Feed Your Ears

[Luigi]

A straight-up country (in the best sense of the word) song released in May '23. Easy to listen to. "Daddy Never Had a Chance in Hell" by Paul Pace. 

 

[Luigi]

This is a Polish Marian hymn, "Błogosławiona Matka Boga" (Blessed Mother of God) sung in that distinctively Slavic style - it's still SATB, with strong voices, the men provide drone notes (in harmony) while the women sing melody (in harmony), and some counterpoint, too! The chorus is one line (but song twice each time), and the verses are also one line. The Polish lyrics are available if you click on "More" in the description; the English translation is provided in the first Comment. 

 

[Luigi]

"God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot."

Leonard Cohen wrote the words, as a poem, in his first novel, which revolves around Kateri Tekakwitha (but is also postmodern sexually graphic). I don't know if St. Kateri's character (she was beatified but not canonized when the novel was written) recites this poem in the novel. In any case, the  poem/song should stand or fall on its own merits, regardless of the novel.

Buffy Sainte-Marie 'improvised [the poem] into a song' according to Chris Thile, the mandolin virtuos). Thile calls this a 'semi-sacred song.' I include the lyrics because they're kind of minimalist and repetitive, and because the trippy sound effects sometimes interfere with catching the words. I think I like this song, but I'm not completely sure. 

God is alive, magic is afoot
God is alive, magic is afoot
God is afoot, magic is alive
Alive is afoot, magic never died

God never sickened
Many poor men lied, many sick men lied
Magic never weakened, magic never hid
Magic always ruled, God is afoot
God never died

God was ruler
Though his funeral lengthened
Though his mourners thickened
Magic never fled
Though his shrouds were hoisted, the naked God did live
Though his words were twisted, the naked magic thrived
Though his death was published 'round and 'round the world
The heart did not believe

Many hurt men wondered, many struck men bled
Magic never faltered, magic always led
Many stones were rolled but God would not lie down
Many wild men lied, many fat men listened
Though they offered stones, magic still was fed
Though they locked their coffers, God was always served

Magic is afoot, God rules
Alive is afoot, alive is in command
Many weak men hungered
Many strong men thrived
Though they boasted solitude, God was at their side
Nor the dreamer in his cell
Nor the captain on the hill

Magic is alive
Though his death was pardoned
'Round and 'round the world
The heart did not believe

Though laws were carved in marble
They could not shelter men
Though altars built in parliaments, they could not order men
Police arrested magic, and magic went with them
For magic loves the hungry

But magic would not tarry, it moves from arm to arm
It would not stay with them, magic is afoot
It cannot come to harm, it rests in an empty palm
It spawns in an empty mind, but magic is no instrument
Magic is the end

Many men drove magic, and magic stayed behind
Many strong men lied
They only passed through magic and out the other side
Many weak men lied, they came to God in secret
And though they left him nourished
They would not tell who healed
Though mountains danced before them
They said that God was dead
Though his shrouds were hoisted, the naked God did live

[Luigi]

Don Williams had a #1 Country hit with "I Believe in You" in 1980. It's basically a love song - that's about all that ever hits #1 on the charts. But it's in the form of a series of "I believe" statements, so you can look at it as a sort of pop culture creedal statement. Williams has a warm, relaxed baritone voice that's very easy to listen to. 

 

[Luigi]

This happened last October in King's Cross railway station in London. It's got a mall and all kinds of stuff including a piano where travelers can hear - or play - various kinds of music. 

 

[Luigi]

Tom T. Hall wrote lots of songs, based on his own experiences or stories he heard from other people. I don't know the source of "The Little Lady Preacher," but it's a fun song, straight-up Country highlighted with little bits of Revival-style piano. 

 

[Luigi]

I've previously posted songs by The Marshalls, a bluegrass group from the late 19790s. This one is by David Marshall - his name is on the video and the album, but his family is singing with him, too. The song is called "There Came a Man." The verses are very simple, and there is no chorus, but the last line is the same for each verse. The 'discourse' (as we called it when I was teaching English composition) is also very simple; it's exemplification - each verse provides an example of one man from the Bible. What's musically interesting about this song is that the key goes up a notch each verse - I don't think I've ever heard that before. 

 

[Luigi]

This is a song from Carlene Carter's (June Carter Cash's daughter) album "Carter Girl." The song was written by her grandparents (Maybelle and E.J. Carter) and Dixie Hall (Tom T. Hall's wife). The lyrics are based on a common idea in Gospel music. Carlene sings it as a duet with Willie Nelson. It's a slow song with a reassuring message, good for reflecting while listening. 

