THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 032: Pete Townshend - Parvardigar

A couple of days ago we added Content by Pete Townshend to the Jukebox Hero Hymnal and at that time we mentioned there was one more tune from the same album that needed to go in. Whelp, here it is…

The song is based on a prayer written by Townshend’s spiritual guru, Meher Baba. It was basically an attempt by Baba to formulate a sort of universal prayer of praise that celebrates the attributes of God commonly recognized by most religions. You know, stuff like how God is infinite, immanent, immutable, self-existent, pure love, that sort of thing. To emphasize the universality of the piece, the prayer calls on God by the titles used in many different religions, names such as Allah, Prahbu, Ahura Mazda, Lord of Lords, and more.

Admittedly, this isn’t Townshend’s strongest work musically, but it’s certainly no worse than a lot of the stuff that creeped into Church music back in the 1970s. In fact, it’s lyrically meatier than a good number of today’s Pablum filled hymns. Take this verse, for instance…

You are unlimited and unfathomable
Imperishable beyond conception by our minds
No one can defy you ,oh God you are eternal
None can see you but with eyes divine

…or this one…

You are the Creator, the Lord of Lords
The knower of all minds and hearts
Omnipotent, omnipresent, from you we cower
You are Knowledge, Infinite Bliss, Infinite Power

Now, those are some words you could belt out on a Sunday morning. Obviously, as someone who believes ideas have consequences, there are things in Meher Baba’s teachings I have to disagree with. However, this particular prayer is mostly benign, give or take a line or two. Sort of like George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord, but with the emphasis placed on God as the unfathomable source of all creation that just so happens to know and love each us individually. I can live with that.

THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 031: Content by Pete Townshend

We haven't added to the Jukebox Hero Hymnal for awhile, but after listening to Pete Townshend's album Who Came First for one of my Dad Rock Daily posts on Instagram, I knew there were two songs that demanded inclusion. The first is this one...

As some of you who are pals with me on Facebook may know, barring a miracle (which I've witnessed before and steadfastly believe in, so prayers please), my older brother Doug is in his final days with us. Unsurprisingly, this has caused me to spend some time reflecting on where I am in my own life. I could use some work (who couldn't?), but overall, I can feel what the lyrics of this song are saying...

I am ready to learn and grow

I am alone with the truth

I am brave, what is there to fear

I am strong, God supports me

I am patient, each moment of eternity

I am able to help when necessary

I am happy singing in the arms of God

I am balanced, keeping mind and heart equal

I am complete when I forget myself

I am receptive to each message of love

I am responsive to all that lives

I am happy singing in the arms of God

Enough, I am content

I am content

A sincere thanks to all who have offered and continue to offer their prayers for my brother and his family during this time.

THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 030: Love Remember Me by Dennis Wilson

It’s been a while since we added a track to the Jukebox Hero Hymnal, hasn’t it? That being the case, we may as well come back with a doozy.

Love Remember Me is a previously unreleased bonus track from the 2008 reissue of Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson’s only official solo effort, Pacific Blue, an album AllMusic’s Thom Jurek proclaims “a classic, blissed-out, coked-up slice of '70s rock and pop that is as essential as Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.” That sounds about right.

The music of the Beach Boys was never overtly religious, but that doesn’t mean such concerns weren’t there. In an interview with Rave Magazine in 1967, Dennis’ brother Carl Wilson noted,

"At present our influences are of a religious nature. Not any specific religion but an idea based upon that of Universal Consciousness. The concept of spreading goodwill, good thoughts and happiness is nothing new. It is an idea which religious teachers and philosophers have been handing down for centuries, but it is also our hope. The ideas are there in God Only Knows, Good Vibrations, Heroes and Villains and it is why the new LP is called Smile. The spiritual concept of happiness and doing good to others is extremely important to the lyric of our songs, and the religious element of some of the better church music is also contained within some of our new work."

At least a few of those same notions seemed to remain in Dennis Wilson’s head a decade later, especially in songs like Love Remember Me. It opens like any song about a broken heart, with Wilson lamenting a lost love…

Never thought you could ever blow me away
Never thought I'd see the day
We both would run away

But as the song goes on, he starts to cry out…

I want to love
(People live, people die)
I need to love
(People laugh, people cry)
I want to love
I want to love
So love remember me

And then it happens. He gets a response in the form of a quite heavenly sounding choir…

(Love keeps tumblin' down on you)
(My love comes driftin' down on you)
Oh, come on, come on, hello, come on
(My love comes gently down on you)
Well, come on, come on, hello, come on
(My love keeps tumblin' down on you)
Yeah, Come on, come on, hello, come on

It is as if a voice from above has heard his calls and is offering comfort, assuring him that he is loved. It is one of the great paradoxes of faith that when times are at their worst, it is often then that we are open to hearing God’s voice. When asked how he made it through seven years of being held hostage in Lebanon, AP journalist Terry Anderson explained…

"We come closest to God at our lowest moments. It's easiest to hear God when you are stripped of pride and arrogance, when you have nothing to rely on except God. It's pretty painful to get to that point, but when you do, God's there."

