Do you listen to songs containing religious content

So I was listening to Marc Broussards "Lonely Night ib Georgia" last night and towards the end of he repeats the word "Lord" about 6 times. In his song "Home" he adds a rendition of a traditional gospel tune called "Wade in the Water".

Now I personally love some gospel tunes when you remove their meaning. These songs by Broussard arent gospel tunes nor intended to be as such. There are many other songs just like them. I hate that it has such phrasing, but I am not sure it is enough for me not to listen if its a great song.

Does that stop anyone else from listening to certain songs?

Tags: music, songs

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by SBrooks on June 3, 2009 at 9:58am
For me it all comes down to do I like the song regardless of what the artist may be trying to imply. I do not like Christian music but some of the music I do like has themes about god. Take raggae for example, I love it but I'm not giving it up to Jah.

I usually assign my own personal views to my music anyway. Its all in the eye of the beholder, well in this case the ear..
Permalink Reply by Goz on June 3, 2009 at 11:10am
Not by choice,but i do confess to likening Stairway To heaven.
Permalink Reply by FreeThinker on June 3, 2009 at 4:45pm
I listen to many songs that are religious in tone or have religious imagery. The songs that I listen to which have religious content are generally songs that I listen to for the music and not so much the lyrics. Like Goz, I like the song "Stairway To Heaven", but I like it for the music itself. I'm not even sure what "Stairway" is about (I'm not sure Robert Plant knows what it is about, for that matter).

By the way, did you know Friedrich Nietzsche was a novice composer and composed some religious songs as a youth? Some of Nietzsche's songs even take passages directly from the Bible.
Permalink Reply by Starscream on June 3, 2009 at 5:19pm
At first I thought not at all, but there are a lot of songs out there with god reference, but only one is on a CD I own.
The one song is Andy Hunter - Amazing, which is a christian techno song. Yep christian techno. A DJ named TyDi has a killer remix. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7xlQDJtJO0
Permalink Reply by Billy Deaton on June 3, 2009 at 5:52pm
I like a lot of songs with religious content, even some (like Dr. Dog's - Fate album) that have what I consider too much religious content. Fact is, I'm a musician and I love the music and if they're singing about their religion it won't convince me to go to church just because I like the song.

I mean, 'Silent Night' is a classic piece of music, and a wonderful melody. As an atheist I can deny the characters in the song and the subject matter, but as a musician I can't deny that it's an important piece. Same goes for Ave Maria.

But a lot of music I like is about fictional characters. I don't believe in rocking horse people who subsist on a diet of marshmallow pies either.


edit: A couple people mentioned stairway to heaven, which I don't think really has religious undertones and I do think it provides a great example of using religious images in allegorical writing. See, the character in that song is trying to buy her way into heaven. But the song isn't about god, it's really more about money. I mean, it's only as deep as "Can't Buy Me Love," but it's a neat mystical metaphor and a wicked fuckin song.
Permalink Reply by Gecko, Seth...brother of Richie! on June 6, 2009 at 9:54pm
dead on about stairway!
Permalink Reply by Tarquin St John Sh'gn'sty on June 3, 2009 at 6:33pm
Of course I like some church music, it's beautiful.

My favourite piece is Schubert's "Ave Maria". I also love Gregorian chants. Among my favourite CD's are a collection of church choral pieces by Benjamin Britten,sung by King's College Choir, Cambridge. (a friend gave them to me;her two boys were in the choir at the time)

However,I also think George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" was the nadir of C20th popular music. (George was deservedly done for plagiarism.The dirge was based on "He's So Fine" by I forget who)

I also loathe most C&W "Sacred Songs", as distinct from traditional spirituals. I think the biscuit is taken by that immortal classic "Dropkick Me Jesus Through the Goal Posts Of Life" by Bobby Bare. An example of the delicate lyrics: "straight through the heart of them righteous uprights". Inspiring stuff,if you want a reason to slit your wrists.
Permalink Reply by Dr. Ned Kelly on June 3, 2009 at 8:29pm
Discovering religious content in a song I have liked for a while will make me stop listening to it. Not many of those in that variety, however. "Spirit in the Sky", a classic song from the perspective of musical style that I know every note of, isn't part of that category because I always knew it was religious. But, yeah, I stop listening to most songs if I hear some god praise in them one day. I'm like, oh, fuck that! lol

I don't even want to listen to Segovia's recordings because he supported fascism in Spain.
Permalink Reply by unholyroller on June 3, 2009 at 8:50pm
I can't do it. Just can't. I hate "Amazing Grace" so much it makes me nauseaous. They trot that diabetes causing jug of xtion sludge out every time someone wants to inspire the populace to fall down and start slingin snot n tears. GAAAAAAAG!!!!!
Permalink Reply by FreeThinker on June 3, 2009 at 9:20pm
I only like Amazing Grace on bagpipes (and not accompanied by a singer).
Permalink Reply by Tarquin St John Sh'gn'sty on June 4, 2009 at 1:10am
"I can't do it. Just can't. I hate "Amazing Grace" so much it makes me nauseaous"

Ah,but I'll bet you've never heard it played on the bagpipes! Played thus it was a number one hit here in the early 1970's. I kid you not.
Permalink Reply by Johnsky on June 3, 2009 at 11:12pm
I don't have a problem with listening to music containing religious subject matter.

... it's not like a song is going to infect me with religious views.


Besides, if it's a good tune, it's a good tune... regardless of which imaginary friend the singer yells at.

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