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Secular Songs ::: PCKTRCMS:K FAVES > BEST OF '07
Joan Armatrading / Secular Songs (2007) [J. Armatrading] They're singing secular songs in the churches And there's not a word of God It's all Schubert and Beethoven Oh, and lots of French love songs So let's go down on Sunday morning To hear that Jacob sermon read Everybody dressed in the finest apparel, baby Listenin' to the preacher eulogise Then we'll pray, pray, pray (yeah, we'll pray) Our souls will rise upon that day Pray, pray, pray Pray we change to better ways They're telling stories of lost passion All about ménage à trois Here those heartfelt leaders Comin' from that deep bass voice And while some sleep through this music Others weep for the pain As they sing secular songs in the churches, baby It's time to kneel, let's kneel, and pray Yeah, we'll pray, pray, pray (yeah, we'll pray) Our souls will rise upon that day Pray (Hallelujah), pray (Hallelujah), pray (Hallelujah) Pray we change to better ways Yeah, we'll pray, pray, pray (let us pray) Pray, pray, pray Pray we change to better ways. | |
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One of the things I love about this song is the harmony and the images that the words evoke. There's a wistful, contemplative spirit surging through this tune that I find irresistible. I find the language powerful. In King's English, to eulogise is to praise highly and speak with much conviction in a powerful yet spiritually sound way -- mostly over the living. Transitively, in American English and in certain sectors, a eulogy is also seen as a powerfully moving speech, but it is given over the body of someone who has passed on and is usually reserved for those who are no longer with us. I find that to be especially fascinating.
There's something that tugs at the strings of my memory. I revert back to my own past and I'm showered with light. With a force that is outside of mine own. A presence that sparkles in tiny white light. It's spiritual and it's human and yet still it's out of body. Armatrading captures all of this energy for me in this tune. I appreciate its nuances and layers. | |
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I love the music on this one too, but I'm a little confused by the lyrics. She's singing about non-religious music in church, but then she talks about Jacob and menage a tois (the holy trininty?). Is she saying that secular music mirrors the themes in religious songs, or is it just that secular songs can have the same power as a song that's more directly about God?
Or, am i trying to read too much into it, and it's just a song about memories of church?  [Edited 7/5/07 5:14am] | |
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I love me some Joan but I'm not quite sure what she's getting at here, either.  | |
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MendesCity said: I love the music on this one too, but I'm a little confused by the lyrics. She's singing about non-religious music in church, but then she talks about Jacob and menage a tois (the holy trininty?). Is she saying that secular music mirrors the themes in religious songs, or is it just that secular songs can have the same power as a song that's more directly about God?
Or, am i trying to read too much into it, and it's just a song about memories of church?
[Edited 7/5/07 5:14am] 
You know, when I listen to Joan in her interviews, she just gives a really simple A, B, C explanation about a lot of the tracks on this album in a kind of "well, yeah, it's just ABC" type thing. I thought about this so I wrote about this. Case in point: "Something's Gotta Blow," the lyrics are very troubling and dark and if you didn't hear the background info on it, it seems like a thinly veiled reference to the 7.7 bombings in London (she's talking about a hot train car and it's in the dead of summer and everyone's pushing and shoving), so I was taking away a lot of terrorism imagery. But then on the NPR interview she was just like, "oh, well I was waiting in a train station and I saw people getting hot and angry, so I wrote about that experience." But I just don't buy that. She gave a similar ABC explanation for "Deep Down" (she said 'oh, well it's about some guy I came across who told me he loved his woman 'deep down' and she thought that was very strange and it tickled her -- 'now how can you love someone deep down?') So she said she wrote it off that. But there has to be more there because it can be interpreted in another way (and I think we know which way I'm thinking about). Same with "Something's Gotta Blow" it was her take on modern terrorism. But I think that's her style, to let listeners come up with their interpretations (which she knows they are going to have), but use very simplistic experiences to bring about heady constructs. Or maybe I just like getting more bang for my buck? Either way, you can tell I'm listening to/feeling this album.
... [Edited 7/5/07 7:14am] | |
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Mara said: MendesCity said: I love the music on this one too, but I'm a little confused by the lyrics. She's singing about non-religious music in church, but then she talks about Jacob and menage a tois (the holy trininty?). Is she saying that secular music mirrors the themes in religious songs, or is it just that secular songs can have the same power as a song that's more directly about God?
Or, am i trying to read too much into it, and it's just a song about memories of church?
[Edited 7/5/07 5:14am]
You know, when I listen to Joan in her interviews, she just gives a really simple A, B, C explanation about a lot of the tracks on this album in a kind of "well, yeah, it's just ABC" type thing. I thought about this so I wrote about this. Case in point: "Something's Gotta Blow," the lyrics are very troubling and dark and if you didn't hear the background info on it, it seems like a thinly veiled reference to the 7.7 bombings in London (she's talking about a hot train car and it's in the dead of summer and everyone's pushing and shoving), so I was taking away a lot of terrorism imagery. But then on the NPR interview she was just like, "oh, well I was waiting in a train station and I saw people getting hot and angry, so I wrote about that experience." But I just don't buy that. She gave a similar ABC explanation for "Deep Down" (she said 'oh, well it's about some guy I came across who told me he loved his woman 'deep down' and she thought that was very strange and it tickled her -- 'now how can you love someone deep down?') So she said she wrote it off that. But there has to be more there because it can be interpreted in another way (and I think we know which way I'm thinking about). Same with "Something's Gotta Blow" it was her take on modern terrorism. But I think that's her style, to let listeners come up with their interpretations (which she knows they are going to have), but use very simplistic experiences to bring about heady constructs. Or maybe I just like getting more bang for my buck? Either way, you can tell I'm listening to/feeling this album.
... [Edited 7/5/07 7:14am] Her lyrics are often deceptively simple...so simple that they become deeply mysterious. It's one of the things I love about her. I've always wondered if Me Myself I is a celebration of singleness or an ironic take on it. I wanna be a big shot And have ninety cars I wanna have a boyfriend And a girl for laughs But only on Saturdays Six days to be alone With just me myself I Me myself and I Just me myself I | |
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