God, who is love, does remember us, and His love does come tumblin’ gently down when we need it most. Just a reminder as we head into these last few days in the desert of Lent.

THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 029: God, Love & Rock N' Roll by Teegarden & Van Winkle

We haven't added a song to the Jukebox Hero Hymnal for a while, but after being reminded recently of the old one-hit wonder, God, Love & Rock N' Roll (on Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast! of all places), I knew it had to go in. Originally starting out as The Sunday Servants, the Detroit duo of David Teegarden and Skip Knape (aka Van Winkle) worked steadily throughout the 60s and 70s, even spending some time with Bob Seger, but they only made it onto the charts once with this little jaunt into Jesus Rock. Gospel fans will probably catch on quickly that God, Love & Rock N' Roll borrows liberally from the traditional spiritual Amen, but the results are so catchy that it's hard to get too worked up over it.

Like most Jesus Rock, the lyrics to God, Love & Rock N' Roll are fairly innocuous. Typical of popular music produced at the tip end of the Vietnam War, there are the usual calls to "still the fires" and "give peace a chance." The majority of the tune, however, is a simple invocation to each of us to reaffirm our belief in God and love and... rock n' roll? Obviously that last part is a bit problematic theologically speaking. We're not supposed to put our faith in any earthly thing, especially not a style of music whose name is often preceded by the words "sex and drugs and..."

However, it's unlikely that's the kind of rock music Teegarden & Van Winkle are warbling about here. The Rev. Basil Nortz, O.R.C., not a big fan of rock n' roll, once noted that while "bad music tends to absolutize the passions, making their pleasure or hate a good in itself, such that right reason more and more loses dominion with the result that the individual falls victim to the passions... good music will stimulate the emotions in such a way that these faculties of the soul, under the guidance of reason, are made to more effectively pursue the good of the individual and his neighbor."

Given the context of the song, that second type of music is most likely what Teegarden & Van Winkle are extolling in God, Love & Rock N' Roll. They're professing a belief that a good tune can stimulate our emotions in such a way that we turn away from destructive behaviors and turn towards those things which can have a positive effect on ourselves and the world around us. Sure, Rev. Nortz is correct that there's plenty of songs out there that do just the opposite, but when it comes to God, Love & Rock N' Roll at least, it's hard not to get a big old happy grin when you listen to it.

THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 028: Without A Map by Marketa Irglova

Sure, I’m partial to movies full of rubber monster suits and flying saucers hanging from fishing line, but that doesn’t mean I can’t branch out every so often. It just so happens one of my favorite low budget indie films is a quiet little drama about two lonely souls who cross each others paths in Dublin and decide to make some music together. So when I heard that one of the stars from Once had put out an album based on her “very strong connection to certain figures that come from the Christian tradition and the energy that those figures hold,” I was all in.

Marketa Irglova was not raised in a religious household, nor does she currently practice any religion, but as of late she has found herself drawn to certain aspects of Christianity. In an interview with Media Mikes, Irglova noted…

“I was reading a trilogy of books called Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. It happened by accident really, I was visiting a friend of mine and while she was making me some tea, I was going through her books and I just came across these books. I didn’t understand how someone could be having a conversation with God. Was he actually having talks with God or did he make it all up? I didn’t know the answer but I liked what I was reading and ended up getting stuck into these books. At the same time, I was allowing myself to ask all these questions as well. So that was one of the main influences for me. There is also a musical called Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, which is something that I saw when I was four years old. It really inspired my entire musical journey through my life and even now it still resonates with me with the songs and performances. It is a musical, so the story is told with song and there is this sort of call and answer between them. I think my approach to song writing is very similar. I have these conversations within these songs, I ask questions and answer them through the music.”

Yeah, yeah, we all know Conversations with God is full of new age nonsense, but hey, I remember seeing a priest on EWTN who said he first came to Christianity by reading a Chick tract. Everybody has to start somewhere. And Irglova is getting starting, as evidenced by songs such as Without A Map. Just take a listen to some of the lyrics…

Well come on then, God, show me,
Which way you would like me to go, and
I won’t resume to question,
How I was ever supposed to know.
There have been signs along the way, but
They’ve been so very obscure.
At times I thought I knew their meaning, but
How could I’ve ever been sure?

