Nominees for worst hymn

[Cracker_Mom]

Re. “Martyrs’ Crowns”, gosh I think those of us having to listen to the stuff in “Gather” & the like might deserve some kind of crowns for a slow martyrdom of listening to mediocre pop-influenced music at Mass for the last 30 years or more & still faithfully attending Mass every Sunday & Holy Day & even faithfully singing those ditties in the choir.
Sure some folks like those hymns. Some folks liked the “Back Street Boys”, too. There’s no accounting for taste.You can still objectively critique music & not be a snob. There’s room for all kinds of tastes in music but for the last three decades or more we’ve not had much choice in Catholic hymnals in our parishes.
Thankfully we have a local Tridentine Mass now each week & use the Adoremus Hymnal. Choice is good!

 

[Mystic_of_God]

the primary problem I have with “On Eagle’s Wings” is the awkward refrain.

I don’t think “City of God” is the best, but it is about average. The problem with it is that it begins with “Awake from your slumber…”
As an exit hymn, it may be very apt.

I nominate “Jesus the Lord”.

How lame can you get?

 

[mchium]

Ride On Jesus, Ride

(my Jesus, Mercy !!!)

:doh2:

 

[stuart12]

As someone said earlier ‘Lord of the Dance’. Its awful, not very sacred at all, is it.

 

[pentecostbaby]

My husband, when he first began to come to Mass (he went through RCIA before our wedding, yay!!!), called the music at our church “Our Lady of the John Denver Ripoff”.
Top Five Worst Hymns:

• Gentle Woman: which my mom made us play at our wedding. I really, really can’t stand this one, especially when they sing it in rounds.
• Silent Night: This is probably somehow heretical, but I’ve hated it since I was a kid.
• Lord of the Dance: Look! Jesus was into like, peace and love!!! Let’s wear some beads and talk about how He’s like, down!!
• Our God is an Awesome God: they used to do this at Teen Life Masses where I grew up. It’s an unbearable, painful attempt to be cool.
• Gather Us In: The sentiment’s nice, but I just can’t get into it.**

 

[stuart12]

on the Saturday Vigil Mass, we sung at the end, ‘‘Walk in the light’’. The congregation were definately not up for that, it was basically the priest and a few others who sung. Most people could not wait to leave the place.

 

[ibkc]

As someone said earlier ‘Lord of the Dance’. Its awful, not very sacred at all, is it.

I agree, “Lord of the Dance” is beyond awful! How can this be considered acceptable to sing in any church, except perhaps at a children’s mass? Yesterday during mass in my parish, during the offertory, the choir did a breathtaking rendition of a hymn in Latin. It was incredible. Then they started up the offertory hymn for everyone to sing. It was “Lord of the Dance” and my spiritual reverie was shattered, like someone dragged their nails across a chalkboard. I now count that as one of the most unpleasantly jarring moments I’ve ever experienced in church.

 

[beckycmarie]

Here’s one you can’t beat - how about the opening hymn being “I’M A C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N”? I walked out last Sunday and had to attend a different Mass.

Wow. It’d be hard to top that one for worst hymn ever. In my head it’s going to the tune of “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.”

 

[Fitswimmer]

I just conducted a (very) unscientific survey on this thread.

The posts which view the “new music” (written after 1965) disfavorably outnumber the posts which favor it by a margin of nearly 13 to 1.

The posters who like the “new music” (and who put their ages in their profiles) are for the most part either over 50, or younger than 19.

I suspect that we could draw the conclusion that the vast majority of us who are between 20 and 50----those of us who were cheated out of the beautiful heritage of pre-Vatican II music and who have had to endure this stuff for 40 long years----are sick unto death of it and would dearly like to see OCP just go away. Somewhere far, far, far away.

That would be me, when I started going to Latin Mass and was exposed to the “old” music I was just blown away by it’s beauty and ability to help me worship God.

