The first verse was "Every night before I sleep, I pray my soul to take; or else I pray that loneliness is gone when I awake."

Difficult though loneliness is, I am not inclined to think one would pray to die tonight rather than be lonely tomorrow.

Now, many of you may have been spared this one, unless you were in Roman parishes c. 1965 that were desperate for music that required only four guitar chords, but, in parishes that used it, this horrid gem, which had about 16 verses (I'll quote a few if I can remember them), was greatly loved.

Refrain:
Sons of God, hear his holy word,
Gather round the table of the Lord,
Eat his body, drink his blood,
And we'll sing a song of love,
Allelu, allelu, allelu, allelu-ia.

Brothers, sisters, we are one,
And our lives have just begun,
In the Spirit, we are young,
We can live forever.
(I have my reservations about the theology here, which I shall be happy to photocopy for anyone interested.)

With the Church we celebrate,
Jesus' coming we await,
So we make a holiday,
So we'll live forever.

If we want to live with Him,
We must also die with Him,
Die to selfishness and sin,
And we'll rise forever.

I think the same composer wrote the absolute bottom of the barrel, "Shout from the Highest Mountain," and "Here We Are," the latter of which was something like this:

Refrain:
Here we are, all together
as we sing our song joyfully.
Here we are, joined together as we pray we'll always be.

Join me now as friends, and celebrate
the brotherhood we share, all as one.
Keep the fire burning, kindle it with care,
As we all join in and sing.

Freedom we do shout, for everybody,
And unless there is, we should pray,
That soon there will be one true brotherhood,
Let us all join in and sing.

Let us make the world an alleluia,
Let us make the world a better place,
Keep a smile handy, have a helping hand,
And we'll all join in and sing.

Dare I say I have remembered another. For some reason it gave me images of people waving flags:

Joy is the flag flown high
in the castle of my heart
(last line * 2)
Joy is the flag flown high
in the castle of my heart
When the King is in residence there.

We were always encouraged to clap along also (I never did; and was once approached by the worship leader coming down the aisle clapping, and giving me the "C'mon, clap!" look and motion.)

Why don't you put your trust in Jesus,
and ask him to come in,
He saw your need from up in heaven and died to save your sin.
why don't you take him as your saviour and let him hold your hand,
he will strengthen keep you and guide you till you reach the promised land
He will strengthen keep you and guide you till you reach the promised land.

So let it fly in the sky, let the whole world know,
Let the whole world know,
Let the whole world know.
So let it fly in the sky, let the whole world know,
That the king is in residence there.

quote:

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Originally posted by Dyfrig:
You do seem to have suffered more than the rest of us on this issue, Newman. I shall pray for you.

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I'm quite moved, Dyfrig.

There's a house on a hill and it hasn't
Been lived in for a long long time.
And the windows are all broken,
And the paint has lost its shine.
And there's nothing ever heard there,
For there's nothing ever said.
For the life of the house left a long time ago
And the heart of the house is dead.

O House of the Lord, can't you feel it
How our heart is growing cold
For when the Spirit comes He quickens
But when the Spirit leaves, life goes.

It goes on to explain the different rooms of this house. My friends tell me I'm just not looking deep enough, I just think it's stupid symbolism.

I remember an old favourite from infant school. "I have seen the golden sunshine I have watched the flowers grow, I have listened to the songbirds and there's something now I know, they were all put there for us to share by someone so devine, and if you're a friend of jesus (clap clap clap clap clap) you're a friend of mine"

Worse thing is I know I used to like this song!

quote:

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Originally posted by Admiral Holder:
Lyra,

I suppose thinking about it the words it is not such a bad song...quite pleasant in fact.

I suppose what made it hellish was the way it was sung. People had their heads down, it was sung at a very VERY slow pace, and after singing this song (often towards the end of the service) people would often walk out without so much as a 'Hello'. Kind of grated on me that a song about serving invoked such an un-serving reaction.

Perhaps I should take that song off the Hellish list.

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I'm thinking of me praising Jesus
and I'm loving the feeling I feel.
When I think of his touch,
I am feeling so much,
that tomorrow I'll praise him for real.

I don't know the words to this one, but it was something like, "I saw the light, I saw the light, praise the Lord, I saw the light!" It was really rather dreadful, but the melody was terribly catchy - just writing this here will ensure I hum it for two days, though the single time I heard it sung must have been a quarter of a century ago.

quote:

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Yeah, and that 'Raise him up' one was also pitched so high that no one could sing it, so 'raise him up' sort of screeched around the church as everyone strained for the note.

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It's only an F natural. That's within the Bass and Alto ranges (just). People just aren't trying.

I object to people making us go down to bottom A's, personally.

But what has to be one of the ultimate worst is that thing, called, I believe, "Alleluia", which has one of the dreariest tunes in Christendom, and the lyrics to the first verse are "Alleluia"(repeated 8 times). I think one of the other verses has the words "Jesus loves me" (repeated 8 times). And for a time I went to a church with one of the worst choirs in the Western Hemisphere, and as God is my witness, they did that appalling thing, along with "Let Us Break Bread Together on our Knees" every single Sunday for over a year.

I'll never be able to sing that song again (not that I'd want to). Reminds me of the time I improvised a fantasia and toccata at the end of church on "We Will Rock You" the last time the Broncos went to the Super Bowl.

And in defense of Sr. Toolan's hymn "I am the bread of life," it doesn't have a high tessatura, it just has an impossibly wide range. You go from growlingly low to screechingly high.

Something to be said for Broad Church, I suppose.

Until now.