God, I was sent here deaf to learn to hear,
To have faith in you and never fear.
Life is an ocean, you its every wave,
Your arms would cradle me, and keep me safe.
You’re right, all this, and more I need to learn,
All this unease just makes my stomach churn.
It was I not you who set this trap, but
You did leave me here without a map.
All this time I’ve had to guess the way,
To keep moving when I wished to stay.
I’ve been right as much as I’ve been wrong, so
All I hear from you is: ‘You are strong enough,
For all you’ll ever have to face,
The only map you need is Love,
To guide you through this illusion of a maze.’

Sure, you can hear the new age influences seeping through some of the lines, but overall, it’s a song sung by someone who is seeking the truth, and you know what the Bible has to say about people who do that. Besides, it’s hard not to look kindly on a tune that finishes with a full recitation of the Our Father. And the entire album is like this, so if the style of the music catches your fancy, the whole thing is worth a listen.

THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 027: If It Be Your Will by Leonard Cohen

I usually don’t engage in too much Twitter snark regarding religious matters, but today I just couldn’t stop myself. I walk in to church, kneel for a little prayer before mass, and I hear the choir (yes, they ALWAYS perform a few songs before the service gets started) dutifully singing out these lyrics…

“I myself am the bread of life. We are the bread of life. Taken and blessed, broken and shared by Christ, that the world might live. Here is God's kingdom,  given to us as food. This is our body. This is our blood. Living sign of God in Christ.”

I had (mercifully) never heard this song before, but those lyrics just really rubbed me the wrong way, compelling me to take to Twitter and post…

“I go to mass because God is the one worthy of praise & worship. Choir warbles out something called ‘I Myself Am The Bread Of Life.’ Um , no.”

Look, I’m a Catholic, so by default I’m accustomed to poorly written modern hymns that are nigh impossible to sing along with if you were born with testicles. And you know what, that’s fine. As long as the lyrical content is faithful to the teachings of the Church and keeps the focus on the Lord rather the singers, I’m sure God doesn’t mark off too many points for dubious melodic structure, so I’m not going to either.

Heck, I’ll even be charitable and take a guess that it probably wasn’t the intention of the person who wrote I Myself Am The Bread Of Life to be anything less than faithful. On reflection, I’m pretty sure he was just trying to express the sentiment that we find in the Catechism where, riffing on St. Augustine, it explains…

“Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. Through it Christ unites them to all the faithful in one body—the Church. Communion renews, strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achieved by Baptism. In Baptism we have been called to form but one body. The Eucharist fulfills this call: ‘The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread:’

I get it, I do. By participating in the body and blood of Christ, we can, in a certain sense, become the presence of Christ in this world, we can be the hands and feet of the Lord bringing his hope and salvation to those who need it. But the lyrics of I Myself Am The Bread Of Life just seems to push it a little to far and basically suggest that we are, in fact, Jesus. Purposely or not, the song ends up celebrating the people who are doing the singing, not the one they’re supposed to be singing about. So again, um, no.

Hey, you know who can write a good, faithful hymn that keeps the Lord as its focus? Leonard Cohen. Yeah, the traditional Jew turned Buddhist monk, that Leonard Cohen. Take the lyrics of If It Be Your Will, for example…

“If it be your will, that a voice be true, from this broken hill, I will sing to you. From this broken hill, all your praises they shall ring, if it be your will, to let me sing. From this broken hill, all your praises they shall ring, if it be your will, to let me sing.”

Yep, no ambiguity about who the focus is in that song. Catholic hymn writers please take note.

THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 026: Hear Me Lord by George Harrison

I suppose it’s odd that George Harrison remains my favorite Beatle considering how virulently anti-Catholic some of his songs can be. Still, based on lyrics such as the ones you hear in compositions like “Awaiting on You All,” it’s actually pretty easy to dismiss his criticisms as a misguided ignorance of the faith (Harrison was baptized Catholic, but never confirmed). The truth is, he doesn’t really say anything about the Church that I myself didn’t believe at one point in my life before taking the time to actually seek out the truth. It’s like the old familiar quote from Archbishop Fulton Sheen says, “There are not a hundred people in America who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions of people who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church - which is, of course, quite a different thing.” And while George hailed from jolly old England rather than the States, I think Sheen’s words still apply.

