Popular songs based on the Bible
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, notably 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). [2]
Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen (refers to King David)[1]
Hair - PJ Harvey (relates the story of Samson and Delilah) [2]
Dead - The Pixies (tells of King David's love for Bathsheba and murder of Uriah the Hittite) [3]
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)[3]. This tells the (supposedly true) story of a soldier using a deck of cards, which he claims, helps him to remember the bible. [4]
references
- ↑ http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:09fixqu5ld6e
- ↑ http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Turn_Turn_Turn_or_to_Everything_There_is_a_Season.htm
- ↑ 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