Musician's
observations about the religious life.
Emphasis
placed on the bold-faced lyrics.
Learn to Be Still …..Eagles
Its
just another day in paradise
As you stumble to your bed
Youd give anything to silence
Those voices ringing in your head
You thought you could find happiness
Just over that green hill
You thought you would be satisfied
But you never will-
Learn to be still
We
are like sheep without a shepherd
We don't know how to be alone
So we wander round this desert
And wind up following the wrong gods home
But the flock cries out for another
And they keep answering that bell
And one more starry-eyed messiah
Meets a violent farewell-
Learn to be still
Learn to be still
Now
the flowers in your garden
They don't smell so sweet
Maybe you've forgotten
The heaven lying at your feet
-solo-
There
are so many contradictions
In all these messages we send
(we keep asking)
How do I get out of here
Where do I fit in?
Though the world is torn and shaken
Even if your heart is breakin
Its waiting for you to awaken
And someday you will-
Learn to be still
Learn to be still
You just keep on runnin
Keep on runnin
She came from
providence,
The one in Rhode
Island
Where the old
world shadows hang
Heavy in the air
She packed her
hopes and dreams
Like a refugee
Just as her
father came across the sea
She heard about a place people were smilin
They spoke about the red mans way,
And how they loved the land
And they came from everywhere
To the great divide
Seeking a place to stand
Or a place to hide
Down in the crowded bars,
Out for a good time,
Can't wait to tell you all,
What its like up there
And they called it paradise
I don't know why
Somebody laid the mountains low
While the town got high
Then the chilly winds blew down
Across the desert
Through the canyons of the coast, to
The malibu
Where the pretty people play,
Hungry for power
To light their neon way
And give them things to do
Some rich men came and raped the land,
Nobody caught em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and jesus,
People bought em
And they called it paradise
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea
You can leave it all behind
And sail to lahaina
Just like the missionaries did, so many years ago
They even brought a neon sign: jesus is coming
BROUGHT THE WHITE MANS BURDEN DOWN
BROUGHT THE WHITE MANS REIGN
Who will provide the grand design?
What is yours and what is mine?
‘Cause
there is no more new frontier
We have got to make it here
We satisfy our endless needs and
Justify our bloody deeds,
In the name of destiny and in the name of god
And you can see them there,
On
sunday morning
They
stand up and sing about
What its like up there
They call it paradise
I dont know why
You call someplace paradise,
Kiss it goodbye
Hole
in the World….Eagles
There’s
a hole in the world tonight.
There's a cloud of fear and sorrow.
There's
a hole in the world tonight.
Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow
They say that anger is just love disappointed.
They say that love is just a state of mind.
But all this fighting over who is anointed,
Oh, how can people be so blind?
There's a hole in the world tonight.
There's a cloud of fear and sorrow.
There's a hole in the world tonight.
Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.
Oh, they tell me there's a place over yonder
Cool water running through the burning sand.
Until we learn to love one another,
We will never reach the Promised Land.
There's a hole in the world tonight.
There's a cloud of fear and sorrow.
There's a hole in the world tonight.
Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.
(There's a hole in the world tonight.)
They say that anger is just love disappointed.
(There's a cloud of fear and sorrow.)
They say that love is just a state of mind.
(There's a hole in the world tonight.)
But all this fighting over who will be anointed,
(Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.)
Oh, how can people be so blind?
There's a hole in the world tonight.
(Hole in the world)
There's a cloud of fear and sorrow.
(Fear and sorrow)
There's a hole in the world tonight.
(Ooooh)
Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow (repeat three times)
Imagine…..John Lennon
Imagine
there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...
Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...
You may say Im a dreamer,
but Im not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.
(Imagine all the people sharing all the world)
Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.
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What are they saying? Are you listening?
Questions man should be asking.
It’s
My Life…..Bon Jovi
This
ain't a song for the broken-hearted
No silent prayer for the faith-departed
I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd
You're gonna hear my voice
When I shout it out loud
Chorus:
It's my life
It's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
(it's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said
I did it my way
I just wanna live while I'm alive
Its my life
This is for the ones who stood their ground
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down
Tomorrows getting harder make no mistake
Luck ain't even lucky
Got to make your own breaks
Chorus:
It's my life
And its now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
(it's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said
I did it my way
I just want to live while I'm alive
cause it's my life
Better
stand tall when they're calling you out
Don't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down
Chorus:
It's my life
And it's now or never
cause I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
(it's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said
I did it my way
I just want to live while I'm alive
CRAZY TRAIN…..Ozzy Osbourne
Crazy,
but thats how it goes
Millions of people living as foes
Maybe its not to late
To learn how to love
And forget how to hate
Mental wounds not healing
Lifes a bitter shame
Im going off the rails on a crazy train
Ive listened to preachers
Ive listened to fools
Ive watched all the dropouts
Who make their own rules
One person conditioned to rule and control
The media sells it and you have the role
Mental wounds still screaming
Driving me insane
Im going off the rails on a crazy train
I know that things are going wrong for me
You gotta listen to my words
Yeh-h
Heirs of a cold war
Thats what weve become
Inheriting troubles Im mentally numb
Crazy, I just cannot bear
Im living with something that just isnt fair
Mental wounds not healing
Who and whats to blame
Im going off the rails on a crazy train
Authority
Song…………
JOHN
(COUGAR) MELLENCAMP
They like to get you in a compromising position
They like to get you there and smile in your face
They think they're so cute when they got you in that condition
Well I think it's a total disgrace
[Chorus:]
I fight authority, Authority always wins
I fight authority, Authority always wins
I been doing it since I was a young kid
I come out grinnin'
I fight authority, Authority always wins
So I
call up my preacher
I say, "Give me strength for Round 5."