But you know, as much as I bemoan Harrison’s misconceptions about my faith, I’ve always admired his commitment to his own. While the rest of the Fab Four quickly abandoned the spiritual teachings they dabbled with in the East, Harrison himself became a lifelong devotee to the Hare Krishna strand of Hinduism up until the time of his death, doing his best to live by the religion’s beliefs. He gave up meat, gave up drugs, and limited his sexual activities to marriage, though by all accounts he was a little slow getting around to that last one. Well, nobody becomes a saint overnight, I suppose.

In fact, if his loved ones are to be believed, Harrison was never really satisfied with the pace with which he was advancing in his faith, always feeling guilt whenever he stumbled (guess it’s true, you can take the boy out of the Catholic church, but you can't take the Catholic out of the boy). Perhaps that’s why on the same album on which we find his chart topping paean to Krishna, “My Sweet Lord,” we also hear Harrison begging for help and forgiveness with “Hear Me Lord”…

Forgive me lord
Please, those years when I ignored you, hmm
Forgive them lord
Those that feel they can't afford you, hmm
Help me lord, please
To rise above this dealing, hmm
Help me lord, please
To love you with more feeling, hmm
At both ends of the road
To the left and the right
Above and below us
Out and in, there's no place that you're not in
Oh, won't you hear me lord

As with anything so blatantly religious, “Hear Me Lord” received mixed reactions, with some like sociologist Ian Inglis finding the tune a bit too evangelical and self-righteous. Others like NME’s Alan Smith and Rolling Stone’s Ben Gerson, however, recognized the song for what it was and heralded the raw emotion in the song. Of course, it probably didn’t hurt with the professional music critics that the song contained contributions from the likes of Phil Spector, Billy Preston, Gary Wright, and Eric Clapton, but still, they loved it. In the end, “Hear Me Lord” is an undeniably sincere plea to God for aid, and one that most Christians should find very familiar…

“Hear my voice, LORD, when I call; have mercy on me and answer me. ‘Come,’ says my heart, ‘seek his face’; your face, LORD, do I seek! Do not hide your face from me; do not repel your servant in anger. You are my salvation; do not cast me off; do not forsake me, God my savior!.” ~ Psalms 27:7-9

So maybe that’s why Harrison has always held the greatest appeal to me where The Beatles are concerned. Many have made the argument that Paul and Ringo were better musicians, or that Paul and John were better writers, but when it came to who was the true Psalmist of the band, well, that was George and no one but George, hands down. Godspeed, Dark Horse, I pray the Lord heard you when you called.

THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 025: Bad Moon Rising by The Reels

Okay, let’s go ahead and address the big ol’ elephant in the room. Why am I putting a synth-heavy new wave remake of Credence Clearwater Revival’s Bad Moon Rising into the Jukebox Hero Hymnal instead of the original version, you know, the classic recording which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and appears at No. 29 on Catholic apologist Dave Armstrong’s list of favorite rock, pop, and R&B singles of all time? Simple, really, because this is ostensibly a blog about bad movies and The Reels’ version of Bad Moon Rising is the one that appears on the soundtrack of Howling III: The Marsupials, that’s why? When CCR’s version shows up in a movie about Australian werewolves with kangaroo-like pouches, maybe I’ll change my mind, but until then, it’s The Reels.

But why include the song at all? Well, because when singer/songwriter John Fogerty wrote the tune, he had a bit more on his mind than just your everyday doom and gloom. In a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone, Fogerty explained how he came up with the lyrics to Bad Moon Rising.

“I got the imagery from an old movie called The Devil and Daniel Webster. Basically, Daniel Webster makes a deal with Mr. Scratch, the devil. It was supposed to be apocryphal. At one point in the movie, there was a huge hurricane. Everybody's crops and houses are destroyed. Boom. Right next door is the guy's field who made the deal with the devil, and his corn is still straight up, six feet. That image was in my mind. I went, ‘Holy mackerel!’  My song wasn't about Mr. Scratch, and it wasn't about the deal. It was about the apocalypse that was going to be visited upon us. It wasn't until the band was learning the song that I realized the dichotomy. Here you got this song with all these hurricanes and blowing and raging ruin and all that, but it's [snaps fingers] ‘I see a bad moon rising.’ It's a happy-sounding tune, right? It didn't bother me at the time.”

But apparently it bothers him now, which is another reason for including The Reels’ take on Bad Moon Rising rather than CCR’s, because the music in the Aussie version better matches the lyrics’ somber apocalyptic imagery. I mean, let’s face it, Fogerty didn’t exactly pen a feel good diddy here…

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.
Well don't go around tonight,
Well it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

Yow, pretty harsh. Still it has to be admitted, the Bible does occasionally use such apocalyptic  language, most famously in the book of Revelation where it hints there will one day be a final cosmic upheaval that ends the universe as we know it. More sobering, though, is when it gets personal, such as in the opening chapter of 2 Thessalonians wherein St. Paul states bluntly that when those end times finally come, it will be perfectly just for the Lord to inflict  “punishment on those who do not acknowledge God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.” Yeah, we don’t really like those parts of the Bible too much, do we? We’d rather hear the happy stuff.

