Least Favorite Songs at Mass

[ireland]

What are your least favorite songs at Mass? I would like to nominate “Lord of the Dance” and “How Can I Keep from Singing”.

 

[Annunciata]

What are your least favorite songs at Mass? I would like to nominate “Lord of the Dance” and “How Can I Keep from Singing”.

I’m sorry to disagree with on your 1st post, but I LOVE “Lord of The Dance” especially when accompanied by guitar. I really can’t think of any church music I don’t like…

 

[Tyler_Smedley]

You don’t like those songs? Those are some of my favorites, though I like all the songs.

 

[Beverly]

Very often, the reason I do not like a song is because someone has latched on to it (or heard it was a priest’s favorite) and ran it completely in the ground. “Roman’s 8” comes to mind. I like variety.

 

[bquinnan]

I especially dislike songs that seem to be about praising the Community rather than worshipping the Lord.

I’m surprised by your two picks – what don’t you like about them? I used to love “Lord of the Dance” as a child – it sort of summarized the gospel in terms I could understand. I don’t necessarily think the traditional Irish melody is right for the Mass, but I think it would be a good song for Sunday school or vacation Bible camp.

 

[ecs_220]

bquinnan:

I especially dislike songs that seem to be about praising the Community rather than worshipping the Lord…

AMEN!!!

 

[tcaseyrochester]

What are your least favorite songs at Mass? I would like to nominate “Lord of the Dance” and “How Can I Keep from Singing”.

:crying: Ouch! Two of my favorites!!! Why don’t you like them?

 

[dutch]

“how can i keep from singing” and “lord of the dance” are terrible. i nominate both of those as being the worst. the funny thing is that “how can i keep from singing” is a shaker song. nothing like using protestant-cult songs in a catholic mass. Does anyone remember this bad folk song called “sing hosana”? it keep repeating that over and over and finish with sing alleluia. it made me want to bash the guitar over the hippie’s head who was singing it.

 

[swampfox]

anything accompanied by folk guitar

 

[PASCENDI]

“He’s got the whole world in His hands”

“I’m gonna drop down, turn around, touch the ground and praise my Lord”

Any piano, guitar, banjo or hamonica music

 

[Disillusioned]

I’ve written on "The Lord of the Dance " on other threads.Funny, but we sing it to the Shaker tune “Tis the gift”, I think the problem is the words are childish and simplistic.

Watch out for one called "Shine Jesus Shine "-It’s a disguised soccer chant and the one called “The Servant King” isn’t much better.Must have been thinking about “The Lion King” (urrgh !)

There are so many-the bad far outweighs the good.Turning “Annie’s Song” into a hymn…very irreverent.
Don’t you loathe the standard charismatic mass where one by one the congregation loll their arms in the air? it’s so forced.

 

[Detroit_Sue]

I detest Lord of the Dance and How can I keep from singing, also. “It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back?” This is appropriate for Mass how?

At the parish where my husband is assigned, on Christmas Eve Midnight Mass, they has someone singing, “Mary Did You Know?” - I turned to my sons, they both rolled their eyes and said, “Of course She knew.” This same choir, on Palm Sunday, sang “Ho-Sanna, Hey-Sanna” from Jesus Christ Superstar as the processional. Of course, the priest loved it.

At my real parish, one of my favorite Communion hymns is “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent.” That, and “Panis Angelicus.”

 

[pnewton]

I disllike Eucharistic songs (e.g. “We Come To Tell His Story”, “We Are the Body of Christ”) that focus on the community and not the more substantial presence of Christ on the altar? Such songs are fine in other places of the mass, but Communion songs should focus on the Eucharist.

 

[Elizabeth]

Disillusioned:

Don’t you loathe the standard charismatic mass where one by one the congregation loll their arms in the air? it’s so forced.

I think you may just be asking some of the wrong people! This isn’t a Charismatic loathers forum! What has this got to do with least favorite SONGS?

If you want to criticise Charismatics, go join one of the other threads about this subject. There, I will respond to your comment “so forced”!

 

[Edwin1961]

When I returned to the Byzantine Catholic Church, I found the songs rather shorter and to the point in lyric content…and of course we sing (chant) the Psalms.

However now in the Byzantine Rite, I mostly feel uncomfortable about the off key singing and lack of not singing the Tones in the correct melody.

(We have 8 specific musical melodies “Tones” that are rotated every 8 weeks. There is a different melody every week, when we chant the responses (Psalms and the Prayers) for a particular Sunday-these are known as the Kontakion and theTroparia.

Singing in a Byzantine Catholic Church is very beautiful if it is sung correctly. YES, it is more difficult to sing in a choir, but it is also accapelic!

WIth all that said as for talent, I can understand why you don’t like certain songs. IF songs were sung the way they were meant to be sung and played with the proper instraments, then a song like “Peace is flowing like a River” can be actually pleasant. Lyric content…that’s a whole different story!

