Thursday, April 23, 2015

Musical Memories - Trope


My theme is Musical Memories:  The Memories that music brings rushing back.

No, it's not a group or a song.  Just a word, that defined by Merriam-Webster means:  a word, phrase or image used in a new and different way in order to create an artistic effect.  I sometimes do this with secular songs.  I hear the lyrics to the songs and I find myself thinking what could make me feel this way and the answer I come up with is God.  And then, as I listen I begin to worship him.

I know in church, many times I've seen a band or group take secular music and overlay Christian verses.  Did you know that the words to "Amazing Grace" will fit perfectly into the tune, "The House of The Rising Sun".  It makes a very dramatic effect.  And as a teen I heard them take the Coca Cola theme song, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" and do the same thing ending it with "He's the Real One, What the world needs today.  A song of Hope that echoes on, and never goes away."

A few years back, Bubba called me out to his truck one night and said listen to this.  It was a song he had on a copied CD called "My Time With You" by and area artist named Ramsey Red.  I adored it!  The guitar was so clean and haunting in the song.  And although towards the end he sang,"Girl my time with you..." Bubba and I looked at each other and almost at once said it could be about God.  I have a copy of that on every device I own.  And it is always God to me when I hear it.  (Unfortunately, as much as it would thrill me to share that version with you, I can't find it anywhere online.)  Later on Bubba told me he had heard it either started as a Christian song or others had made it into one.  Getting ready for this post, I have searched and searched, but can't come up with the story on the origin of the song.    So, all I can offer you really is this artist's Christian spin on the song.
  


I found a couple on Spotify. This version is no where near as good as Ramsey's, but the guitar is more similar to the one on his and this artist has a strong vocal, which Ramsey also also has.

Then there are the secular songs written to be about God. Take George Harrison's (my fav Beatle) "My Sweet Lord."




He may have written it with Krishna in mind, but when I hear it, my heart and my soul worships Christ as the Everlasting Lord.  The full choir backup and Harrison's exceptional guitar work make it a beautiful, uplifting peace.  I'll often listen to it 2, 3, 4 times in a row.  Complete with Holy Hands lifted up! 

And then there the songs that no one ever meant to ever relate to God.  But somehow, for me all or part of them has me worshiping.   For instance, "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" by the Righteous Brothers.  When they come to the chorus, "You're my soul and my life's inspiration, you're all I need to get me by. You're my soul and my life's inspiration, without you baby what good am I, what good am I?"  I sing it with Jesus in place of baby. At one time I had words worked out for the verses that fit my version as well.  

So, to sum up, if you hear me jamming down at a red light, I may actually be worshiping in my own peculiar way. 


Have you ever heard a totally secular song that led you to worship?
Have you ever heard either of the versions of Amazing Grace to different music that I mentioned?
What about My Sweet Lord, does it bother you it was written for Krishna?

17 comments:

  1. Music was my first love Barbara, could play tunes on piano at 2 yrs and music is a big part of my life now.
    Your post was excellent to read and extremely well written. Well done.
    Yvonne.

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    1. From age two! Wow. Thank you for your kids words, Yvonne!

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  2. I will "steal" anything worldly to use for God's purposes. It isn't stealing then, it's giving it back! (You do know, I'm kidding about stealing....right? God doesn't condone actual stealing, just "stealing". LOL!

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  3. Everything belongs to God and can be used for His Glory.

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  4. What Melanie said!
    I feel God listening to Rush because of their lyrics.
    I play in a Christian band, so we cover a lot of contemporary Christian songs.
    One secular song by a group of devout Christians that I really like is Rose of Sharyn by Killswitch Engage. It's Jesus singing to God and it's awesome.

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  5. interesting post and stuff I hadn't thought about. Then again, it's been a long long time since I sat in a pew. I have no problem at all with "My sweet Lord" - just a darn good song

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  6. I like the way you worship my dear. At a red light in the car is as good a place as anywhere.

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    1. I think it is. Any time, any where the Spirit moves you.

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  7. When I was a teenager involved in Youth activities, we would take a popular song and imagine that it was really for God...like "I Want to Hold Your Hand" or "You've Got a Friend." Sometimes, it worked without changes - sometimes, just one word needed tweaked.

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  8. I enjoyed this post, and really identified. I love that song by George Harrison, and have the same kind of reaction as you described.

    I was moved once by "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. I wrote an entirely new song to the same tune. Here is the link if you would like to see the Christian lyrics I wrote:

    https://serenadedinseconds.wordpress.com/?s=Stairway+To+Ponder

    Blessings,
    Theresa


    https://pronetoponder.wordpress.com/

    https://serenadedinseconds.wordpress.com/

    A-Z Challenge- “Blossoming Verses”

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    Replies
    1. Cool, Theresa! Thanks for sharing that. I'll wander over later on and check it out.

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  9. I was just watching the movie Amazing Grace, and they had a scene about why the song was written. Fascinating.

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So glad you stopped by! Come 'round any time. ~ Barbara

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