The Friday Fix

  • ‘Heroes’ – Måns Zelmerlöw

    Gill writes:

    Well, it’s that time of the year again. Time for the musical event filled with flamboyance, politics and kitsch. For some, it’s an automatic cue to turn off BBC1 and grumble about a music contest taking over the whole channel for an evening; for others, it’s a celebration of eclectic fashion, diverse music, amazing production, and most of all, diversity and inclusion.

    We embrace it in our home. It’s been a staple for me since Bucks Fizz won in 1981, and my first ever Friday Fix was about ‘Love Shine a Light’ by Katrina and the Waves. Whatever you think about Eurovision, you can’t deny that it has introduced us to some great, timeless songs over the years. Where would we be without Cliff’s ‘Congratulations’, Dana’s ‘All Kinds of Everything’, Lulu’s ‘Boom Bang a Bang’, and Abba’s ‘Waterloo’ for a start…

    Today’s song was the winning entry in 2015. My favourite that year was Estonia’s entry ‘Goodbye to Yesterday’ but who am I to know anything about choosing a Eurovision winner – my favourite rarely ever wins! However, ‘Heroes’ came up as the overall family favourite when all our votes were counted.

    As is often the case with a Eurovision winner, there’s more depth to the song than you initially think. The light show that accompanies the song gives a visual narration. The little character that Måns interacts with on the screen is actually himself as a child. According to Måns, he was bullied at school until a new child joined the class. This child, the ‘hero’ in the song, helped Måns to recognise his own worth and helped to build his confidence.

    He said go dry your eyes
    And live your life like there is no tomorrow

    Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. We underestimate what we are capable of, or we place our own obstacles in the way. We look for problems to prevent us from being who we are, instead of solutions that will free us to be who we were made to be. We dance with the demons in our minds.

    We are the heroes of our time
    Heroes

    But we’re dancing with the demons in our minds
    Heroes

    I wonder who your heroes are? Who are the people who have lifted you up and carried you to the place where you can take it from there? Who are the ones who stood alongside and faced adversity with you head-on? Who is the person who helped you appreciate what you were capable of? Who are the ones, or one, that changed your life?

    He said I never left your side
    When you were lost I followed right behind
    Was your foundation

    Has it ever occurred to you that you might be someone’s hero? You may have had a truly privileged moment when you’ve been told ‘I couldn’t have done it without you.’ You may crop up in an old friend’s conversation about how you helped them reach an important decision. Somebody who you haven’t seen since your schooldays may still talk about the time that you stuck up for them in the gym changing rooms. Who knows? They do. Those people that hold you as a hero in their lives. They know.

    If you want to know what Måns Zelmerlöw is doing these days, you can visit his website at https://manszelmerlow.se/mans-zelmerlow/

  • Why Don’t You?

    Showing our age today!

    We’re on the lookout for more Friday Fixes so ‘why don’t you’ have a go at writing one for us?

    All you need to do is think about why you’ve been singing that song in the shower each morning this week – or why that track is endlessly on your playlist. Jot down why you like it. Is there a funny or poignant story associated with it? Does it make you want to spring into action? Did it change your life or the way that you think about things?

    Go and switch off your television set and go and do something less boring instead by writing a Friday Fix and send it to Gill at thomasg@methodistchurch.org.uk.

  • ‘Out of Reach’ – Gabrielle

    Gill writes:

    I have a lot to thank Rachel Held Evans (RHE) for. She gave me and thousands of others, the confidence to question, to wander, and to wonder about their faith in God and the church that they belonged to. Her book ‘Searching for Sunday’ follows the story of her searching for her ‘church tribe’ – a community of believers where she could feel both at home and on holy ground.

    It’s three years this week since RHE died, and she still nudges people to deconstruct their faith. For many, it can be an upsetting and disruptive process that can take years as they start to ponder what they truly believe about God, Jesus, faith, and spirituality. For many going through deconstructing their faith, it can feel like they’ve been cast adrift or are being carried along with something that just doesn’t feel completely true anymore. Some might even think that they’ve been ‘stupid for a while.’

