Religious lyrics ?

[QUOTE=Evolver][QUOTE=StyLaZyn] As someone else has said, Jon Anderson's lyrics (although they can be a little obscure at times) approach this level of granduer. And the music is congruous with the lofty sentiments expressed in the lyrics. There are many examples, In the Presence of from Magnification, Tales of Topographic Oceans and I'll find my way home (Friends of Mr Cairo) to name just a few. 

Jon regards himself as "spiritual" rather than "religious". He has made comments thathe doesn't like organised religion, but from his lyrics he definately believes in God. I am a member of a religion, so don't necessarily agree with his thinking, but I totally love the spiritual lyrics and soundscapes that Jon Anderson and Yes create. Is it too much to claim some of Yes's music may have been the apex of spiritual expression in Western music in the twentieth century? I am looking forward to what this century can produce.

fuxi wrote: Raff wrote: Just as a sidenote, when a book that included a contribution from me was about to be published, we had to pay about £ 35 each to HarperCollins (the book was a collection of essays on Tolkien, and HarperCollins holds the rights to his work in the UK), because this publisher does not recognise 'fair use' - even for academic purposes. Was this TOLKIEN AND MODERNITY I?

No, it was The Mirror Crack'd: Fear and Horror in JRR Tolkien. I'm glad you have seen my other article - though perhaps you think it stinks. Unfortunately, the HarperCollins affair is true, and shows once more what kind of power copyright holders can have.

We can't post lyrics, but using equally protected and copyrighted album covers as avatars is perfectly OK, eh Ivan?  Respect with one hand, take with the other.

That is one messed up website.

I was doing excerpts but I was certainly going over 75%.

I also forgot the first rule about posting.  Never be rude to an admin because they'll tear you an new one and you'll damn well feel it.  

By the way folks, you might want to frame this.  Not because you'll never see me ever again apologize for being a jerk, but because you won't often see others do likewise.


Edited by Slartibartfast - June 01 2009 at 12:27

I give up, you can't really talk about religious lyrics without quoting religious lyrics.  And I apologize again if I stepped out of bounds.

Edited by Slartibartfast - June 01 2009 at 12:02

infandous wrote: Slartibartfast wrote: I've been totally bitch slapped, say no more say no more say no more. While I think it's utterly ridiculous to not be able to post properly attributed and credited lyrics in a forum specifically for discussion purposes with no intent to profit from them, I completely understand the Admin's decision (and certainly the site administrators desire to not have unpleasant and possibly costly legal notices). All art is a result of borrowing, in some form or another, from previous art and artists.  This is the nature of progress in general.  It's not surprising that lawyers and corporations see this as a problem (i.e., how can something be created, and not generate profit?).  A sad commentary on our modern world. (for the record, I have no problem with music and lyrics of my songs being used for anything short of profit......but understand other artists may have different notions)

It's a common practise on Internet forums to not allow posting of complete articles or complete song lyrics.  This is a fact of cyber-life that we all should understand.  And by agreeing to play in this particular playground, we are agreeing to play by their rules.  This is not unreasonable.

ghost_of_morphy wrote: [QUOTE=Evolver]    (An aside which isn't really an aside because it deals with the main topic:  Strictly religious people would not give much approbation to the actual lyrics that are supposed to be discussed here because they are far too vague and not nearly dogmatic enough.  Inspiration can be nice, but should not be automatically identified as truth.  I think we should consider these lyrics for their artistic merits, not their religious connotations.)

This pretty much sums up what I posted earlier about my issues with Morse's lyrics.  I understand the desire to "spread the good word" as it were, but I think Morse is an excellent example of the message damaging the music.  Though unlike what sometimes happens with concept albums, I don't feel that Morse forces the music to fit the lyrics, but I do feel that the lyrics are forced to fit the message (if that makes sense).  So what I am saying is that, artistically, I find his lyrics rather bland and sterile.  Unlike, say, John Anderson's lyrics on Tales From Topographic Oceans which are very spiritual in nature, yet remain enigmatic and poetic enough to please me in an artistic way (his tendency was to use words for the sounds, not the meaning, which I think is an excellent thing to do in music).

StyLaZyn wrote: I agree that religion provided the concepts from which some great art of all types was inspired or even made purely for the glorification of God. Without it, great art still has been created. However, Handel's Messiah (for instance) is much more entrancing than anything Neal Morse has done. Is there any Prog with religious lyrics that approach that level of granduer?

That's a very good question.  But I suppose the answer might be different depending upon who is the listener.  I, personally have not heard any that approach that grandeur, with the possible exception of "Awaken" by Yes.  But then, Yes' lyrics in that song appear to be spiritual, but with no particular religion in mind.

KingCrimson250 wrote: Best post? I'm a bit baffled as to how someone could ever say that religion hasn't served the artists of mankind. Maybe he's getting at something different, but that is completely absurd. If you were to compile a list of the greatest, or at least most well-known, works of art throughout history, I guarantee you that the vast majority of them would be religious in nature. We could be talking about the Parthenon, Michaelangelo's painting of the cathedral ceiling, J.S. Bach ('nuff said)... and that's only dealing with European culture! To say that religion hasn't served the artists of mankind is both baffling and flat-out wrong. As for religion serving the knowledge of mankind, that's an entirely different debate that is rather off-topic.

Nicely stated.  It's quite probable that without religion, fine art and music would still have developed throughout history, but it is impossible to deny that many of the masterworks we know were highly influenced by the various religions of the world.  Take Handel's "Messiah", for instance, a fantastic piece of music, whatever the message.