Nominees for worst hymn

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AuntMartha said:
And Battle Hymn of the Republic! Wow, that one is one of my favorites, written in the Civil War times. Our old choir director wrote an ending for it that is just astounding and raises the roof. We sang it last year for a Recessional and people actually applauded at the end ( a “no-no”, I agree, but I think it must have been the weekend of Veteran’s Day or something like that honoring the military, so people were moved!)

!
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It depends on which side of the Mason-Dixon line your homestead is. One time, our rector had the choir stop in mid-note when they sang this particular song. He’s from the South and asked them to never sing that piece again.
 
In our little parish, we have a choir of about a dozen people (none of them with any voice or music training, they just like to sing) and the music is provided by an elderly gentleman with a guitar probably older than himself. Most of the hymns are in Spanish and, for some reason, most seem to have a 3/4 time beat to them (try to keep from waltzing up to communion!)

No one complains because I’m sure these songs have been song for the longest time (it’s not a large repertoire, I assure you, usually the same 8 or 9 songs on a rotating basis) and the same choir members have been singing since I first attended Mass there almost 20 years ago. The choir and the guitar are sometimes out of tune and half the congregation doesn’t speak Spanish (even though the readings and the hymns are done in Spanish) so sometimes all you hear is those twelve people in a 100-year-old adobe church with lousy acoustics.

Then at the military hospital chapel where we sometimes attend Mass, yesterday being Veteran’s Day, we had God Bless America for the opening hymn, America the Beautiful for the offertory, One Bread, One Body for the communion hymn and Battle Hymn of the Repulic for the recessional.

Still better than the stuff I alluded to in my first post (about the ‘70s choir singing “Theme from Mahogany” and "Blowin’ in the Wind".)
 
daeve said:
Then there’s the part in Lift High the Cross where one phrase ends with the word “Crucified” and the next phrase starts with the word “Bears”. Crucified Bears.
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OH MY! I hope you don’t live in Chicago!!:eek:
 
skatepixie said:
Luckly for the OP, you don’t have to have the same favorite song as the Pope. 😉
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There was another rumor that “Tu Eres Mi Amigo” was another one of JPII’s favorites. The trouble is that the original song had quite raunchy lyrics. The composer like the melody, but changed the words. Now, I can’t help but listen to that song and cringe.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Sigh! How can a person who supposedly knows and love God, post so much negativity?

“Glory and Praise to Our God”, is a bad hymn? :rolleyes:

All this is a matter of taste in liturgical music. None that I recognize in your list is inappropriate for Mass.

Jim
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Jim, you just have no sense of the sacred, Traditional and beautiful. By the way, I’ve never made the claims you listed.
 
Well, for those of you who have certain hymns stuck in your heads, a friend of mine suggested that to get them "un"stuck, you should try this…

Sing “Amazing Grace”… to the tune of the theme song from “Gilligan’s Island”.

Now try to get THAT out of your head!
 
peary said:
The group known as the St. Louis Jesuits (and who originally recorded “Here I Am, Lord” since the composer was part of that group) filled a great void in the 70s and 80s as far as liturgical and personal devotion music was concerned. I remember the Muppet Show and I haven’t been able to make the connection between that song and the show itself. HUH?

Many of the songs composed and recorded by the SLJs became standard liturgical music as the years went on. I happen to like a lot of their music. One needs to listen to the original versions to really appreciate their beauty and depth. Their albums (as CDs) are still available, such as:

Lift Up Your Hearts
Earthen Vessels
Let Heaven Rejoice
Gentle Night
A Dwelling Place
Come to the Water
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I had to sing those in choir at my Catholic school. Unfortunately, looking at them now, I realize that they did not fill a void; they contributed heavily to the decline in Sacred Music. We don’t need Joan Baez or John Denver sounding music. The Mass is supposed to be a union of the entire Church (Church Triumphant, Church Militant and Church Suffering), not just the bodies in the building. It’s supposed to lift the veil between heaven and earth. This music doesn’t even bring us to a fraction of an inch of lifting the veil.
 
benedictgal said:
There was another rumor that “Tu Eres Mi Amigo” was another one of JPII’s favorites. The trouble is that the original song had quite raunchy lyrics. The composer like the melody, but changed the words. Now, I can’t help but listen to that song and cringe.
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What do you do when you sing or hear the Star Spangled Banner?? LOL
 
Sing a New Church…this “hymn” is tongue-in-cheek heresy: “Sing a new church into being one in faith and love and praise” This implies that there was something wrong with the church. The church has and always will be ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC and APOSTOLIC.

