Mood: Moderate
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STLT#354, We Laugh, We Cry
This is a very long song. I suppose it has to be, given that it’s about life, death, and the whole schmear. But it is a long song, made longer by accompanists who drag it out – and lordy, there seems to be a compulsion amongst some of our accompanists to draaaaag thiiiiiis ooooone ouuuuuut… Continue reading
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STLT#350, The Ceaseless Flow of Endless Time
Carpe diem. Que sera, sera. There’s no time like the present. You can’t turn back time. Learn from yesterday, live today, hope for tomorrow. Time marches on. All the lyrics to this hymn. Welcome, my friends, to the Henry Blake Cliché Festival (A M*A*S*H reference? Joe Cleveland’s right – I am old) … er, I mean,… Continue reading
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STLT#346, Come, Sing a Song with Me
I’m finding things a little hard this morning (9/11, Irma, the memories this song stirs), so I’ll let Michael Tino introduce today’s post: “We confront the complex reality that something can be both insipid and profound simultaneously.” You see, this song by Carolyn McDade can be awfully sticky-sweet, with its rolling 3/4 time often played… Continue reading
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STLT#344, A Promise through the Ages Rings
It is always a relief to me to turn to a new section of the hymnal; I think it’s because of the frankly unnatural nature of this practice. i was getting worn out by the Insight and Wisdom section, feeling as though I had little of either by the time it all ended. But now… Continue reading
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STLT#343, A Firemist and a Planet
I am very tired of the humanist/theist debate. It seems to me that there are so many bigger, more important things for us to wrestle with, especially since – at least in Unitarian Universalist circles – even our most divergent theologies support the principles where we all meet. And I get that it’s harder to… Continue reading
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STLT#342, O Slowly, Slowly, They Return
I feel like an apostate for saying this, but I do not care for this hymn. Now let me be clear: I like the tune (an initially tricky Swiss folk tune called Solothurn). And I like Wendell Berry’s poetry. And I don’t even mind the two together – they seem to fit well, with some musical… Continue reading
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STLT#341, O World, Thou Choosest Not the Better Part
I am in a Lichtenstein painting: “Oh no! I forgot to read George Santayana!” And I’m a bit embarrassed, largely because he wrote about spirituality and aesthetics, and this is the area of my ministry and while God knows I have read a ton of literature in my area of ministry, how is it I’ve never read… Continue reading
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STLT#339, Knowledge, They Say
If you’re looking for music to accompany a service about anti-intellectualism and fake news, this is your hymn. Heck, even if you’re just looking for music to accompany a service about James Luther Adams’ five smooth stones, or William Ellery Channing’s Baltimore sermon, or our fourth principle, this is your hymn. Knowledge, they say drives… Continue reading
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STLT#332, Perfect Singer
True fact: context matters. I mean, I know you know this, but in this case it’s not just the context of where the lyrics come from or when they were written or how they were used. In this case, it’s about the accompaniment – in other words, the context in which the melody sits. And… Continue reading
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STLT#331, Life Is the Greatest Gift of All
Welcome to Hymn By Hymn After Dark! Sorry, there’s no sexy R&B played by Venus Flytrap, or suggestive storylines, or anything anywhere near close to that. I’m in a tshirt and leggings, hair a mess, a Stuff You Should Know podcast on my phone. But it’s dark! And it has been a long day, since… Continue reading
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links
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