Difference between revisions of "Popular songs based on the Bible"
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(Wow, a list of songs based on the Bible, and nobody mentions "All you Zombies"?) |
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''It Ain't Necessarily So,'' from [[Porgy and Bess]], by George and Ira Gershwin, is a perennial hit and has had numerous recordings. In the opera, it is sung by the villain, Sportin' Life, a character patterned after [[Cab Calloway]]'s stage persona. The song is sung with sly insinuation: Sportin' Life opines that "The things that you're li'ble to read in the Bible, it ain't necessarily so," and says that he "just takes that gospel whenever it's poss'ble—but with a grain of salt." | ''It Ain't Necessarily So,'' from [[Porgy and Bess]], by George and Ira Gershwin, is a perennial hit and has had numerous recordings. In the opera, it is sung by the villain, Sportin' Life, a character patterned after [[Cab Calloway]]'s stage persona. The song is sung with sly insinuation: Sportin' Life opines that "The things that you're li'ble to read in the Bible, it ain't necessarily so," and says that he "just takes that gospel whenever it's poss'ble—but with a grain of salt." | ||
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| + | ''All you Zombies'' by the Hooters. The first lines say it all: "Holy Moses met the Pharaoh / Yeah, he tried to set him straight / Looked him in the eye / ''Let my people go''" | ||
===references=== | ===references=== | ||
Revision as of 04:19, January 17, 2008
Handel's Messiah consists exclusively of Bible quotations, such as, "For unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon shoulder." (Isaiah 9:6)
The Lord's Prayer has been set to music by a number of artists and composers. A 1935 setting by Albert Hay Malotte is a familiar and popular staple of the church choir repertoire. It has been recorded in a pop music context by Siouxsie and the Banshees[1].
Turn, Turn, Turn - Pete Seeger (popularized by the Byrds, for whom it was their second #1 hit, was adapted from Ecclesiastes) [1]).
Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen (refers to King David)[2]
Hair - PJ Harvey (relates the story of Samson and Delilah) [3]
Dead - The Pixies (tells of King David's love for Bathsheba and murder of Uriah the Hittite) [4]
The Unicorn - (words: Shel Silverstein) tells the story of the Great Flood and explains the absence of unicorns from the Ark see: http://www.unicorncollector.com/music.htm
Deck of Cards - (T.Texas Tyler) sung by Tex Ritter (1948)[2]. This tells the (supposedly true) story of a soldier using a deck of cards, which he claims, helps him to remember the bible. [3]
It Ain't Necessarily So, from Porgy and Bess, by George and Ira Gershwin, is a perennial hit and has had numerous recordings. In the opera, it is sung by the villain, Sportin' Life, a character patterned after Cab Calloway's stage persona. The song is sung with sly insinuation: Sportin' Life opines that "The things that you're li'ble to read in the Bible, it ain't necessarily so," and says that he "just takes that gospel whenever it's poss'ble—but with a grain of salt."
All you Zombies by the Hooters. The first lines say it all: "Holy Moses met the Pharaoh / Yeah, he tried to set him straight / Looked him in the eye / Let my people go"
references
- ↑ http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:09fixqu5ld6e
- ↑ See http://www.albertarose.org/Remember/deck_of_cards.htm. The 1959 Wink Martindale version was probably one of the worst songs ever to appear in the charts in the early 60's
- ↑ The following website: http://www.snopes.com/glurge/cards.asp cites this as an example of an Urban Legend, which occurs any time the US is at war; particular examples relate to WWII, and the current Afghanistan Conflict; however, the website claims that references to this have been around since 1788