    Knew the signs
    Wasn’t right
    I was stupid for a while
    Swept away by you
    And now I feel like a fool
    So confused
    My heart’s bruised
    Was I ever loved by you?

    Some are rejected by their church for questioning and doubting. Some are made to feel like they are doing the rejecting – here are the people who they grew up with, learned together with, shared with and all of a sudden (or perhaps over quite some time), they don’t feel like they quite fit any longer. It begins to feel as though what you knew well and anchored your faith isn’t what you thought it was.

    Out of reach, so far
    I never had your heart
    Out of reach
    Couldn’t see
    We were never
    Meant to be

    For some who come from more fundamental or conservative evangelical circles, it can be incredibly painful to deconstruct faith. They are not only rejected by their church but can find themselves on the receiving end of some aggressive behaviour from those who they thought loved them.

    So much hurt
    So much pain
    Takes a while
    To regain
    What is lost inside
    And I hope that in time
    You’ll be out of my mind
    And I’ll be over you

    But now I’m
    So confused
    My heart’s bruised
    Was I ever loved by you?

    There’s a whole lot of fear around deconstructing your faith. Fear of the unknown. Fear of losing the familiar. Fear of being different and vulnerable.

    Deconstructing your faith is not about destroying it – it’s actually part of deepening it. It’s about letting go of restrictions and cultures of church that are more concerned with doing things in a certain way. It’s about being concerned with doing right, rather than being right. It’s about doubting and questioning because when this happens, you are really grappling with deeper stuff.

    Our churches need to be spaces that allow testing and trying out; of doubting and opting out; of asking questions that make all of us feel uncomfortable – and of loving people all the more when they are doing so. People may move from one fold to another one. That’s okay because they are safe; that’s okay because they feel like they belong where they can flourish and love God all the more.

    If they are loved and cherished and move to pastures new, we can take heart that we cared for them and they are following where God is leading them.

    In my reach, I can see
    There’s a life out there
    For me

    You can find out what Gabrielle is doing at https://gabrielle.co.uk/

  • ‘Iguana Bird’ by Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson

    Marc writes:

    I took the kids to see Sing 2 at the cinema and was reminded that Scarlett Johansson doesn’t just kick ass but also has a fine set of lungs on her… Trading her Black Widow leather cat suit for a porcupine-tailored rocker’s leather jacket, for me she steals the show!

    As a result I jumped on Spotify and looked up what she’s done outside of films, and I stumbled across “Iguana Bird.” Further Google rabbit-hole wanderings confirmed magnificent creature pictured above doesn’t actually exist, and I have absolutely no idea what the title is in reference to. That said, the simplicity of the whole song, tune, rhythm and lyrics drew me in to hearing God’s voice speaking to me.

    It’s clearly a song about what we go through post-heartbreak, that way that you might scroll through their TwInstaBook feed to check out what they’re doing, who they’re with, how happy they are without you, and then wanting to ask those questions:

    Do you like how you’re spending your time?
    Do you like how you’re living your life away from me?

    If we’re talking about a break-up then there’s inherent judging in those questions. “Look what you’ve got now… Is it really as good as it was when you were with me? Is that new partner, that new life, are those new friends REALLY as good as what we had?”


    But when that voice was God speaking to me this morning that wasn’t the case. I didn’t get the sense of judgment, of guilting or shaming. Once upon a time, I would have done… Once upon a time, I’d have felt like I was letting God down, that I was an awful person living an awful life and that I needed to change everything.


    That’s not to say I’m perfect now, but it is to say that my perspective has changed.
    God isn’t saying “Your life looks rubbish without me in it.” I get the sense that he’s saying to me as a Christian as much as he is to the rest of the human population regardless of religion or not
    “What do you see when you look at your life? I want you to have life in all its fullness. Is that what you’ve got?”


    The God I know at the moment prefers to invite me into conversation and relationship that way, and to explore more of life. The God I know at the moment wants to remind me of his heart for me and for the world, and calls me into a fuller existence alongside him. With ALL of the “L’s” I hear God saying to me, and you, and all of us:

    L-l-l-l-l-l-love you
    L-l-l-l-l-l-love you
    L-l-l-l-l-l-love you
    Woah, oh oh oh

    But as with any invitation there is an opportunity to RSVP “no”, and that should be OK!
    There should always be that ability to close the door, to say “You know what, I’m doing alright just now, thanks.”


