Lyrics of the the Songs We Like

When I was young, my parents listened to a lot of popular music on the radio. From as young as three years old, I was singing along with the top 20 hits. One of the songs that I really got into back in the day was Paul McCartney's "Band on the Run." But I didn't sing it right. I thought they were singing "Sand on the Rug." I remember listening to the song on my folks' little portable radio we took to the beach with us. So, I'm playing in the sand, and my dear mother is urging me to try to keep the sand off the beach towel, and Sir McCartney is crooning in the background... an honest mistake.

Now that I have small children of my own, I'm reminded of how young ones get mixed up about how we use our words. We say one thing...they hear something else. Last night I was watching the weather and they were talking about the jet stream. I flipped the stations and my son quickly said, "Put it back on the show about the jets." It took me a few seconds to grasp what on earth he was talking about.

Back to the beach incident. At least I was paying attention to the lyrics and attempting to connect them to life. As I got older I found that I spent less time listening to the lyrics and more time enjoying the music itself. How do I know this? By listening to oldies stations. I hear a song and start singing along...and BAM!...a rather sexual line comes out...and I say to myself, "Whoa! I never realized that was what he was singing about."

Unfortunately, I'm afraid far too many Christians are this way in their selection of music. Even in churches, songs occasionally have really bad theology that would only take a little bit of discernment to recognize. Yet, the people are singing with gusto and passion, as if they agree with the heresy coming out of their mouths. Much of what is not heretical is just plain shallow and weightless.

Another problem is that we too often prefer certain songs because of the music instead of the lyrics. Rare is it to find great music matched with great lyrics. Do you have this problem also? Maybe that's why I listen to so much instrumental jazz and classical. I love both styles and there are no bad lyrics to mess it up.

The older I get the more I prefer finding the good lyrics and acquiring a taste for the music in which it is wrapped. Take, for example, Fernando Ortega. His style of music would not rank near the top of my list. But his lyrics are great, at least on the one album I own. But the more I listen, the more I develop a liking for the music. One little known group out of Florida, Kanon, has both great music and outstanding lyrics. If you can find their album, snatch it up.

What are you listening to? What is is saying? What are you singing in church? Are the lyrics Biblical?