6/02/2008

A chorus without verses

I spent the drive home from Bethel listening, once I95 burned out, to the Christian radio station. They were playing recordings of the National Christian Choir that I refuse to accept as being from this century: it sounded as old and sterile as everything else the station has ever broadcast.

It occurred to me that Christian music doesn't rock very much. Some of it's because, like some political parties I could name, it's set up a situation in which it can only reward mediocrity, and has spent a few decades reaching ever more impressive heights of exactly that.

Eventually, after singing melodies to myself for awhile, I came up with a guitar solo (which I never heard, once, in any megachurch I ever attended, and probably never will.) And then a melody to work with it, and some scat lyrics in pseudo-Middle-Eastern.

Once I sat down to note out the melody in Anvil Studio, I thought that maybe I should write some lyrics for it. So far, I only have a chorus. Given that I didn't have a verse melody, it's all I really need right now.

This is not Christian, because I'm not. It is, however, directed at God, to the extent that any faithless and undifferentiated theist can direct anything at God.

Refrain of "Untitled"

All of my life, I've spent it
Polishing holes in a wall of diamonds,
Just for a chance to pray I not be denied
A chance to
Bury my hands in this garden,
Leave my arms in the distant fires,
Bow down to you, and take a place at your side...