    I think there are genuinely people who would look at what they have and be content with their lot in life, happy enough with how they’re spending their time and living their life without the interruption of a deity, or at least the white western God that we’ve created and could be accused of trying to impose on people.


    I think there are people who once knew that God, rather than the one I know now, and quite rightly shut the door on a relationship perceived to be abusive, and manipulative, and conditional, on a system based on performance and living to a standard, rather than one based on accepting love and living fully as a response from the depth of our hearts.

    He came to see her, never did meet her
    Close the door in his face again
    Time overwhelms you, let it get away
    The life you had imagined just slipped away.

    And yet there’s something about “Life in abundance” that is worth exploring.
    It’s something that we should try not to let slip away.
    I think we should try and find safe spaces for people to re-visit God and re-frame him from the less helpful images we’ve previously had.


    It’s one of those things we shouldn’t put off, or store away with the bottle of whisky that’s only for special occasions, or the best china, or the pants we save for “date night”, that might never end up being used…

    I wonder, do you like how you’re spending your time?
    Whether you’re currently doing life with or without God, do you like how you’re living your life?
    Is there a way it could be fuller?

    Find out more about Pete Yorn’s music at http://www.peteyorn.com/

  • ‘Stars’ from ‘Les Miserables’ (sung By Philip Quast)

    Jane writes:

    Music is a fascinating thing. Why you like it and when you connect with it. Sometimes it’s all about the lyrical content – this blog is testament to that. Other times it is about chord structure and harmony, and all that one note does when it hits you deep down in your core. It can also be about how much of your cold hard cash you’ve invested in it or, and this is more my thing, the sense of time and place it brings up from when it was first on your radar.

    This track though connects with me because of a person. A dear friend and colleague who died in recent weeks. A man interested in others, and who carried an overwhelming sense of justice at the top of the list in the important things of faith. A gentle human who took the time to care and listen. A soul who was great at his job and knew his stuff. A navigator of the complexities of life, sometimes with more success than others. A funny, witty, and occasionally provocative storyteller. A guy with a lilting and rich voice who sang often and especially this song on request.

    I don’t really know what happens when a person dies, but I certainly know what I’d like to think could be in store for a God-filled man like this one. Maybe the answer for me lies in a heavenward look to the stars and a listen to this song. A constant reminder that this gracious soul, full of light, made a dent in our lives, and the world was a better place for having him in it.

    Rest easy friend x

    You can find out more about Les Miserables here https://www.lesmis.com/

    & Philip Quast here https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0702985/bio

  • Street Spirit(Fade Out) – Radiohead

    Gill writes:

    Here we are on that most devastating of days, Good Friday. The day when a world of hopes and dreams, of justice and liberation, came crashing down. There couldn’t be a better soundtrack to the day than this song of sheer hopelessness from Radiohead.

    Today we walk the journey with Jesus as he takes his last steps towards crucifixion. We walk along the narrow Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem as

    Rows of houses, all bearing down on me
    I can feel their blue hands touching me

    We’re bemused by a system that allows an innocent man to be put to death; that continues to rule with tyranny; that prefers lies to truth; that lines its own pockets and laughs in the face of the poor and sick. We’re angry, we’re frustrated, we’re disgusted, we’re crestfallen, we’re broken.

    This machine will, will not communicate
    These thoughts and the strain I am under
    Be a world child, form a circle
    Before we all go under
    And fade out again and fade out again

    We watch with horror and distress as this man, who has shown us God and changed our lives completely, struggles under the weight that he is bearing on his shoulders. This is surely not what is supposed to happen. There has to be a reprieve. There has to be a change of mind.

    Cracked eggs, dead birds
    Scream as they fight for life
    I can feel death, can see its beady eyes

    There he hangs. Our Messiah.

    All these things into position
    All these things we’ll one day swallow whole
    Fade out again
    Fade out again

    Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.

    Immerse your soul in love
    Immerse your soul in love

  • ‘Wait On You’ – Maverick City

    Lily (age 15) writes:

    ‘Wait On You’ by Maverick City explains the struggle and reward of waiting on God.