He
said , "You don't need no strength, you need to grow up son."
I said, "Growing up leads to growing old and then to dying
"And dying to me don't sound like all that much
fun."
Oh
no oh no
[Chorus]
One of Us….Joan Osborne
If
God had a name, what would it be
And would you call it to his face
If you were faced with him in all his glory
What would you ask if you had just one question
Yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
What
if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
If God had a face, what would it look like
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that you would have to believe
In things like heaven and in jesus and the saints
And all the prophets and...
Yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
Tryin to make his way home
Back up to heaven all alone
Nobody callin on the phone
cept for the pope maybe in rome
Yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
Just tryin to make his way home
Like a holy rolling stone
Back up to heaven all alone
Just tryin to make his way home
Nobody callin on the phone
cept for the pope maybe in rome
Comments:
This was fun to compile! These songs easily came into my mind. Maybe you have
your own songs that have spoken to you? These are obviously the
writer's/singer's songs and ideas. I don't agree with all of the observations
(Lennon's Utopian ideas for example). Just enjoy the songs and the thoughts that
they have expressed. Within the lyrics I see several recurring themes: 1) the
contention that religion brings along with it, 2) how religion sucks the life
out of it's victims, 3) and for believers to wake up and live while they have a
life to live!
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Only the Good Die Young……. Billy Joel
Come
out Virginia, Don't let me wait
You Catholic girls start much too late
But sooner or later it comes down to fate
I might as well be the one
They
showed you a statue and told you to pray
They built you a temple and locked you away
But they never told you the price that you pay
For the things that you might have done
Only the good die young.
You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd
We ain't too pretty we ain't too proud
We might be laughing a bit too loud
But that never hurt no one.
Come on Virginia show me a sign
Send up a signal I'll throw you the line
The
stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind
Never lets in the sun
And only the good die young.
You got a nice white dress and a party on your
confirmation
You got a brand new soul and a cross of gold
But Virginia they didn't give you quite enough information
You didn't count on me
When you were counting on your rosary
They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but I say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
Sinners are much more fun
And only the good die young
You say your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation
She never cared for me
But did she ever say a prayer for me?
[Chorus]
http://www.celebatheists.com/?title=Billy_Joel
The
River Of Dreams….. BILLY
JOEL
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To a river so deep
I must be looking for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it's too hard to cross
And even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and I stand on the shore
And try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find out what I've been looking for
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep
And I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I would never lose
Something somebody stole
I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is that I've been looking for
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To a river so deep
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night
I'm not
sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized
by the fire, I wade into the river
That runs to the promised land
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night
LOSING MY RELIGION…..REM
Life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up
That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no I've said too much
I haven't said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
Every whisper
Of every waking hour I'm
Choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt lost and blinded fool
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up
Consider this
The hint of the century
Consider this
The slip that brought me
To my knees failed
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I've said too much
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
But that was just a dream
That was just a dream
Man
On The Moon…REM
Mott the Hoople and the game of Life. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Monopoly, Twenty one, checkers, and chess. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's play Twister, let's play Risk. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
See you heaven if you make the list. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hey, Andy did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy are you goofing on Elvis? Hey, baby. Are we losing touch?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon.
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool.
Moses went walking with the staff of wood. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Newton got beaned by the apple good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Egypt was troubled by the horrible asp. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mister Charles
Darwin had the gall to ask. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hey Andy did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey, Andy are you goofing on Elvis? Hey, baby. Are you having fun?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon.
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool.
Here's a little agit
for the never-believer. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Here's a little ghost for the offering. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Here's a truck stop instead of Saint Peter's. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mister Andy Kaufman's gone wrestling [wrestling bears]. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah.
Hey Andy did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy are you goofing on Elvis, hey baby, are we losing touch?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon.
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool.
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