I listen to all kinds of music, from country to rap. I find that music reveals the soul of culture. And when it comes to music revealing the inner emotions and feelings of people, “secular” music does a better job than a lot of “Christian” music. It seems that the vast majority of Christian music is about being “happy, happy, happy all the time.”
Secular music understands that people have a whole range of emotions and feelings, and secular artists are not afraid to give voice to these feelings. So as I seek to understand culture, and interact with people around me, it helps to listen to he music they listen to and hear the pain, longing, and desires that drive them.
And while music runs the gamut of emotions, I hear two primary themes over and over again: People feel insecure and alone. Our world is awash in people who do not know what their future holds, and who have thousands of friends but feel alone most of the time. Of course, this message is not only found in music, but in art and movies as well.
Just as an example, I heard the following song on the radio last week. It is “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia. The song is about her longing for love, and the fact that since she doesn’t think she’ll ever find it, she lives with perpetual insecurity. She doesn’t have faith any more that her relationships will last. Watch in the video that as she loses faith in love, her world is slowly torn down.
Do you know of any other songs that reveal these twin longings for security and relationships?
Here are the lyrics:
I thought, I saw a man brought to life
He was warm, he came around and he was dignified
He showed me what it was to cry
Well, you couldn’t be that man I adored
You don’t seem to know
Seem to care what your heart is for
But I don’t know him anymore
There’s nothing where he used to lie
The conversation has run dry
That’s what’s going on
Nothing’s fine, I’m torn
I’m all out of faith
This is how I feel
I’m cold and I am shamed
Lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed
Into something real
I’m wide awake and I can see
The perfect sky is torn
You’re a little late, I’m already torn
So I guess the fortune teller’s right
Should have seen just what was there
And not some holy light
It crawled beneath my veins
And now I don’t care, I had no luck
I don’t miss it all that much
There’s just so many things
That I can touch, I’m torn
I’m all out of faith
This is how I feel
I’m cold and I am shamed
Lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed
Into something real
I’m wide awake and I can see
The perfect sky is torn
You’re a little late, I’m already torn, torn
There’s nothing where he used to lie
My inspiration has run dry
That’s what’s going on
Nothing’s right, I’m torn
I’m all out of faith
This is how I feel
I’m cold and I am shamed
Lying naked on this floor
Illusion never changed
Into something real
I’m wide awake and I can see
The perfect sky is torn
I’m all out of faith
This is how I feel
I’m cold and I’m ashamed
Bound and broken on the floor
You’re a little late, I’m already torn, torn.
Hi Jeremy.
I’v been reading your blog for a while.Like it very much.Very real.It’s encouraging to see that there are “whatever you call yourself” that are going through crisis and moving towards the truth of what Messiah is all about.
I agree with you about the music.What about the sufferring,pain,mentall illnessess etc that we as “whatever we want to call ourselves” experience?
I wrote a “song” about it here’s a line.(it’s copyright protected)
“Right now it’s hard being me,in my own skin”
Stimulating reading,keep up the creativity.
Mands
South Africa
Mands,
Thanks for reading. It’s good to know there are people out there who feel the same way I do.
That sounds like a good song. Have you recorded it and put it on YouTube or iTunes or anything like that? I would love to hear it.
Hi Jeremy
i added u on my facebook.