Jesus and Country Music
Many historians have estimated that music has been around for thousands of years, but what do we really know about it in the gospels? The gospels do reference that Jesus said some things about people who enjoyed the sounds of trumpets and flutes, but very rarely were these references positive. In reality we know very little about why the gospel writers did not include aspects of music. Walter Herbert proposes three theories to answer this predicament; the first is that perhaps the gospel writers did not think singing was an important skill for the messiah to have. The fact that the birth, teachings, death and resurrection seem to be common throughout the gospels supports this idea. A second thought is that since the Romans were in control everyone was preoccupied with trying to get rid of them that no one had time to sing. The last idea is that maybe the gospel writers thought that the important songs were common knowledge for everyone, like the Lord’s Prayer. “According to both Mathew and Mark, it is highly possible that Jesus sang the Hallel hymn during evening prayers on the first night of Passover”(Taylor 2011, 35).
In order for music artists to stay in business they must have listeners. If an audience is offended by a song then they can potentially lose a specific cohort of people. “The assumption in much of the country music programming world is that products that are too narrowly evangelical are decidedly unpopular and songs that get too preachy are unlikely to get much airplay” (Machacek 2003, 18). The challenge for country music artists who want to include aspects of Jesus and religion is how to do so without writing a gospel. One way to assure that artists keep both religious and secular fans is by devoting most of their time to the secular side of the music industry, but recording a gospel music album every once in awhile on the side (Ellison 1995, 112). However, this was not always guaranteed to make the fans or artists happy.
Some recording industries believe that in order for a song to be successful it must be void of Christian-specific language so that the secular audience can relate. “A complex dynamic allows some themes and images to be absorbed into the religious discourse of the music, while a number of more ‘threatening’ categories are left to the imagination” (Grossman 2002, 84). Most of the central ideas of country music songs are those of American values such as suffering, strife, and the potential for redemption. These are also central ideas of the gospels, but artists tend not to look at historical significance because other than scholars and theologian, the average person is not interested (Grossman 2002, 86). The main message of country music has universal aspects, and so, even when there are Christian subtexts, the religion of country music is considered a universal truth.
Once the mid-1950s came around, country music artists sang less of longings defined by religion and more about the secular working-class life. During times like the Industrial Age and the Great Depression the working-class made up much of the nation’s population. “Contemporary country music found the nation to be a more unifying object of devotion than a particular religious god, and its imprecise class status has allowed it to find the largest audience ever” (Hayes 2010, 251).Country music subject popularity also changed during 1960-1987 to be mostly about male-female relations then about religion (Hayes 2010, 248).This is when the concept of Jesus as your
girlfriend/boyfriend became popular because the secular audience could still relate to the song. An additional theme that country artists use in order to keep both religious and secular fans is with the use of metaphors. For example, “just as the gospel tradition is grounded in the salvation of the sinner through the love of Jesus Christ, so does secular country music imagine a man’s salvation through the love of a good woman” (Grossman 2002, 88). Country music tends to focus on the human aspects of Jesus, in order to allow the listener to better relate. The salvation through Jesus is even associated with the Jesus who suffered on the cross and was redeemed; rarely do we find reference to Christ as King because there are many other religions who do not share the Christian divinity.
The goal of any music artist is to write a song that portrays a certain lesson, story, or figure in the way that they want it to be seen or understood, similar to how the gospel writers wrote to portray their own image of Jesus. Various country music artists incorporate Jesus into their music in different ways. For instance, Johnny Cash is a singer/songwriter who used to be a devout Christian “who took bible classes and made his own film about Jesus’ life” (Edwards 2009, 157). Although Cash is a Christian, he is the first to admit that he is not perfect. One of the reasons that Cash is such a successful artist is due to his ability to focus on “individualism and a personal relationship to religious faith, as well as, making structural social critiques that move beyond individualism” (Edwards 2009, 160). Cash believes that individuals have the right to read and interpret scripture as they choose because their relationship with God through Jesus is primary. In many of Cash’s songs there are references to the book of Revelation and other biblical sources, in addition to, subjects that praise Jesus and his deeds for the “common man.”
Another country music artist with many allusions to Jesus is Willie Nelson. Nelson’s song “Red Headed Stranger”is a “drama of sin and salvation, which he fashions by placing already existing country songs within an evangelical framework” (Herbert 1998, 344). The sacrifice of women in this song can be seen as an allusion to the sacrifice of Christ. In the end of the song, the sinner “experiences ecstasy in the confession of woe, confident that the Lamb of God will save him” (Herbert 1998, 345). Willie Nelson strongly believed that a gospel song could become a country song by wimple changing one word because the figure of Christ as a tender and intimate redeemer is already
present.
