Revisiting Christopher J. Garton-Zavesky's inimitable gems from the past, we offer here one of his masterwork makeovers of that well-known little "liturgical song" of folksy strummy Sunday memories:
Be Not Afraid. We offer the video below so you can read the words below it along with the proper melodic setting of this classic. Without further ado, I give you Meistro Garton-Zavesky [applause]:
I'm not Afraid....
You shall cross a barren desert,
caused by jingles such as this.
You shall wander far from safety,
singing "I am on my way".
you shall mangle words in "modern" tongues
and none shall understand.
You think you're replacing God. How sad!
I'm not afraid: your time won't last for always.
Come back to God,
and He will give you rest.
If you pass through raging tempers on the way,
you shall not frown.
If you walk away from ICEL's charms,
You SHALL NOT BE HARMED.
If you stand with God against the foe,
and death must be your call,
Know that He is with you,
through it all.
I'm not afraid: your time won't last for always.
Come back to God,
and He will give you rest.
Blessed are the poor,
for the Kingdom shall be theirs.
Blessed are those who've wept and mourned,
who've prayed "God's will be done."
And if wicked men at ICEL hate you
for your love of God,
Blessed, blessed are you.
Be not afraid: the end is close at hand.
Come back to God,
and He will give you rest.
Kill me, please. Make it stop!
ReplyDeleteI came across this website while browsing and find this particular 'parody' item in poor taste and any attempts at humour fail. Agreed, some modern music is schmaltzy and annoying, but then listen carefully to the words and the message. I would have thought not being afraid in this ever-changing world and trusting in God was a core message to evangelise with. On a personal note, some years ago it gave me strength to endure a major personal crisis.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Peter. I agree that the words of some of these songs aren't altogether bad -- though those of most of them are pretty awful, and some outright heterodox (Read Thomas Day's excellent book Why Catholics Can't Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste for a substantial analysis of not only matters of aesthetic taste but orthodoxy of content.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I agree with you that our Lord can use resources of almost any kind to provide consolation and encouragement to His own during times of trial.
I might even agree that on one level that you've experience a "good" in the lyrics or this song (though I might cavil about the all-too-seventies musical setting). Where we might differ is over my tacit claim (that I would be happy to explicitly argue) that we can find in the abiding resources of Church tradition that have stood the test of time a far deeper "better," if not even a "best." A shallow puddle of water can keep one from drowning, but a bottomless crystal lake of fresh water can nourish one forever. God bless -- PP