficial/?locale=en_GB
James Blunt https://jamesblunt.com/

Bev writes:

Paul Simon released  “I am a Rock” in 1965 (initially as a solo artist but within a year, it was re-released with Art Garfunkel), and it quickly became a hit in the UK charts. I never saw the attraction and can honestly say without reservation, that it’s my number one least favourite song of all time (The Birdy Song is a close second).  

I have no need of friendship.  Friendship causes pain.  

I touch no one, and no one touches me. 

I am a rock. I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries.

The song portrays a person who has experienced emotional pain and has chosen to shut themselves off from others to protect themselves from further hurt. 

I imagine most of us can relate to the words of this song because I’m sure we have all, at some point, suffered the pain of a broken heart caused by the rejection of someone we love. It can be devastating, and nothing takes that kind of pain away.  No matter how well-meaning those close to us are, their words of comfort telling us that time is a great healer, and things will be alright in the end, seem hollow, insignificant, and sometimes downright irritating. 

We are all vulnerable when it comes to friendships, things can go wrong, and we can get hurt, however, to remain an island is to rob ourselves of something very special, because our relationships with other people can be truly transformational. 

I recently watched “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”.  I was rather hoping for something a bit more spiritually enlightening, it does after all take place in the heart of India, but alas there is only minimal mention of the Hindu faith. It was also full of clichéd characters – the widow looking to see if there was life outside of being a wife, a man looking to atone for his past because he betrayed his boyfriend, a married couple who had nothing left in common except their loyalty to each other, a woman who couldn’t accept that her youth had long since departed, and a woman who alienated everyone around her. The hotel owner, a very over-enthusiastic young man, answered all of the setbacks his elderly guests were suffering by continually reminding them that “Everything will be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright, it’s not the end”.

In some respects, I found it quite depressing because there was a strong thread of loneliness which ran through all the characters and I was tempted to switch it off, but I couldn’t.  I felt compelled to watch it to see if they all sorted themselves out, which of course they did, and they did it by getting to know one another better.  

This wasn’t without its difficulties though because some of them quite obviously rubbed each other up the wrong way. In the real world their paths would never have crossed because they had absolutely nothing whatsoever in common, yet by developing close relationships they each began to understand and empathise with one another’s respective pain, even to the point of devising plans to face them together.  By the end of the film, they had each been transformed by taking their eyes off their own troubles to help one another.

This so reminds me of how our church families work. We are called into friendship with God and that is the engine that drives every other friendship – because out of the rich resources of loving God and knowing God’s presence, we build our friendships with others, even those that we wouldn’t naturally gravitate toward, and to be honest, maybe even those we may positively avoid.

Friendships need to develop slowly and naturally, but if we are living within the confines of past hurts and disappointments there is every chance that our lives will bear testimony to the words of Paul Simon’s song.  That would be tragic because we were never meant to be an island – we are God’s means of enriching others and ourselves through true and lasting friendships. 

So my prayer for you all is – don’t be afraid to take a risk on friendships. Yes, you might get hurt – nobody can guarantee that you won’t but I do know this – everything will be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright, then it’s not the end.

Find out more about Paul Simon at http://www.paulsimon.com/