I love most Protestant hymns and think that Catholics would do well to incorporate more of them into the Mass, especially the “gospel” hymns by composers like Fanny Crosby, and a lot of the hymns written during and after the Great Awakening. I really miss these glorious hymns so much–the strong and beautiful melodies and the thought-provoking relevant words. I often sit down and play and sing them on my own.
If there are “problems” with the theology, then the Catholics should do some editing–after all, the Protestants edited many Catholic hymns to make them align with Protestant theology. Turn about is fair play, right?
I just think it’s a shame that most Catholics know only ancient hymns with obscure Shakespearean language, or modern hymns that use analogies obviously gleaned from the “Flower Children” days.
However, I’ll stick to the topic! Since the topic is “bad Protestant songs,” I’m going to give you the last verse of a Protestant hymn called “Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him” that my husband and I simply could not sing with a straight face. I think you’ll see why when you read this “tongue-twister” of a last verse::
Then we shall be where we would be,
Then we shall be what we should be,
Things that are not now, nor could be,
Soon shall be our own.
I will say that it was a riot listening to the congregation mangle these words!
Also, if you are in the mood for a good chuckle, youtube “A.B. Simpson” hymns. A.B. Simpson was the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C & MA) denomination, and he wrote a lot of his own hymns. If you want to see Protestant music ministers grimace, mention A.B. Simpson hymns
Pastor Simpson’s hymns are painfully a-melodic. At the time Pastor Simpson wrote hymns, “Scottish” music was in vogue, and he used a lot of the little “hops” in the music that you would hear in Scottish popular songs. In fact, I refuse to play the “hops” in “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” because I think they are so ugly and weird. A…B Simpson music is full of them. And a lot of the hymns have the strangest melodies, with no attempt to mind the rules of music writing! Great words, but I always said that someone needs to sit down and write different melodies for all of Pastor Simpson’s hymns. I do like his hymn, “Jesus Only,” especially if it sung slowly rather than Gospel tempo.
**EDIT: Just for fun (because I’m sick and needed a laugh), I youtubed Simpson hymns, and YES!!–lots of people have actually done what I suggested years ago–re-written his old hymns! Wow! Way to go, C & MAers!!
So be careful–if you youtube his hymns and think, “This is kind of pretty. Cat is crazy if she doesn’t like this!” --it’s probably a re-write! Make sure you are listening to the “original” A…B. Simpson hymns, not one of the nice re-writes!**
) Have deleted many but just in case…