In a lecture Avery Cardinal Dulles delivered at Fordham University, he noted…

“Today a kind of thoughtless optimism is the more prevalent error. Quite apart from what theologians teach, popular piety has become saccharine. Unable to grasp the rationale for eternal punishment, many Christians take it almost for granted that everyone, or practically everyone, must be saved. The Mass for the Dead has turned into a Mass of the Resurrection, which sometimes seems to celebrate not so much the resurrection of the Lord as the salvation of the deceased, without any reference to sin and punishment. More education is needed to convince people that they ought to fear God who, as Jesus taught, can punish soul and body together in hell (cf. Matthew 10:28)… Yes, Jesus came to save all. Yes, supernatural grace is on tap for all who desire it. But such grace must be freely drawn down. It is drawn down by regular confession, regular reception of the Eucharist, and perseverance in prayer. Mortification, volunteer work, Bible reading, and evangelization should be added for good measure. One should also take risks on occasion in order to bear Christian witness. There are no free rides to Heaven. Life is combat — every day, every month, every year.”

Given that, it’s entirely appropriate to sing about a bit of Biblical doom and gloom every now and then, just as an occasional reminder that there are consequences to our actions (or lack thereof). For my tastes, if I’m going to do so, I’d prefer it to be in the manner of The Reels’ lugubrious take on Fogerty’s lyrics. I understand, though, that such a double whammy of morbidity might be too much for some folks to stomach. Ah well, for them, there’s always the original, happier sounding version…

…which, if you ask me, still doesn’t go as well with movies about Australian werewolves with kangaroo-like pouches as The Reels’ version does.

THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 024: I Still Believe by The Call

Let’s be honest here, probably the first thing most everybody thinks of when they hear the opening chords of I Still Believe is this…

Yep, besides his work with Tina Turner, the one thing singer/saxophonist Tim Cappello is best known for is his cameo in 1987’s The Lost Boys in which he not only performed his cover of I Still Believe, but also flexed his impressively oiled pecs. So indelible an image did Cappello strike that to this day you can still find a “Greased up Sax Man from The Lost Boys Appreciation Society” fan page on Facebook.

But we’re not here to praise Cappello, nor to bury him for that matter. No, what we’re actually interested in is the original version of I Still Believe as released by The Call on their 1986 masterpiece, Reconciled. Hailed by Peter Gabriel (who guested on the album) as "the future of American music," Reconciled was one of those works which by all rights should have catapulted its creators to mega-stardom, but for some reason never really caught on with the general public.

One group that did take notice, however, was the fans surrounding the burgeoning contemporary Christian music scene at the time. As he recounts on his blog, the onetime manager of Maranatha Village, the influential southern Californian Christian bookstore that would spawn Contemporary Christian Music magazine, was a longtime champion of The Call and was considering stocking their album. However, knowing his customers would be concerned about seeing a secular artist’s products being so prominently featured on the shelves, he sent correspondence to Elektra inquiring about the band and any religious affiliation they might have. He was shocked, to say the least, when he received a personal reply from the band’s vocalist/guitarist, Michael Been. Attached to the letter was a copy of the Apostles Creed and a hand written note proclaiming, “This is what I believe.” Needless to say, Reconciled was quickly given a place of honor at Maranatha Village and I Still Believe went on to become something of a crossover hit for the band on Christian radio stations.

Really, though, it’s not that much of a surprise if you pay attention to the lyrics. If ever there was a song to be sung during the post Lenten season, this is the one…

I been in a cave
For forty days
Only a spark
To light my way
I wanna give out
I wanna give in
This is our crime
This is our sin

But I still believe
I still believe
Through the pain
And through the grief
Through the lives
Through the storms
Through the cries
And through the wars
Oh, I still believe

So, if you take Been’s note at face value, then basically what he’s singing about is that, even after all the hardships he’s faced in life, he still finds the faith to say this…

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Oh yeah, that makes adding I Still Believe to the Jukebox Hero Hymnal pretty much a no-brainer. So listen up and enjoy. And if you just can’t live without Cappello’s sax, then go ahead and fire up that version as well. After all, as long as we’re being honest here, it’s not like you’re the only one who still has a copy of The Lost Boys soundtrack lying around the house somewhere.