This thread reminds me of something a Protestant friend told me about Christian “worship” music. She called it “7-11” music-the same 7 words repeated 11 times…

I’ve been going to the Latin Mass for a few years now, and only occasionally go to the local OF mass. I find the music less annoying because I’m exposed to it less.

 

[Cracker_Mom]

My husband, when he first began to come to Mass (he went through RCIA before our wedding, yay!!!), called the music at our church “Our Lady of the John Denver Ripoff”.
Top Five Worst Hymns:

• Gentle Woman: which my mom made us play at our wedding. I really, really can’t stand this one, especially when they sing it in rounds.
• Silent Night: This is probably somehow heretical, but I’ve hated it since I was a kid.
• Lord of the Dance: Look! Jesus was into like, peace and love!!! Let’s wear some beads and talk about how He’s like, down!!
• Our God is an Awesome God: they used to do this at Teen Life Masses where I grew up. It’s an unbearable, painful attempt to be cool.
• Gather Us In: The sentiment’s nice, but I just can’t get into it.**

Re: Gentle Woman-is that the one that has “deep woman of faith”? in the lyrics. That always cracks me up. What else would Our Lady be? A shallow woman of faith? Come on…

 

[beckycmarie]

• Lord of the Dance: Look! Jesus was into like, peace and love!!! Let’s wear some beads and talk about how He’s like, down!!

I REALLY dislike that one in particular. Here’s the kicker - my mom has planned my grandmother’s funeral already since she’s not expected to live much longer, and she really wants me to sing the funeral Mass. She picked “Lord of the Dance” as one of the songs, and I haven’t been able to talk her out of it.

It’s a good song for Irish step dancing; not such a good one for Mass.

 

[stuart12]

what does the ‘dance’ part mean and how does that relate to our Lord? :S

 

[beckycmarie]

what does the ‘dance’ part mean and how does that relate to our Lord? :S

Here are the lyrics . . .the whole thing is to the tune of “Simple Gifts.”

Verse 1
I danced in the morning when the world was young
I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun
I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth

REFRAIN:
Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all, wherever you may be
And I lead you all in the dance, said he

Verse 2
I danced for the scribes and the Pharisees
They wouldn’t dance, they wouldn’t follow me
I danced for the fishermen James and John
They came with me so the dance went on

REFRAIN

Verse 3
I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame
The holy people said it was a shame
They ripped, they stripped, they hung me high
Left me there on the cross to die

REFRAIN

Verse 4
I danced on a Friday when the world turned black
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back
They buried my body, they thought I was gone
But I am the dance, and the dance goes on

REFRAIN

Verse 5
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that will never, never die
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me
I am the Lord of the dance, said he

REFRAIN

 

[stuart12]

aww terrible…

 

[benedictgal]

What makes it even worse is that it is based on the heretetical, gnotic gospel, the Acts of John, where Jesus talks about the dance. Furthermore, in this account, His body goes through the Passion, but, not His spirit. The song is also based on something having to do with the pagan deity Shiva.

 

[beckycmarie]

What makes it even worse is that it is based on the heretetical, gnotic gospel, the Acts of John, where Jesus talks about the dance. Furthermore, in this account, His body goes through the Passion, but, not His spirit. The song is also based on something having to do with the pagan deity Shiva.

Can you elaborate on the Shiva thing? Maybe it’ll give me the ammunition to talk my mom out of having me sing this awful song at my grandmother’s funeral.

I think it’s tacky in it’s irreverance to the crucifixion. I have a hard time reconciling the thought of Christ on the cross with upbeat lyrics about “dancing on a Friday.”

 

[benedictgal]

Can you elaborate on the Shiva thing? Maybe it’ll give me the ammunition to talk my mom out of having me sing this awful song at my grandmother’s funeral.

I think it’s tacky in it’s irreverance to the crucifixion. I have a hard time reconciling the thought of Christ on the cross with upbeat lyrics about “dancing on a Friday.”