Keeping up with popular trends and culture is another way country music artists keep/gain fans. Songs contain concepts that people can relate to are what truly make a great song. “Both ‘Help Me’ and‘Me and Bobby McGee,’ by Kris Kristofferson, have remained popular because they name something fundamental about working-class life in the United States”(Sample 2010, 114). Both of these songs characterize freedom and struggle which are things that are highly relatable for people in the working-class. Some artists use a combination of popular topics along with biblical references in order to offer answers to situations. “When Cambridge University Press completed a translation of the whole Bible into Basic English, called the “new Bible,” there were mixed emotions. Johnny Masters summed up all of the feelings of the Protestants and
wrote a song about how to deal with it” (Wolfe 1985, 94).
Sometimes going against what the music industry wants is just what the world needs. Woody Gunthrie is another country music artist who chose to include material that was strongly related to Jesus and the Bible, whether people approved or not. Gunthrie’s belief was that "how we remember our hereos affects what we do in the name of our heroes” (Knight 2005, 30). What attracted people to his music was how much emotion and truth he put into his work, even though lots of people disregarded it. “Although much country music is religious in language, sentiment and intent, it is very rarely evangelical, for evangelical belief is grounded on the notion that ‘the great, complex issues of life can be answered clearly and directly” (Grimshaw 2002, 101). Instead the answers aren’t simple because life is not simple and country music relates to people and helps them to cope with life.
"In the Garden" by Willie NelsonI come to the garden alone While the dew is still on the roses And the voice I hear, falling on my ear The Son of God discloses And He walks with me And He talks with me And He tells me I am His own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known He speaks and the sound of His voice Is so sweet the birds hush their singing And the melody that He gave to me Within my heart is ringing And He walks with me And He talks with me And He tells me I am His own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known I'd stay in the garden with Him 'Tho the night around me be falling But He bids me go; through the voice of woe His voice to me is calling And He walks with me And He talks with me And He tells me I am His own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known |
Analysis: In Nelson's song the man in the garden clearly has two voices, the sweet voice that hushes the birds and the voice of woe bidding return to the world. This style is called semantic doubling becuase the voices are intertwined with issues of sexual bliss and sexual sin (Herbert 1998, 339). The garden in this song can be interpreted in many ways, so that each person can relate in their own way. The garden can be the place of Jesu' tomb where Mary Magdalene came to care for his body, the Garden of Eden where our first parents inaugurated all our woe, or the Garden of Gesthemane where Jesus was betrayed (Herbert 1998, 339). Nelson also includes a voice of woe in this song which "is not - or not only - the voice of subservience to a reigning ideology; on the contrary, Nelson reshapes evangelical piety to articulate the integrity of the oppressed and bid defiance to the oppressor" (Herbert 1998, 340). |
"The Little Girl"
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"Me and Bobby McGee"
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Bibliography:
Edwards, Leigh H. Johnny Cash and the Paradox of American Identity. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2009.
Leigh Edwards starts with a quote from Johnny Cash saying, “there is nothing hypocritical about it; there is a spiritual side to me that goes real deep, but I confess right up front that I’m the biggest sinner of all” (157). This opens the reader up to the idea that nobody is perfect, which is a common theme among Cash’s songs. By turning a gospel song into a secularized country song it crystallizes a broader shared culture. Edwards explains that Cash’s success is due to his ability to focus on individualism and a personal relationship to religious faith, as well as, making structural social critiques that move beyond individualism. Edwards believes that individuals have the right to read and interpret scripture or country music songs as they choose. This book also provides insight on how Cash used references of Jesus, God, and his beliefs in his songs and that some songs are based on the book of Revelation and other biblical sources.
Ellison, Curtis W. Country Music Culture: From Hard Times To Heaven. Jackson, MI: University Press of Mississippi, 1995.
Curtis Ellison argues that the reason country music has had such success is that while gospel songs have the possibility of going against a certain religion’s beliefs, country music can “bring together Miami River Valley Baptist, Church of God, Church of Nazarene, Assembly of God, and many other groups” (105). Another point that Ellison proposes is that by combining country music and gospels into the same song it’s a way to spread your views about Jesus and your personal salvation without running the risk of losing fans that do not have the same views. Ellison emphasizes how country music artists who found salvation began to intertwine Jesus and the gospels into their songs. In order to still keep their non-believing fans, Ellison concludes that many artists devote most of their time maintaining a secular career, but their religious views can still be expressed with an occasional gospel music album.
