'Lyrics are important. They're just not as important as melody' - Alex Fletcher
this quote i got from watching music and lyrics, quite a while back ago.
the quote above, kinda sums up how we sometimes approach songs of all genre. be it secular or worship songs. the melody; 'the physical attraction', that certain guitar solo; that voice; or a certain chord progression that assumes for a split second, that the author of whichever u are in awe of in that song, is nothing short of a genius by being able to do that. there is nothing wrong with physical attraction, initially, but my concern with the trend, is that when it becomes ALL abt the physical attraction. this is applicable to both secular songs and gospel songs
lets start with the secular. we hear artistes like Jason Derulo, Justin Bieber ( no worries girls its not because i hate him, thats another issue altogether), Lady Gaga, Rihanna etc, the list can go on forever. the melody of the songs that these various artistes have so talentedly written is nth short of amazing, but their lyrics espouse so many ideals and constructs that just go against the teachings of the bible. take Jason Derulo for example, he sure can dance and sing, but what is he singing abt? getting lucky with some girl in the club? how everything is going through in his head? lustful desires, basically sin. and sometimes we sing these songs because we are in love with the melody, nth wrong with that. but the lyrics that we sing to accentuate the melody is.
are we at an impasse? am i overreacting? i really doubt that i am. the pt im trying to get across is that if we dun take a second look at the lyrics that we are so energetically singing just because of the melody, we are slowly but surely getting sublimated by these sinful ideals that the songs are singing abt.
lets take an extreme example, what if the lyrics were, ' the devil lucifer, what a wonderful king' to the tune of hakuna matata of lion king? even typing that phrase made me cringe. what im trying to put across is firstly, is the the melody takes the focus off of what we are actually singing, secondly and more generally, secular songs dun tell u directly that satan is king, but they take a lesser though equally singful form, they espouse sexual habits as commercial, they seem to ' love the way u lie' , and what is happening is a definite compromise of our christian beliefs on our part cuz it just 'doesnt seem that bad.' its still bad isnt it? the devil isnt stupid, he wont make songs that say 'im the king' but he creates themes that suggest ' maybe this is another way to go' and slowly increases the intensity of the message. lets us realise the pitfalls we are abt to succumb to. we have to decide between what is right and what is easier to do.
as for the gospel songs. familiarity breeds contempt. and this i strongly agree, with the way we are committing to these songs and their lyrics. one thing we have to realise that gospel songs are spiritual, they are powerful and they are life changing, simply because they are god given. lets put more effort in firstly, knowing what we sing, secondly, commiting to what we profess when we sing, and thirdly, singing it with a renewed passion. dun go 'auto -pilot' on the songs we are familiar with, dun go 'offline' with the songs u dun like or 'dun speak to you' , dun go superficial on the songs u dun know or dun understand. dun go judgemental on the songs that just arent 'YOU'.
consistency shld be demanded of, from all of us. i assure u of all the purposes of worship, the ones of paramount importance doesnt involve us taking centrestage. we are there merely to facilitate and/or participate, worship is for God, and to allow Him to do His work in the church, be it healing or evangelism etc. we are VESSELS. lets realise the true power of worship songs and give God the respect He is due.
my last point. as much as there is supernatural power in the spiritual songs, so is there in the secular songs. its a matter of which kind of supernatural power u want ruling ur life forever. quoting captain planet " the power(of choice) is yours"
accept that the lyrics have more effect than mere melody. see the pitfalls, dun fall into them knowing its there.
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