Poetry

I came across this profound piece of poetry:

"A trio of sightless rodents

A trio of sightless rodents

Observe how they perambulate

Observe how they perambulate

They perambulated after the agriculturist's spouse

She severed their spinal extensions with a culinary utensil

Have you ever observed such a phenomenon in all of your existence as a trio of sightless rodents?"

The king playing a carrot along with the London vegetable orchestra

 A friend told me about this, and it seemed too bizarre not to put on a blog with this name:

Isaiah 40 playlist

I was reading Isaiah 40 and was amazed at how much of it has been turned into songs I was familiar with.

So I made a playlist. (Some of them have a verse/chorus/bridge that is not from Isaiah 40, but the main body of all of them is) 

Quite a variety of styles! 

List of songs:

• Comfort Ye / Every Valley - Handel's Messiah
• The Word of the Lord - Seeds Family Worship
• O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings to Zion - Handel's Messiah
• Like a Shepherd He Feeds His Flock - Robert J Dufford (No idea why I know this - school choir, maybe?)
• Behold Our God - Sovereign Grace (Although I've used the Accapella Company's version)
• Do You Not Know - Slugs & Bugs
• Soar Like Eagles - Seeds Family Worship

A new year(ish) song

I like to choose a song for each new year, but I couldn't decide - none seemed quite right. Then we sang this last Sunday, and I think it's a good choice:

Merry Christmas!

 I've been enjoying this song.

Last Words

Words and music by Andrew Peterson and Ben Shive

Tips for hymn writers

1) Write a chorus.

You may not think your song needs a chorus. You may be right. But someone, somewhere down the line, will decide it does. 

While the adding of choruses is particularly popular currently, the most bizarre example I can think of is the late 19th century addition of a happy jolly chorus to Alas, and did my saviour bleed, which is more of a sombre lament. Most added choruses are better than that - some are excellent. But if you want the chorus to say what you want to say, write one yourself.

Of course, if you do add a chorus, someone will decide it also needs a bridge...

2) Don't die.

The song you write will remain under copyright until 70 years after your death. So if you want to prevent people from monkeying around with your carefully thought through lyrics - sometimes ending up with a song that says something completely different than what you were trying to say - this is a simple (if impossible) solution.

Happy New Year!

 I always like to post a song for the New Year - but this year I've got two.

They're both about how, as Christians, God uses the ups and downs of life to make us who he wants us to be.

First a sad one:

 And then a cheerier one!

A good reminder

"Nothing is wasted

Nothing is wasted

In the hands of our redeemer

Nothing is wasted"

~Jason Gray

Delete

Jason Gray's songs so often sum things up perfectly:

"I want to bring the heat

I stop and take a beat

I type, then I delete

Until I find a way to say a kind thing without lying"

~Jason Gray

Oh, but it is cathartic to do the type and then delete bit. (To be on the safe side, type in a notes app, and not somewhere you can accidentally hit send 😄) It's such a shame to be unable to use some of the more colourful or creative phrases in real life, though...

Great song title!

 

[Edit: just realised the title is barely visible. It's Jesus loves you (and I'm trying)]

Happy New(ish) Year

 Here's a good song to start the year:

Something I need to keep reminding myself.

Caveat: I don't like the line about 'make of your troubles swiftly an end' - he might, but he might not. Though I probably tend to err on the side of assuming he won't.

Remember and Proclaim

To celebrate our church's Good Friday meal restarting after a 2 year gap.

A lot shorter (and cheerier) than the previous music video I posted!

 

 

Good Friday music

 This is good (It's an hour long)

An easy way to write profound (?) music

 This is a fun toy.

With a bit of trial you could actually get something reasonable sounding - but even a quick play sounds not bad.

Mary's Song

I like this version, because it's sung by someone the right sort of age (Randall Goodgame's daughter Liv, who would be about 16ish at the time)

Unlikely music

'Minimalist German Techno' doesn't really sound like it would be a musical genre that would appeal to me.

But I came across a playlist called Techno for Working Hard a while back. It says it's 'for when you need to focus on getting things done' - and it really does work!

Future

"So if my eyes press forward in fierce alarm
Just turn my head back to see
To see how we got this far

And I'll be alright"

from Take this Slowly ~ The Gray Havens

The weight of the world

I'm liking this song just now.

"Is everything sad going to come untrue?"

I wonder what Tolkien would think if he knew how many Christian songs allude to Sam Gamgee's question from The Return of the King.

Probably be chuffed.