Grimshaw, Michael. “’Redneck Religion and Shitkickin’ Saviours?’: Gram Parsons, Theology and Country Music.” Popular Music 21 (2002): 93-105.
This article begins by defining contextual theology as a phrase that is used to describe attempts to locate the Christian narrative primarily within particular locations or communities. Grimshaw relates contextual theology to country music by saying that it provides the soundtrack to millions of loves, while its narrative forms and vibrant imagery are especially suited to an investigation and discussion of the“big issues.” Grimshaw demonstrates how Parson relied on the theological mindset and language of the South, as well as, country music to create his rock‘n’ roll style. This is because country music provides a voice for the past in the present, the voice of core values in a time of relativism, and the voice of irony in the time of dogma and ideology. The article ends by providing insight that in country music, although the “language of Jesus” may be used, i.e. “Jesus”as catchphrase and “theological shorthand”, the underlying theology is actually non-specifically materialized.
Grossman, Maxine L. “Jesus, Mama, and the Constraints on Salvific Love in Contemporary Country Music.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 70 (2002): 83-115.
Maxine Grossman expresses that there is a complex dynamic that allows some themes and images to be absorbed into the religious discourse of the music, at the same time as a number of “threatening”categories are left strictly to the listener’s interpretation. This is the reason that country music artists can include somewhat offensive topics that are hidden in order to avoid the loss of fans. Grossman also explains that most country music songs include symbolism as a way to “water-down” non-secular language. It is also observed that salvation through Jesus is associated with the Jesus who suffered on the cross and was redeemed; rarely do we find reference to a high Christology of Christ as King. It is also noted that country music tends to emphasize the human aspects of Jesus, focusing on his role as a man, whose actions might be followed and whose sufferings might be familiar to an average, secular person.
Hayes, John. “Religion and Country Music.” Religion Compass 4 (2010): 242-252.
John Hayes begins with the observation that country music artists after the mid-1950s sang less of longings defined by religion and more of a secular working-class life. The more specific issues of religion and country music are an underdeveloped field without clear terms of debate or persistent questions, there are just observations and ideas of the listeners. Hayes explains that country music has never been the prime cash cow for the record companies or radio stations, but it has been loyal, reliable, and a consistent segment of the music industry. Hayes recognizes that within the constituency of country music Christianity is evenly as powerful as cultural influence. Hayes considers his theory of why song writers developed the idea of the personal relationship with Jesus is due to the sudden cultural interest in relationships, so by writing a song that represented a relationship with Jesus as well as with your significant other it would appeal to a variety of fans.
Herbert, Walter T. “’The Voice of Woe’: Willie Nelson and Evangelical Spiritualism.” In Reading Country Music: Steel Guitars, Opry Stars, and Honky-Tonk Bars, edited by Cecelia Tichi, 338-349. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1998.
In this article, Walter Herbert analyzes the lyrics of Willie Nelson’s songs “In the Garden” and “Shotgun Willie.” For Nelson to convey male-male sexuality in this song – or for his listeners to find it there – is not a travesty of the religious tradition, but instead, it is a gesture native to evangelical spirituality. Herbert focuses on some of Nelson’s characteristics of his song writing, such as his use of semantic doublings and the “voice of woe.” Herbert points out that at a quick glance there may not seem to be any ties to Jesus in “Shotgun Willie” because the only two places to perform were at opposite ends of the spectrum: churches and honky tonks. Nelson tied this aspect into his songs because country music originated in revivalist churches but found its destiny in the jailhouse. Herbert argues that a gospel song can become a country song simply by changing one word because the “figure of Christ as a tender and intimate redeemer” is already present (348).
Knight, James. “’I Ain’t Got No Home in This World Anymore’: Protest and Promise in Woody Guthrie and the Jesus Tradition.” In Call Me The Seeker: Listening to Religion in Popular Music, edited by Michael J. Gilmour, 17-33. New York: Continuum, 2005.
James Knight begins by explaining that the process of re-contextualizing Jesus is an age-old practice beginning with the word-of-mouth circulation of the stories of Jesus. The formation of the canonical Gospels is just a further stage of this process as they shaped their accounts in order to address concrete issues that they considered to be important. Knight explains that country music artists create songs about Jesus by using this process and he uses the artist Woody Gunthrie as an example. Not only did Gunthrie write songs that paraphrase Jesus’ preaching, but he also included parallels between his lyrics and sayings in Jesus tradition. Knight notes, for example, where Gunthrie echoes the scene in the Synoptic Gospels where Jesus tells the rich man to sell his possessions and give alms. Knight ends his article by explaining that Gunthrie wanted to point out that how we remember our heroes affects what we do in honor of them.
