Saying It, Tho Haltingly (Part 2 of 2)
Two hymns beget a song of concern (concluded)
Two songs saying come as you be
As the title and subtitle indicate, this article concludes a two-part exercise called Saying It, Tho Haltingly. The first part, published here under the same name on July 21st, looked at the hymn Be Still My Soul and wrote the first two verses to so he’s calling you again, huh? As I said there, the song is intended to operate on two levels; see if you can discern what is the second meaning.
This time our featured hymn is Just As I Am. It’ll lead us to Nirvana (the band, not the place) and then to finishing our own song. Since it’s summer, our featured drink here in the Pine Room is the gin-a-colada, recipe compliments of craftginclub.co.uk. There’s white wine for those who prefer it.
Just As I Am was the song that used to play at the end of Billy Graham’s presentations to large audiences, accompanied by an invitation to come down to floor level and join the faith. This might sound hokey to you but it was meaningful to many, some of whom remained adherents and some of whom later drifted back out. The hymn has a welcoming message, telling us we can come to God even if we’re a mess.
The title to the Nirvana song Come As You Are has much the same ring. The song’s message is little unclear, though, as in “Take your time, hurry up.” Also in “I swear I don’t have a gun” in addressing “an old enemy.” There’s an apparent drug reference in “Come doused in mud, soaked in bleach.” Confusion, guns, drugs — how could these be the themes advanced by Billy Graham? Oh wait, he was the last paragraph here; this is Kurt Cobain.
Be you on a good road?
So with similar song titles we get extreme differences. In one, faith, desire for comfort, trying somehow to improve oneself, and the like. (Yeah, I know Billy Graham became political, but I’m talking about the hymn, not him.) In the other song, a tortured reaching out, from a young songwriter who killed himself two years later.
The world of art tends to portray healthy attitudes as naive and boring, and sick ones as courageous and real. Yeah, that’s true art, expressing things that are crappy about the world. Yeah, do at least some of the following: be poor, do drugs, drink too much, make your loved ones unhappy. That’s many of our artistic heroes, like Cobain.
But most of us can’t translate unhealthy lifestyles into great art, so maybe it’s better for us to stay naive and boring. This is the choice our own song heroine faces, the sister on the other end of the phone convo. It’s what her brother is confronting her with. Here’s the completed song:
I’ll see you here in the Pine Room again soon. Be well in the meantime.
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Lyrics of completed song (so he’s calling you again, huh? written in collaboration with my friend Tim Connelly):
So he’s calling you again, huh?…
It seems it’ll be better this time, huh?….
Your breakup last time was tough,
He even got a bit rough;
He’s a Christian now, huh?…
Telling you just how, huh?
He took you to fancy places
And cursed in the servers’ faces;
And now Mama through tears,
Mama through tears,
Says you’ve got to do better;
He’ll tear us all apart;
I know he’ll break your heart;
So I’m Googling while we talk,
So the charges are trump’d and he’ll walk, huh?
As your brother I would say,
You’re too good for this, stay away;
Papa he cleaned,
Cleaned his gun,
Says he’ll answer the door;
The coward will depart;
Take heart my sister, take heart.