 

Edited February 12, 2024 by Luigi

[Luigi]

Lightnin' Hopkins ruminates on the connection between wealth - or the lack thereof - and one's chances of getting into heaven in "It's a Sin to Be Rich, It's a Low-Down Shame to Be Poor." 

 

[Luigi]

Dominicans all over the world have been singing this version of the Salve Regina every night after Compline for six or seven centuries now - maybe even eight. This link is to the friars of the US Province of St. Joseph. The lyrics (both Latin and English) are taken from a video uploaded by the English Dominican province. 

 

Latin Text: Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiæ, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevæ, Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte; Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

English text: Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, Poor banished children of Eve; To thee do we send up our sighs, Mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, Thine eyes of mercy toward us; And after this our exile, Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

[Luigi]

"Sinner, Run to Jesus" by The Soul Stirrers seems like an appropriate song for Ash Wednesday. Most people think of Sam Cooke as the lead singer for The Soul Stirrers, and he was for a long time. But this was released in 1957, and although you can hear Cooke singing harmony on this one, he had pretty well stepped down as lead singer by then and was getting ready to switch over to pop music. The lead singer on this one is Paul Foster (in the photo, he's the one in the lower left corner) - and what a voice he had! YouTube won't let me embed the video itself - all I can post is the hyperlink. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JAlochJQjE

Edited February 14, 2024 by Luigi

[Luigi]

"I Want to Be Troubled No More," by Sister Shirley Caesar and an impressive mass choir, sort of fits with today's gospel [partial]: "Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." The video is simple but impressive - an old-fashioned 12" record album cover with vintage '70s artwork! 

 

[Luigi]

The Prodigal Son is a popular topic in both song and art. "I think I'll Go Back Home" tells the story from the son's point of view. It's a good theme for Lent. The group that sings this version is called Borrowed Time - a Christian male quartet; they do play instruments, but this version is a cappella. I'm not fond of the images in the video (too many, too fast, sometimes sappy), but the vocal recording is very clean - you can hear all the words. 

 

[Luigi]

Steve Martin IS hilarious, and he has been for decades. Here's a song of his own composition, "Atheists Don't Have No Songs." Some people might find pieces and parts of it disrespectful, but I view it as humor rather than any kind of proselytizing for atheism. 

 

[Luigi]

Colby Acuff is a singer from Idaho - call him country, call him a singer-songwriter, call him acoustic, whatever. He's not a Gospel singer as such; most of his music is based on his life experience. But he wrote an interesting song call "If I Were the Devil." 

 

[Luigi]

And now, for something completely different! Keith Green's "The Sheep and the Goats" (to tie into today's Gospel). This isn't a song so much as a dramatic reading of Matthew's Gospel (25:31-26) set to piano accompaniment. It's from 1981; Green died in an airplane accident in 1982 at the age of 29. 

 

[Luigi]

Rosanne Cash is Johnny Cash's daughter. She's a terrific singer and songwriter. She wrote "God Is in the Roses" after her father died. Some of the references in the song are specific to Johnny Cash, his death, her missing him, etc. She was raised Catholic because her mother was Catholic, and Johnny & June were committed Baptists. Rosanne isn't church-going herself, and probably doesn't even consider herself Christian, but she knows the concepts. 

 

[dUSt]

On 2/12/2024 at 8:49 PM, Luigi said:

Lightnin' Hopkins ruminates on the connection between wealth - or the lack thereof - and one's chances of getting into heaven in "It's a Sin to Be Rich, It's a Low-Down Shame to Be Poor." 

 

Love this. Wish this song was on Spotify!

[Luigi]

David Marshall (with his brothers and sister) sings a Ralph Stanley song called "The Lowest Valley." A couple of the lines in the song sort of tie in to today's readings - the idea that this world gets more wicked every day (Jesus says "This generation is an evil generation", and the line about "Lord, I want to do what you want me to do" sort of relates to Jonah, after his experience with the whale. For me, the song functions as encouragement when I have to do something I really don't want to do.      

 

[Luigi]

Gelineau's setting of the 23rd psalm (the responsorial in today's Mass) is considered by some people to be an old warhorse. But when it was introduced very shortly before the Second Vatican Council (1957) is was a breath of very fresh air. It's still as melodic as it was then. (Suggestion: Do not WATCH this video, just listen to it. The mouth movements don't quite match up with the words. I find it disorienting.)