Machacek, David W. “The Religion of Country.” Religion in The News 6 (2003): 18-19.
This article starts off with David Machacek stating that Randy Travis’ song “Three Wooden Crosses” was the first single from a Christian record label to soar, unexpectedly, to the top of the Billboard country music chart. This opened doors from many country music artists that wanted to invest more into their emphasis on Jesus. Machacek comments that in recent decades it has almost always been songs with a highly generalized form of piety that get attention from the big name recording companies. He also remarks that there has always been a clear boundary between country music and “Christian music,” which carries a more explicit and often narrow evangelical Christian message. In closing, Machacek adds that the assumption in much of the country music programming world is that products that are too narrowly evangelical are decidedly unpopular and songs that get too “preachy”are unlikely to get much airtime.
Nichols, Stephen J. Jesus Made in America: A Cultural History From the Puritans to the Passion of the Christ. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008.
Stephen Nichols’ article mostly focuses on situations with the Jesus People Movement and Contemporary Christian Music, but he offers important information on the music industrial and genre survival. Nichols notes that music industries promote an evangelical popular culture based on the rules of commercialism and not those of churches, elevating consumer values and taste at the expense of doctrine and tradition. Also, the artists that take Jesus out of their songs typically stand a better chance of success than those who remain evangelical. Nichols explains that in order for artist survival they must combine the tastes and styles of popular culture with the sensibilities and lyrics of church music. However, artists must balance their content to avoid becoming so watered-down that Jesus can be replaced by Mandy and still make sense. If the artist’s song has Jesus portrayed as a girlfriend/boyfriend then it becomes more difficult for listeners to look past that and find the deeper context of Jesus.
Sample, Tex. “’Help Me Make It Through the Night’: Narrating Class and Country Music in the Theology of Paul.” In The Bible in/and Popular Culture: A Creative Encounter, edited by Elaine Mary Wainwright and Philip Leroy Culbertson, 111-125. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2010.
In this article, Tex Sample’s goal is to see these country music songs in the context of the American working-class life and then to find connections to the theology of Paul. Sample focuses on two songs, “Help Me” and “Me and Bobby McGee,” which have similar concepts of prayer, fundamentals of the working-class, freedom, and an unforeseeable future. These are all aspects that the working-class can relate to and during hard times, like the Great Depression, the working-class was the significant portion of the nation. Sample mentions that much of Paul’s theology contains similar concerns; for example, the idea that we are all enslaved by the “elemental spirits of the universe” which references the big bosses of industries that control the working-class. Sample also notes that a great number of people seek out family-like organizations to help them through hardships and the church allows them to see themselves as a family of God; much like Paul’s theology.
Taylor, Barbara Brown. “And Jesus Sang.” Christian Century 128 (2011): 35.
Barbara Taylor’s article focuses on what we know about music and Jesus from within the gospels. Taylor points out that we know there was music because Jesus is said to have mentioned people who enjoyed the sounds of trumpets and flutes, but the reference was not a positive one. Taylor proposes three ideas about why music, which is intertwined in our culture today, is not mentioned in the Bible. The first idea is that maybe the Gospel writers did not think singing was important for establishing the identity of the messiah. Another concept is that since the Romans were occupying his homeland and his countrymen were at each other’s throats about how to get rid of them, that maybe there was nothing to sing about. The last of Taylor’s theories is that perhaps the Gospel writers thought everyone knew the tunes to the famous words of Jesus, such as the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer.
Wolfe, Charles. “Bible Country: The Good Book in Country Music.” In The Bible and Popular Culture in America, edited by Allene Phy-Olsen, 85-100. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.
Charles Wolfe sets up his article to talk about where country music has been and where it is today. Wolfe explains that people with casual knowledge of country music tend to assume that most of the genre consists of either songs generated from old mountain folk ballads or the more modern honky-tonk-love songs. However, sentimental songs have always formed a basic core of country music. Wolfe goes on to introduce specific symbols and images of Jesus that tend to reappear throughout the years in country music, such as the association of the Bible with mother and the past and with cards. Wolfe also provides insight as to how the Bible itself can be used to symbolize values of the past modern world. The article concludes that country music artists have developed symbols for a variety of uneasy topics and concepts in order to keep the message in their music and also keep secular fans tuned into their music.