    “I’ve tasted your goodness, I’ll trust in your promise”

    This line reminds us that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The things he’s done before he can do again!

    I love the bridge in this song, talking about the importance of praising WHILE waiting.

    In our seasons of waiting, it’s so easy to get so focused on the thing we are waiting for – we forget to use the time God’s given us to enjoy.

    The next time God tells you to wait, make sure you are worshipping in the wait; enjoying the lessons God is teaching you, and trusting his timing!

    If you want to know more about Maverick City Music, follow this link https://www.maverickcitymusic.com/

  • ‘Three Rivers’ – Santan Dave

    Just a ‘heads-up’ that this song contains the f*bomb a few times – a song of passion and justice sometimes does.

    Max (age 17) writes:

    ‘Three Rivers’ is a poignant reminder of the trials and tribulations that immigrants face, not only in their home countries but also in this country – their so-called ‘refuge’. It follows the idea of 3 different groups of immigrants who have faced challenges from government and local communities in Britain – from the Windrush generation of the 60’s to the Syrian refugee crisis of the late 2010’s. 

    This song seems particularly relevant at this point in time with what is going on in Ukraine at the moment. The second verse strikes home particularly to me. The similarities between what Dave is saying about the conflict in former Yugoslavia seem almost eerily identical to what is happening in Ukraine. For me, this song is a masterpiece and really identifies the faults within society and our country’s immigration system. It’s a real ‘head wobbler’ and hopefully if more people hear it, more people may start looking at refugees and asylum seekers as humans running from an unspeakable evil, rather than foreigners ‘taking our jobs’.

    A line that catches my attention is

    We rely on migration more than ever before

    They’re key workers, but they couldn’t even get in the door

    It seems to me that throughout the COVID pandemic, we forgot the foreign nationals who kept our infrastructure afloat. 

    In conclusion, ‘Three Rivers’ is a song to make you think – which it does phenomenally well. Reflecting is the most important thing about humanity and I think with a little bit more Dave in our lives, everyone can become a little bit more human.

    Look

    Imagine an island where the party never ends
    Where it’s less about money and it’s more about friends
    Where the vibes can’t done
    It’s less about fundin’ and and more about fun
    Tropical sun, that’s life in the ’60s comin’ from the Caribbean
    You know Ian, Delroy, Vivian, Winston
    Who got drafted to England
    Windrush babies from Kingston to Brixton
    To say they’re the life of the party, you’re wrong
    My Jamaicans the entire party, you can’t see?
    Big Notting Hill carni, you can’t see?
    And the ride’s fiberglass, G, you wan’ see?
    Imagine a place where you raise your kids
    The only place you live says you ain’t a Brit
    They’re deportin’ our people and it makes me sick
    ‘Cause they were broken by the country that they came to fix
    It’s like

    They came at the invitation of the British Government
    The passports were stamped indefinitely to remain
    But for some who were children then, that was a false promise
    “Thirty-seven years of paying taxes
    And I got a letter saying I was an illegal immigrant
    I came to England at the age of ten and I’ve lived here all my life”

    Look, imagine a world that’s flawed and full of evil
    Where dictators and leaders are persecutin’ your people
    The bodies of the innocent are pilin’ to the steeples
    The ironic part is they’re preyin’ on the feeble
    That’s life in the 90’s, you’re Eastern European
    And you seein’ people dyin’ ’cause they’re fightin’ for their freedom
    And show you violence for havin’ a voice
    You move out with your kids in hope of havin’ a choice
    Life throws you a spanner, you can’t handle the pain
    So you gamble and you drink and then you gamble again
    You argue with your wife and then you sleep on the couch
    You hit your children, then start freezin’ ’em out
    You try and work things out, but it’s never the same
    All the women in your household are livin’ afraid
    When you look into the mirror you’re reminded again
    That you’ve become the dictator you were fightin’ against
    It’s like

    We’re fightin’ for our rights, for all our mothers
    And then we, we
    We are fighting for our homes
    We are fighting for our own

    Look, imagine a world that’s fucked and untrue
    Where the many pay a price for the few
    And every day the sun rises a little later
    That’s how it is when your oppressor is your liberator
    That’s right now livin’ in the Middle East
    Praise Allah for the peace
    Death from a sky littered with stars
    You run away with your kids so you can give them a chance
    But your asylum has got you in a different war
    Because the British wanna know what you’re livin’ here for
    We rely on migration more than ever before
    They’re key workers, but they couldn’t even get in the door
    When you’re at Heaven’s Gates, what you tellin’ the Lord?
    You wouldn’t even let a kid into some steadier shores
    That’s a life they may never afford
    Surely you would wanna give your people chances
    That were better than yours?
    No?

