secular songs of praise

[billkilpatrick]

[belbein]

I must have gone to college with these guys--but who are they?

[billkilpatrick]

I must have gone to college with these guys--but who are they?

ha! ... haven't a clue but they sure take you back, don't they ...

[CelticDude]

Doing a search for the lyrics, I came upon Andy Corwin's Agnostic Gospel Song mp3 on Amazon. Found the lyrics here.

[billkilpatrick]

here's a nice one with joseph brent on mandolin:

[rb3868]

Who are we praising, then?

How about the glory and beauty of this blue marble and all its varied inhabitants

[Mike Bunting]

[FLATROCK HILL]

How about the glory and beauty of this blue marble and all its varied inhabitants

Yup. The whole kit-n-kaboodle just showed up one day, all by itself....out of nowhere. A trick like that deserves praise.

[billkilpatrick]

that's "secular" songs of praise ... not "circular" ...

[billkilpatrick]

cutsie, secular alternative to "silent night:"

http://open.salon.com/blog/surazeus/...winkling_stars

[Jeff Richards]

How about:
Stand by Me, Ben E. King
This is It (Your Soul), Hothouse Flowers
Stand Beside Me, Hothouse Flowers

This is a great thread!

Thanks Bill

[billkilpatrick]

beautiful rendition of this - secular song of love and death:

[billkilpatrick]

Your hands lie open in the long fresh grass, --
The finger-points look through like rosy blooms:
Your eyes smile peace. The pasture gleams and glooms
'Neath billowing skies that scatter and amass.
All round our nest, far as the eye can pass,
Are golden kingcup-fields with silver edge
Where the cow-parsley skirts the hawthorn-hedge.
'Tis visible silence, still as the hour-glass.

Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragon-fly
Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky: --
So this wing'd hour is dropt to us from above.
Oh! clasp we to our hearts, for deathless dower,
This close-companioned inarticulate hour
When twofold silence was the song of love.

- Dante Gabriel Rosetti

[mandroid]

"Red Solo Cup" By Toby Keith sounds like one to me..


Now red solo cup is the best receptacle
From barbecues, tailgates, fairs and festivals
And you sir do not have a pair of testicles
If you prefer drinkin' from glass

Hey red solo cup is cheap and disposable
In fourteen years they are decomposable
And unlike my home they are not foreclosable
Freddie Mac can kiss my a**, woo! ... [ Nixonian Explitive ]

Red solo cup, I fill you up
Let's have a party, let's have a party
I love you red solo cup, I lift you up,
Proceed to party, proceed to party

Now I really love how you're easy to stack
But I really hate how you're easy to crack
Cause when beer runs down, in front of my back
Well, that, my friends, is quite yucky

But I have to admit that the ladies get smitten
Admirin' at how sharply my first name is written
On you with a Sharpie when I get to hittin'
On them, to help me get lucky

Red solo cup, I fill you up
Let's have a party, let's have a party
I love you red solo cup, I lift you up,
Proceed to party, proceed to party

Now I've seen you in blue and I've seen you in yellow
But only you red will do for this fellow
Cause you are the Abbott into my Costello
And you are the Fruit to my Loom

Red solo cup, you're more than just plastic
More than amazing, you're more than fantastic
And believe me that I'm not the least bit sarcastic
When I look at you and say:
"Red solo cup, you're not just a cup (No, no, God no)
You're my friend, yea (Lifelong)
Thank you for being my friend"

Red solo cup, I fill you up
Let's have a party, let's have a party
I love you red solo cup, I lift you up,
Proceed to party, proceed to party
[repeat]

[stevedenver]

<comment deleted by Moderator>

[stevedenver]

<comment deleted by Moderator>

wow, im really disappointed that a real song title, by a real group, in praise of womens 'parts', and not a vulgar or base term, but rather one ive actually heard used on network tv, by interviewers, women, and even doctors

which in a very human and physical way actually was relevant,

and clearly posted as tongue in cheek merited censorship

when i think of the many rock and pop songs with suggestive titles, im a little concerned about this

would you have deleted a reference to Honeysuckle Rose?
Squeeze Box by the Who?

post 35 wasnt deleted, yet it refers to the same song
(which i had apparently overlooked in skipping around these many pages)
and as there were some prior posts referred to 'circular', referenced , again, tongue in cheek

[OldGus]

You may hear a doctor say it but they will not say it 50 times in a row with the maturity of a middle schooler, repeatedly asking if you like them. It's not the same or close to the same thing. It is not moral to excuse inappropriate behavior on the basis of "they did it too, why didn't you go after them". That is also a middle school tactic. Empty minded song, IMO, and if you ask me there is no praise in it but it is rather disrespectful.

