Just A Dream



Read the lyrics.  Watch the video on YouTube.  To listen:  look to the right and "play" away...



Cover Art:  Just A Dream



I know that this blog is supposed to be about the intersection of faith and lyrics.  But, I can't help but mention that the first thing I thought when seeing the video for this song was William Shakespeare.  (In my defense:  sometimes I am tempted to think Shakespeare's words are divinely inspiried.) 

Nelly's lyric of a man who lost his love due to failure to commit, combined with the images in the video, instantly reminded me of lyrics from a much older song in Much Ado About Nothing.

         

          Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more; 
              Men were deceivers ever;
          One foot in sea and one on shore,
              To one thing constant never;

          Then sigh not so, But let them go,
              And be you blithe and bonny;
          Converting all your sounds of woe
              Into. Hey nonny, nonny.

From National Portrait Gallery

London, England

...nice earring, Shakespeare!

What is it about men...   well, I don't want to be sexist.  What is it about men and women that make us afraid to commit?  Though I am a celibate:  I understand the lyrics Nelly sings.  The Church gave me six years to make my profession of final vows.  Though I could have professed after three years:  I took all six. 

Sometimes, as the lyrics of this song suggest, we spend so much time dreaming about what could be we fail to see the life and people right in front of us.  Nelly realizes that he should have put it down, got that ring, and made a commitment.  He realizes that life in the clubs, single and free, is not as happy as the missed chance he had for a wife would have been. 

What is the happiness that God intends for us?  Do we hold off on commitment until "it" happens, whether that be the "perfect" job, career, spouse, or situation?  Shakespeare expresses it as keeping one foot in sea and the other on shore.  Is that elusive "it" we are waiting for, as Nelly suggests, just a dream?  What if happiness isn't "it", but is being aware of and seeing what is in front of us, and saying "yes...", "I do...", or (in my less frequent case) "I profess..."   Nelly tells us that happiness is found with commitment.  When we do commit, our eyes are opened and we realize that all else is only a dream.

 

I'll Be Missing You

Read the lyrics.  To listen on MyDehonianPlayist:  just look to the right and play.

This week I had a chance to attend a workshop on the coming translations that will be used at Mass.  These translations got me thinking about our images of God.  I noticed that many of the original Latin texts express a relationship to a God who is distant, wholly other, greater, over, and above.  We approach this God in great humility.  We are not only servants, we are slaves, and God is Master.  We do not look God in the eye.  This is a God who deigns to give us attention.

This is a legitimate image of God and has its place in our prayer life.  God's thoughts are so beyond our thoughts, God's ways are so beyond our ways, and perspective is so beyond our perspective that it is the height of arrogance for us to assume any relationship other than to be supplicative.

By Arthur@NYCArthur.com



Yet, I couldn't help but have this song by P. Diddy play in my mind.  I remember a funeral for a teen in Fort Thompson, South Dakota.  His death was sudden, unexpected, and tragic.  A winter auto accident.  His friends and siblings -heartbroken, vulnerable- played this song at the graveside.  Huddled together against the cold around their sound system, it was the lyrics of this song that gave final expression to their pain and brokenness. 

The lyrics, though not addressed directly to God, are certainly in God's presence.  They talk about a God who is the God of life, who hears our prayers, who is concerned about relationship and bonds that break, who responds to heartbreak, who is present for every step, every night, every move we make.

There are times we need to come before God in the most humble of terms.  Yet, as a Dehonian, I must admit that image fails to speak as poignantly as the time some Fort Thompson teens stood before a God who was listening to P. Diddy, as he gave words to their vulnerability and faith when they could do no more than huddle against the cold, together in God's presence. 

Pray For You

Read the lyrics.  Be entertained by the video.  To listen on MyDehonianPlayist:  just look to the right and press play.

From www.jaronatlrtl.com

I had a great discussion about this entertaining song's lyrics over pizza yesterday!  The verse sets us up for pious and nice thoughts, and the chorus delivers with prayers that jar the listener like a flowerpot from above.  A visit to church and a sermon about praying for one's enemies brings the singer to pray that their brakes go out on a downhill trip, among other things.  All with organ music waxing holy in the background.

Hypocritical?  Maybe not.

I am reminded of a traditional Jewish... well... blessing... I guess.  Relying on Yiddish's unique combination of wit and wisdom, this sort of prayer would go something like, May your engine stall while you are flying high, God Forbid!  Begin with words that express one's baser -but honest- desire.  End by placing the desire in God's hands.  (To learn more, check out page 214 of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish.)  I don't think the similarity between the song and the blessing is by accident.  Jaron David Lowenstein, singer and co-author of the song, was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home.  Chances are, he grew up knowing this rather unique sort of blessing.

What if there is wisdom in this song?  As a Dehonian, my belief is in a God who is profoundly interested in relationship.  God is interested in our Sunday best.  God is also interested in our Monday morning rush-hour worst.  Honesty.  Who we really are.  For better and for worse.  At our best, we can be incredibly generous and self-sacraficing.  But, I don't think I am the only one who occasionally wishes that someone's path is crossed by a rapidly falling flower pot.

What if there is some value in expressing our worst desires in prayer?  God forbid!  Such a prayer keeps us honest with ourselves, honest with God.  At the same time, such prayer also tempers that desire by placing the matter in God's hands:  "I would like the brakes on their car to go out, but your will, not mine, be done."

I know that sometimes I try to stifle and stuff my worst desires for others.  When I do, they usually find a way out.  Usually in ways that end up being destructive of relationships.  In ways that end in regret for my actions and words.  In ways that require forgiveness and consequences. 

Of course, the Gospel calls not just that we pray for enemies, but that we actually love them.  Maybe a few honestly expressed words, between God and I, followed by putting the matter in the hands of Providence will start me down this "high road", as the song calls it.  Love is the desired end, but to be honest before God, it isn't always the starting point.

          He said you cant go hating others who have done wrong to you.
          Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn.
          Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them.