I will go to sleep humming it and dream pleasant dreams about dismembering Benedictus for suggesting it.

quote:

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Originally posted by Nunc Dimittis:
I am trying to imagine "We will rock you" as a fantasia and toccata, tomb. Puts good Ol'JSB to shame!

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Of course, one must always expect the unexpected, especially in parishes which care only about "getting the people involved," regardless of whether person A has any knowledge of what he is doing. Years ago, there was a parish where I served where the substitute organist had an incredible memory for any melody she heard, and the ability to reproduce exactly what she heard (up to a symphony) on the organ. Trouble was, she did not remember where she heard the tune or what lyrics it may have.

I've definitely seen Fs, even occasionally F#s, written for bass and alto, so there.

Approximately, the ranges are:

Soprano: C - Bb
(Contr)Alto: F - F
Tenor: C - Bb
Bass: D - F.

quote:

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Originally posted by Benedictus:
But what has to be one of the ultimate worst is that thing, called, I believe, "Alleluia", which has one of the dreariest tunes in Christendom, and the lyrics to the first verse are "Alleluia"(repeated 8 times). I think one of the other verses has the words "Jesus loves me" (repeated 8 times).

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I agree that the tune can sound dreary, but it doesn't have to. When that song is sung in a lively manner, it's quite nice.

Another hymn which can sound dreary is Alleluia, alleluia give thanks to the risen Lord. A friend of mine was in church with her ten-year-old son once, when that was played like a dirge. He learned over and said to her, "Are we singing about Jesus's death or his resurrection?"

Can we all promise not to play either "Let There be Peace on Earth" (which I once heard beautifully described as sounding like roller skating music) or the old "Peace I Leave with You, My Friends" at our services now?

Ch: Let us all try to be kind
While we can, while we can
If we don't start when we're young,
Chances are we will ne-----ver begin.

1: Jesus was always so kind
He brought love everywhere.
Think of that woman in Namun
SHe was near to despair.
Her only son was to die
Jesus neeeeeeded to care
Jesus said "Fret not my child.
I will sa---ve your boy.
Just because Jesus was kind
That widow's face filled with j--o---y
Filled with j----o---y!

2: Jesus was alwys so kind
He brought love ev'rywhere
Think of that poor man Jairus
He was near to despair .....

oh i can't be bothered, but you get the general idea!

quote:

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Originally posted by Newman's Own:

Can we all promise not to play either "Let There be Peace on Earth" (which I once heard beautifully described as sounding like roller skating music)

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This can be dreadful, but it can also be beautiful. It was a favourite of the headmaster of my junior school. After his untimely death, it was sung beautifully by the junior school choir (I was older by this time) at his memorial service and was, in context, very moving.

Sorry to be soppy...

Rachel.

[fixed UBB code]

quote:

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Jesus was always so kind
He brought love everywhere.

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The rest of the words deserve a very thick veil drawn over them

But these two lines are so fatuous. Jesus wasn't always so kind. "Yes, of course, just carry on selling those doves, and changing money at exhorbitant rates"? I don't think so.

Perhaps there's room for another crappy chorus, "Jesus was always so kind When it really mattered"

Walk with me, O my Lord
Through the darkest night and brightest day
Stay by my side, O God
Hold my hand and help me on my way

The verses were all about how sometimes we get tired and disillusioned and God gives us strength and is in us in the darkest times.

All set to a tune that sounded like it ought to come out of a circus barrel-organ. I thought the organist must be having a joke by exaggerating a tendency already present in the tune (and let`s face it, there`s no way you could have sung that tune meditatively), but when I got home and looked it up in my own music book, I realised that he`d played it *exactly as written*.

How can I *ever* thank you?

I'll think of something....

We're marching in the Love of God
We're marching in the Love of God
We're marching in the Love of God
We're marching in the Love of God
We're marching
We're marching
We're marching in the Love of God
We're marching
We're marching (ooooooooo-oooooooh)
We're marching in the Love of God

We're moving in the Power of God
We're moving in the Power of God
We're moving ......

Now there's a chorus experience to post in Hell!

*I could write dozens of posts about Youth Services, but only when my daughter isn't watching!

Aaarrrgghh...I had forgotten that. And our "newer" version...

Swiping, swiping, swiping, swiping
(forgotten line)
Swipe your card for Jesus
He shall have them all.

quote:

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Originally posted by Karl:
Siya hamb' ekukwemen kwekos if I recall correctly.

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thought there was a nyen kwen in there?

kinda like siya humb' ekuke nyen kwenkos??????

quote:

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Originally posted by Karl:
I quite like that one, actually, as long as you start and finish with the Swahili verse - you need the African feel for it to work.

Siya hamb' ekukwemen kwekos if I recall correctly.

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I quite like this one too, though you do have to do the Swahili verse to made it sound more exotic. I'm in a rock-gospel choir in Edinburgh and it's one of our favourite busking songs ... but only if you have the two 'extra' verses i.e.

V1:Siya hamb' ekukwemen kwekos
V2:We are marching in the light of God
V3: See a hamster cooked in white wine sauce
v4:See a badger cooked in black bean sauce

etc etc.

Speaking of African Marching Songs, there was one that came out of East Africa about 15 years ago, "We have another world in view."

I made the mistake of programing it one time when the Bishop was making a visitation, and he fell in love with the damn thing.

He took it and made it sort of the unofficial diocesan theme song for a couple of years.

I remember one year at diocesan convention when he was inflicting it on the assembled (with attribution to me, of course, damn him), and a priest walked over to me and said, "I don't think I'll ever forgive you for this."

Ah, well, win a few; lose a few.