Go with God!
Edwin

 

[kmmd]

My least favorite by far, is the “We eat what we become”…I think that is how it goes. This was the theme for First Communion in our parish last year. I guess this goes along with praising the community instead of The Lord. Another least favorite and often used, at least in these parts, is “Sing a New Church” The old church is perfectly fine by me.

 

[Edwin1961]

kmmd:

My least favorite by far, is the “We eat what we become”…I think that is how it goes. This was the theme for First Communion in our parish last year. I guess this goes along with praising the community instead of The Lord. Another least favorite and often used, at least in these parts, is “Sing a New Church” The old church is perfectly fine by me.

“We eat what we become?”
Does that mean, if I eat a lot of ice cream, does that mean I become ice cream?

It just goes to show that songs today are not written with good Catechism in mind. Or at least not considered.

Go with God!
Edwin

 

[Katholish]

For referrence purposes, here are the lyrics for “Lord of the Dance”

I danced in the morning when the world was begun, and I
Danced in the moon and the stars and the sun, and I
Came down from Heaven and I danced on the earth, at
Bethlehem I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be. I am the Lord of the
Dance, said He. I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, I will
Lead you all in the dance, said He.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee, but they
Would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me,
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John, they
Came with me and the dance went on.

Dance, then wherever you may be. I am the Lord of the
Dance, said He. I’ll lead you all , wherever you may be, I will
Lead you all in the dance, said He.

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame, the
Holy people, they said it was a shame, they
Whipped and they stripped and they hung me high, and they
Left me there on a cross to die.

Dance, then wherever you may be. I am the Lord of the
Dance, said He. I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, I will
Lead you all in the dance, said He.

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black, it’s
Hard to dance with the devil on your back, they
Buried my body and they thought I’d gone, but
I am the dance and I still go on.

Dance, then wherever you may be. I am the Lord of the
Dance, said He. I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, I will
Lead you all in the dance, said He.

They cut me down and I leap up high,
I am the the life that’ll never, never die, I’ll
Live in you if you’ll live in me,
I am the Lord of the Dance said He.

Dance, then wherever you may be. I am the Lord of the
Dance, said He. I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, I will
Lead you all in the dance, said He.

 

[Katholish]

Note concerning the above posted song: “Lord of the Dance” was written in 1963 by a member of the Anglican Church named Sydney Carter. The tune was taken from a Quaker hymn.

Sydney Carter wrote:

"I see Christ as the incarnation of the piper who is calling us. He dances that shape and pattern which is at the heart of our reality. By Christ I mean not only Jesus; in other times and places, other planets, there may be other Lords of the Dance. But Jesus is the one I know of first and best. I sing of the dancing pattern in the life and words of Jesus.

Whether Jesus ever leaped in Galilee to the rhythm of a pipe or drum I do not know. We are told that David danced (and as an act of worship too), so it is not impossible. The fact that many Christians have regarded dancing as a bit ungodly (in a church, at any rate) does not mean that Jesus did.

The Shakers didn’t. This sect flourished in the United States in the nineteenth century, but the first Shakers came from Manchester in England, where they were sometimes called the “Shaking Quakers”. They hived off to America in 1774, under the leadership of Mother Anne. They established celibate communities - men at one end, women at the other; though they met for work and worship. Dancing, for them, was a spiritual activity. They also made furniture of a functional, lyrical simplicity. Even the cloaks and bonnets that the women wore were distinctly stylish, in a sober and forbidding way.

Their hymns were odd, but sometimes of great beauty: from one of these (Simple Gifts) I adapted this melody. I could have written another for the words of ‘Lord of the Dance’ (some people have), but this was so appropriate that it seemed a waste of time to do so. Also, I wanted to salute the Shakers.

Sometimes, for a change I sing the whole song in the present tense. ‘I dance in the morning when the world is begun…’. It’s worth a try".

I find the correlation to Christ as the piper mentioned in the first paragraph most interesting and revealing. I am sure that the Peid Piper comes to mind immediately for most of us, and I suspect that was what Mr. Carter meant by that comment. One problem though, is what that refers to. The Peid Piper according to the story came into a German town on a Sunday (he had done a service for the mayor who refused to pay him for driving out the rats) when all of the parents were at Mass, and played his pipe and it cast a spell on all of the children would could not refuse to follow it, the piper lead them all out of town and into a cave which closed after them. The Peid Piper is Satan.

Aside from arguably heretical lyrics, it is clear that the author is far from a Catholic as may be imagined. One might question if he is even a monotheist when he says “By Christ I mean not only Jesus; in other times and places, other planets, there may be other Lords of the Dance.”

I absolutely detest this song particularly if sung at Mass. I vote it for worst song.

 

[pnewton]

Where in scripture did Jesus dance, or is this part of the early church tradition?