“Lord of the Dance”…totally liturgically inappropriate for liturgy. and also, where in scripture did Our Lord ever say that he is the “Lord of the Dance.” maybe I just missed it…just silly and ridiculous.
 
Worst hymn (if I hear it again, I’ll SCREAM!!): :eek:

LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH
 
daeve said:
Bummer! I love this song. It was my mom’s favorite and we sang it as the recessional at her funeral.
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Don’t be bummed about it. I’ve had to sing it for a few funerals myself. It’s a nice song from a 1970s or 1950s Broadway show as it seems to reflect that time period. I just don’t like it for mass.
 
…beg to differ…“instrument” is the truly logical translation for “strumento”.

I feel it’s not about us when we read St. Francis’ writings. It’s about St. Francis’ expressions. His writings translated should be as undiluted and close to his intentions as possible.

Thank heavens for the scholars who do this with great love and integrity!
❤️
 
peary said:
I don’t know why Pescador des hombres was put into the worst song category. That happens to be a favorite of mine! How did that happen? when I attended Mass in a very small village near Tehuantepec, Mexico. When the priest arrived, someone from the village began to ring the bell. It took an hour for everyone to get to the church. There was no guitar or organist. But the people began to sing this song and it was really one of the most heartfelt experiences I have ever had. Since that time, the song has always had deep meaning for me. I guess that can be said with just about anybody who likes just about anything!
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Peary, in my neck of the woods, I have to hear this song every day during daily Mass, irrespective of the liturgical season. It is not a communion hymn, but they seem to sing it during that part of the Mass. After a long while, it can get annoying and it makes what is supposed to be a solemn moment pretty hard to bear. The lyrics have nothing to do with the Eucharistic banquet we are partaking.
 
udoc89 said:
I’m going to remember that and burst out laughing the next time we sing it. I’ve got another… “Sing of the Lord’s Goodness” reminds me of “Take Five.”
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Yes! That’s it! I’ve been trying to figure that one out…why is it so familiar? Now I know.
 
Oh I almost forgot to mention another one that makes me cringe. that would be the diddy “Sing of the Lord’s Goodness”. A few years ago when I was taking a History of Jazz course at the university, the professor played us a song called “Take Five”. Upon hearing its trademark 5/5 time signature, I immediately recognized that tune as being one of the hymns we sang at church. now everytime i hear it sung in church, i just chuckle at the fact that most people are probably oblivious to the fact that one of our sacred hymns is actually an adaptation of a lousy progressive jazz song from the 60s. I really like jazz tho, just not in the liturgy. did any one else know this? check it out online sometime. the name of the song is “Take Five” by] Dave Brubeck. It was pretty popular in the mainstream back in the day.
 
lak611 said:
According to a survey by the National Pastoral Musicians Association, these were the most popular:
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Just goes to show that NPM doesn’t have much taste. By the way, they are trying to hijack the document on Sacred Music that the USCCB is hammering out. It seems that NPM asked the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions to pass a resolution asking that the “status quo” be maintained in liturgical music.
 
benedictgal said:
Just goes to show that NPM doesn’t have much taste. By the way, they are trying to hijack the document on Sacred Music that the USCCB is hammering out. It seems that NPM asked the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions to pass a resolution asking that the “status quo” be maintained in liturgical music.
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Yeah, well, look at who comprises the lot LOL
 
I think the next big bishops’ meeting is going to be addressing this very subject of music in the mass.
Our Pope is an accomplished musician, as is his brother I hear.:extrahappy:
 
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