I am not a religious person. I haven’t been for the last 20 years. I don’t like talking about religion, however I enjoy very much listening to intelligent people sparking off some good debate, like Stephen Fry’s speech last year at Intelligence Square (really worth watching if you can spare 20 minutes – I was actually surprised to see how nervous and angry Fry was…)
However, one of my favourite songs from the last 5 years IS a religious song (in some way). The song talks about this guy who is feeling doubtful about his existence and what comes “after”. I believe he feels alone at that point in his life and is trying to find “meaning” somewhere else. I don’t believe the song is “pro-god” or “against-god” but it definitely is a religious song in the way that someone is looking for answers from a supernatural entity… I suppose the song can be interpreted in many ways but some lines of the words leave no room for imagination, for example:
Well, Jesus Christ, I am not scared to die / I’m a little bit scared of what comes after
I have never turned to god (notice I don’t write that word with capital G) in any circumstance because I simply don’t believe that “anything else” can help me apart from myself in troubled times. I tend to believe that only you and your most intimate confidants (say a partner, lover, family member or friend – whoever you’re closest to) could ever “take you out of a hole”. Maybe this is too simple for me to say, because I somehow think of myself as a positive person and have never had a “crisis” or “been depressed”. If one day I am sad, me myself and I will take me out of that sad state through positive thinking and other stupid “mind techniques”. I don’t think I’ve ever been sad for more than a couple of days…
Well, here is the song that I’ve listened to 5 times in a row today on my way back home from work. Somehow my finger kept going back to the “<<” button, bringing memories of me crying with this song when I saw Brand New last time and wondering WHY I was crying, and reaching the conclusion that sometimes there are things that one can’t explain, there are songs that reach out to you and “touch” in mysterious ways. Maybe it’s god telling me something? Doubt it. It’s the delicacy of Jesse’s voice and the guitar riffs that does it for me….
I really liked the song! The singer’s voice sounds kind of warm, velvety – or is it just me?
I’m an atheist, but I don’t think one needs to believe to enjoy music or indeed other forms of art with religious references or inspiration. I don’t think any curator would reject an appointment to the Vatican Museums on the grounds of being an atheist. I like Bach, I love Mozart’s Requiem, I absolutely adore Orphaned Land (metal band from Israel that is inspired by biblical themes – and the band members themselves say they are not religious!), unsw.
You’re quite right: you don’t need to believe to enjoy that kind of music. I do understand that people may take god as inspiration and many many people have created beautiful pieces of music with that inspiration.
However, it kind of puts me off a tiny bit when I hear songs with such a clear motif. Inspiration is one thing, naming the J. to the C. is another. “Talking to him” a completely different ball game…
There are hundreds of “Christian bands” out there, and I must admit that I used to like more than one or two, without taking prejudice in their being a “band that discovered god”. Their beliefs are not anything I should be worrying about…
Leave a nice comment here!
Names and email addresses are required (email addresses aren't displayed), url's are optional.
