The 10 Worst Catholic Church Songs Of All Time

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It’s long. I don’t know if I can spare the 40 minutes, but I skipped around a bit and got the overall flavor… or should I say aroma.

When you dump on a song, no matter how richly you think the song deserves it, no matter how right you think you are, someone will be hurt. There are folks here at CAF and out there in the internet who like each song for perfectly valid reasons.
 
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I have a bad internet connection right now where I am, so I can’t watch all 40 minutes of it.

Nevertheless, I don’t see how it’s particularly funny to dump on “modern” or “folk” songs at Mass. The only reason to do this is to get a lot of affirmation from the usual segment of Massgoers who have a preference for chant, organ, classical music.

Speaking as someone who likes a very wide variety of music, both at Mass and elsewhere, it’s fine to have a preference about music, but as Beryllos said, music is an emotional issue and plenty of people will love whatever song is being trashed. I realize it’s apparently trendy right now to laugh it up about Marty Haugen and St. Louis Jesuits songs, but I don’t have a problem with them, and the fact that a priest would spend an hour on “10 worst songs” means to me that he needs to take a giant step back and do something positive rather than something like this that may actually make people feel bad if their favorite song is mocked, and may drive them a step further from the Lord if they feel maligned because they like a song on the 10 Worst list. It’s the equivalent of the hipper-than-thou record store clerk laughing in your face about your favorite band because if you really understood good music you’d be listening to whatever the clerk endorses.

As someone said in the Youtube comments, why not do a show on their 10 Best songs instead?

I’m also reminded of how much, historically, the old Marian hymns like “Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest” and “Mother Dear O Pray for Me” were trashed for being sickly sweet and sentimental (and I suspect in some cases, for being too much about Mary). I’m happy to still encounter these oldies from time to time at Marian services. If enough people like a song it will hang on despite the opinions of Catholic “music snobs”.
 
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I really wonder if people realize how lucky they are to have music at all. I have been to many parishes with no music at all or they might have someone volunteer right before Mass to pick songs and lead the congregation. Sometimes there is someone to play piano and no singer, sometimes a singer and no piano. A parish I attended growing up rang a bell right before the procession to let us know to stand and not a single song was sang ever. I actually made my first communion in that parish.

It’s really hard to see how snobby some Catholics are about such little things. I wish they would remember that many Catholics only have one Mass a week available in their area, and confessions are hard to come by. Complaining about which songs are sung seems so pointless when there is so much truly going wrong in the Church and the rest of the world.

And I don’t buy the “people leave the Church over bad music” line they were trying to sell. I know many people that have left the Church. Not one left because of music, and music is unlikely to bring them back either.
 
The words changed some time ago.
“If wicked men insult and hate you…”

Was changed to

“If wicked tongues insult and hate you…”

I remember when it happened thinking of the delicious irony that the song, about putting fear aside for God, would be altered for fear of upsetting people.
 
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At my current parish and at least a few others that I attend periodically, the lyrics have not changed. We still sing the original. But is it really so bad to change men to tongues? I’m not in favor of changing words in any songs but I don’t let it really bother me if it happens. Many hymns are really the same song, different words anyway.
 
vz71 said:
I used to.
Then the words were changed.
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I have only found one word that changed, from (wicked) men to (wicked) tongues in the last verse. If you no longer like the song, there must be another reason.
 
7_Sorrows said:
when did the words change?
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I see the copyright was updated in 2003. That was probably it.

The original lyrics are still in circulation on the internet. I had to search a while to find the version with the changed word.
 
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Beryllos said:
I have only found one word that changed, from (wicked) men to (wicked) tongues in the last verse. If you no longer like the song, there must be another reason.
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As stated before…
Why the change?
What exactly is it that instills such fear that they should find it necessary to change the words?
In a song about being unafraid, we are afraid. So afraid we have to change the words.
 
I see your point, but you are assuming that the song writer or publisher was fearful. We do not know that was the reason, and I can easily think of at least three other reasons: charity (love the sinner, hate the sin), sensitivity (maybe some people were actually unhappy with it), and fairness (there are wicked women too).
 
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I don’t know why it was changed or by whom. I know I have never heard the song sung with any new word(s) but I seriously don’t think it would bother me if I did. Other than feeling slight embarrassment if I was the only one that sang it wrong. We still sing the original. Our hymnals are old and most likely won’t be replaced any time soon.
 
vz71 said:
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13pollitos:
But is it really so bad to change men to tongues?
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Why the change?

It would appear to run counter to the theme of the song.
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The cynic in me thinks it was changed simply for reasons regarding licensing and royalties.

In other words - to make more money
 
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Seven of those have been mainstays at Masses I’ve attended for about the last 40-45 years. I don’t have a problem with them, and several of them I very much like.

I’m quite open to hearing Masses with all kinds of other music, such as the sentimental old Marian hymns, organ mainstays, spirituals, traditional Protestant hymns, Bach, chant, etc. I’m happy when I get to hear different music. It doesn’t mean I hate these songs though. Like I said, it’s irksome how hating these songs has seemingly become the Catholic version of hipsters hating on the Eagles.
 
There are many songs, old and new, where the words “man”, “men” or “mankind” have been removed in recent decades. I think it’s silly and annoying and will sometimes sing the old lyric, either because I didn’t open the hymnbook because I know the song well in its old version, or just on purpose to be contrary.
 
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I do not hate those songs, rather I try to search the transcript for the songs and display them in 1 spot. This is just to state where I stand and is not an endorsement to hating those songs. Some of my personal favorites are on this list.
 
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