[stevedenver]

You may hear a doctor say it but they will not say it 50 times in a row with the maturity of a middle schooler, repeatedly asking if you like them. It's not the same or close to the same thing. It is not moral to excuse inappropriate behavior on the basis of "they did it too, why didn't you go after them". That is also a middle school tactic. Empty minded song, IMO, and if you ask me there is no praise in it but it is rather disrespectful.

to each his own
i didnt think 'morality', within reason was the issue,
im over 50, knew this song when it first came out, and now , as then, i find it amusing, in a silly way
im not understanding how mentioning a song is disrespectful-ideas are ok with me, not to be limited so that i cant make my own judgment about that idea



the thread topic was secular songs of praise
it is a song of praise, imho, but not yours

you are free to dislike the song, for whatever reason
as i presume others are free to mention songs that neither you or i like
with or without our judgment

i think the reason this song was mentioned, is that is a song of praise, juvenile or otherwise (many rock songs are more visceral and emotional-many more acknowleding sexuality, sometimes far more graphically and in sexist fashion)

this song is , indeed, so immature, designed to be outrageous,
it is funny, imho, and tongue in cheek, not immoral in any way



as for empty minded, there are so many empty minded lyrics i cant say-hot corn cold corn ......or songs of praise like white lightening, again appealing to, and most imprtantly, acknowledging , human foibles and base instincts-

what i do find, is that in this thread, there seems to be perceived an overlay between the topic, apart from any religous or moral considerations, which is what secular means, and others feeling that songs of praise, as a term, somehow is elevated or literally, sacred.

Perhaps to some songs of praise can only be related to the spiritual or religion, because others associate them in this context.


which is making this a touchy subject obviously

[OldGus]

to each his own
i didnt think 'morality', within reason was the issue,

O.K., exchange the references of morality with those of 'maturity'. Does that make sense? It is in praise of a thing rather than a person, persons are not 'things'.

[stevedenver]

i dunno
i like "little deuce coupe"
LOL

i understand your point,
i just think its a little priggish

[OldGus]

Pretty much everyone I've been around at length has demonstrated hypocrisy in some form, myself included. I say things that are immature sometimes and will try to correct myself rather that saying it's O.K. because others do it too. That why in religion we look to Gods example and not mans for comparison. Half of what I am saying may sound pompous to you but when I admit my wrong there is balance. We strive for perfection amd come up short. Life is for learning and improving and people are allowed to change their minds. That being said I think there are a ton of songs more perverted than the one you referenced and it is commonplace along with other things I think you would agree are immoral in popular music these days. It's a real problem, your ear canal goes straight to your brain.

[stevedenver]

gus
in utmost sincerity and respect for you and your post,
i do not beleive that the lowest common denominator should always be accepted
otoh, i do acknowledge that societally, things do change,
and i do not try to push them away, but rather , try to take them in stride, and without too much concern, for the most part

i find humor, and honesty, in acknowledgment of human "foiblels", which, in no small way, is exactly what you , i think, are pointing out

theres another song, "hell on heels", which might well objectify men as wallets with legs, or, alternatively may praise the guile and beauty of women, who understand and manipulate men's baser sides-it doesnt offend me, its part of the world,

in any case, i appreciate and understand your point

[billkilpatrick]

in praise of secular values without (i trust) addling those who find similar values elsewhere:

[billkilpatrick]

in terms of criteria, what i had in mind when initiating this thread was to find a list of songs composed and written in praise of the natural world - the nature of things - without a reference to one or other of the many, many, many religions we've devised throughout the history of mankind. "gospel" has its own table here at the cafe and i thought the existentialists might like to gather 'round a table to have a hearty sing-a-long of their own as well.

having said that, "little deuce coup" by the beach boys definitely qualifies as a song of praise:

[jaycat]

How many here have that first Fugs album. We actually had them at the New Penelope Coffeehouse in Montreal. Ah, Sunflower, Weary of Time, Swinburne Stomp

Oh of course I still have all their stuff. The song referred to is one of the great sing-a-longs ever.

Never saw the group but I did see Ed Sanders solo in the 70s. Unfortunately he had Allen Ginsberg in tow, who took over the show with a 45-minute rendition of "Om."