    “In ten years of conflict
    More than twelve-thousand children have been killed or injured”
    “The children here are just a tiny fraction
    Of the estimated six-million
    In need of emergency humanitarian assistance
    It’s thought perhaps, as many of three-million
    No longer live in their own homes
    And up to two million children no longer attend school
    The opportunities of this generation
    Have been changed forever by this conflict”

    “I went to silence when I need to who the, who the fuck I was, bro
    Like, I won’t hear anyone else, shut everyone else out
    So I could just hear myself, bro
    You know what I’m sayin’?
    ‘Cause we live in this world, yeah
    You stand still, the way the tides set up
    It will take you away from yourself, you feel me?
    So then I was like “Aight, cool”
    But, I had to get silent, but it’s not like mans goin’ against the tide
    ‘Cause goin’ against the tide still makes it about them
    Still makes it about the poison
    That you’ve internalized in your mind, you feel me?
    It’s like “Bro, why am I in this water?
    Man, this water doesn’t even like me, it’s not even for me
    It’s not takin’ me where I wanna go, it’s not takin’ me where I wanna go
    It’s who the fuck I am, bro, you know I’m sayin’?
    It’s like the tide will tell me that bein’ black is an obstacle
    See what I’m sayin’?
    I had to, switch rivers, bro
    It’s like bein’ black is an asset
    I am who I am because I’m black
    And I love everything about it, you feel me?
    And that’s who the fuck I am”

    Find out more about Dave at https://santandave.com/

  • ‘Darkside’ – Alan Walker Ft Au/Ra & Tomine Harket

    Alfie (13) writes:

    ‘Darkside’ can be seen as a sad song, but it can give hope to people (especially teenagers).

    The lyrics can make many people sad because the song is slow and the lyrics are not the happiest, but it can make teens feel not alone, and the sad but true truth is that this world isn’t always bright and colourful.

    When you feel sad, you might want to be alone but not feel alone because you could be alone and switch the song on, and feel like there is someone there for you. The song makes the sad lyrics feel happy as the music is slow but makes the lyrics – which are sad when you read them – sound happy.

    The tune is upbeat to pump you up, even though the lyrics are sad. Looking over this song from a different angle makes me see how much this song could make a person full of hope and can get some people through their day.

    We’re not in love
    We share no stories
    Just something in your eyes

    Don’t be afraid
    The shadows know me
    Let’s leave the world behind

    Take me through the night
    Fall into the dark side
    We don’t need the light
    We’ll live on the dark side
    I see it
    Let’s feel it
    While we’re still young and fearless
    Let go of the light
    Fall into the dark side

    Fall into the dark side
    Give into the dark side
    Let go of the light
    Fall into the dark side

    Beneath the sky
    As black as diamonds
    We’re running out of time (Time, time)

    Don’t wait for truth
    To come and blind us
    Let’s just believe their lies

    Believe it
    I see it
    I know that you can feel it
    No secrets worth keeping
    So fool me like I’m dreaming

    Take me through the night
    Fall into the dark side
    We don’t need the light
    We’ll live on the dark side
    I see it
    Let’s feel it
    While we’re still young and fearless
    Let go of the light
    Fall into the dark side

    Fall into the dark side
    Give into the dark side
    Let go of the light
    Fall into the dark side

    Take me through the night
    Fall into the dark side
    We don’t need the light
    We’ll live on the dark side
    I see it
    Let’s feel it
    While we’re still young and fearless
    Let go of the light
    Fall into the dark side

    Find out more about Alan Walker’s work at https://alanwalker.com/