Good advice. I found abuses in a Church. I did write the priest who never answered me. I then wrote the bishop who made changes.

This comes from a thread on Lord of the Dance. This comment was posted by driver9:

1. Lord of the Dance was composed in 1963 by the radical English poet, composer and folk singer, Sydney Carter.

1. The tune is adaption of the American Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts”

1. The composer himself described his own religious views in the following words:
   “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.”
2. Carter said that inspiration for the song came, in part, from a statue of the dancing Shiva (a hindu god) that he kept on his desk and that he was astonished by its success:
   "I did not think the churches would like it at all. I thought many people would find it pretty far flown, probably heretical and anyway dubiously Christian…Anyway, it’s the sort of Christianity I believe in"

1. The lyrics may perhaps be connected to the second century heretical Apocryphal Acts of John in which before his Passion, Christ stands in the midst of his disciples and bids them join hands and dance with him, whilst he sings a hymn to the Father.

In my response to one of the comments, I posted some of what this heretical, gnostic gospel had to say:

Grace danceth. I would pipe; dance ye all. Amen.

I would mourn: lament ye all. Amen.

The number Eight (lit. one ogdoad) singeth praise with us. Amen.

The number Twelve danceth on high. Amen.

The Whole on high hath part in our dancing. Amen.

Whoso danceth not, knoweth not what cometh to pass. Amen.

A door am I to thee that knockest at me. Amen.

A way am I to thee a wayfarer. [amen].

96 Now answer thou (or as thou respondest) unto my dancing. Behold thyself in me who speak, and seeing what I do, keep silence about my mysteries.

Thou that dancest, perceive what I do, for thine is this passion of the manhood, which I am about to suffer. For thou couldest not at all have understood what thou sufferest if I had not been sent unto thee, as the word of the Father. Thou that sawest what I suffer sawest me as suffering, and seeing it thou didst not abide but wert wholly moved, moved to make wise. Thou hast me as a bed, rest upon me. Who I am, thou shalt know when I depart. What now I am seen to be, that I am not. Thou shalt see when thou comest. If thou hadst known how to suffer, thou wouldest have been able not to suffer. Learn thou to suffer, and thou shalt be able not to suffer. What thou knowest not, I myself will teach thee. Thy God am I, not the God of the traitor. I would keep tune with holy souls. In me know thou the word of wisdom. Again with me say thou: Glory be to thee, Father; glory to thee, Word; glory to thee, Holy Ghost. And if thou wouldst know concerning me, what I was, know that with a word did I deceive all things and I was no whit deceived. I have leaped: but do thou understand the whole, and having understood it, say: Glory be to thee, Father. Amen.

97 Thus, my beloved, having danced with us the Lord went forth.

This is not the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. The accounts of the Passion according to Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the only ones the Church holds to be true. Certainly they didn’t refer to Jesus as traipsing through the Passion.

Here is the link to the whole thread:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=227766

I hope this helps.

 

[elgar]

It sounds like Lord of the Dance is widely used in RC circles. So iteresting how something so passe gets revived and revered. I believe it is an adaptation of “Simple Gifts,” not a half-bad tune. I’ve been away from Catholic church music for a couple of decades, but continue to get a chuckle from the “song” titiles alone. My reaction to the following:

“Here I Am Lord”…who cares?

“Gather Us In”…what is this, a song for Border Collies?

“Our God is an Awesome God”…brag, brag, brag. My god is more hep than your god.

“Gentle Woman”…perhaps a nice contrast to your usual controlling feminist nun in charge of the liturgical team.

“We are the Light of the World”…again more bragging. You are so sure of yourselves.

Perhaps the big problem is with the song writers and their egos shining through. They also have a big hold on Catholic bishops who seem to push this junk and those disposable, un-green missalettes. I’m sure there is money to be made in all this madness. If the parishes bought decent hymnals and hung on to them for several years, just think of all the money that would be saved–not to mention the trees .

 

[Jean_Anthony]

This thread is closed. Thank you all.