I'm sure you've noticed this before: the struggle that Christian songwriters have between making a song poetic (creative and capturing the aesthetics of the language) and still contain good content that will carry a clear and meaningful message.One thing that I've noticed is that the majority of songs used for corporate worship seem to be one or the other.
Very creative and...vague with sketchy theology or...
Very theologically sound and... dry with a lot of repetition and a rhyme scheme that's all out of whack.
In case you're reading this and haven't yet tried your hand at writing a song or poem that is worshipful, please know that it is very difficult and things usually wind up being poetic or meaningful.
I'm currently looking to expand The Corners' worship repertoire for youth camps this summer and I'm looking for those rare gems that seem to capture both. What songs really speak to you on these two levels? They could be old songs, brand new ones, famous ones, or obscure ones.
You hit the nail on the head. It is hard to find songs that are not repetitive. There are some that I thought of immediately, although I don't know if you can consider them worship songs. One of them is "Everything" by Lifehouse. It is such a beautiful song about being moved by God and how He should be all we want and need. Another song I thought of was "Your Love is Strong" by Jon Foreman.
ReplyDeleteI know these songs are not normally ones that you would hear everyday in church but I feel like they shouldn't be overlooked. I hope that helps some... I'm not sure if this was what you were looking for exactly but let me know if you were meaning something else...
Here are the links
Everything -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYP1gxC9G6A
Your Love is Strong --http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=301S7NgAkLs
haha, YOU hit the nail on the head. I love both of those songs. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHave you listened to Matt Papa at all? He has some deeply theological songs that sound great.
ReplyDeleteI haven't but I will definitely check him out.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a songwriter, but can believe the difficulty it is to ride the line of poetry and meaning. Also, taking into account to not fall into the "cheesy" category as well. :)
ReplyDeletehaha, yes the "cheesy" factor is alive and well in the Christian music industry. This might sound bad, but no amount of poetry or meaning will keep me listening to a "cheesy" song.
ReplyDeletecheck out www.sojournmusic.com it's the praise team from Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY. they write a lot of their own worship music, it's lyrically amazing and theologically grounded. love it.
ReplyDeletebest of both worlds, sweet I'll check them out. Thanks.
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