# Overtly religious Top 40 hits. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130 "2019-11-07T16:46:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/61 "2019-11-07T23:04:18Z")
Carrie Underwood’s \*Jesus Take the Wheel \*made to #20 in 2006. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/62 "2019-11-08T00:13:16Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Stryper was/is definitely a Christian band, but is that particular song **overtly** , can’t-miss-it religious enough for the OP’s criteria? > > There have been other Christian bands to break into the mainstream top 40 (Jars of Clay, Sixpence None the Richer). But are their biggest hits “overtly religious” enough? Jars of Clay’s biggest song “Flood” always sounded religious to me. I mean: “But if I can’t swim after 40 days And my mind is crushed By the crashing waves Lift me up so high That I cannot fall Lift me up” ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/63 "2019-11-08T00:24:53Z")
Lord is it Mine. By Supertramp on Breakfast in America ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/64 "2019-11-08T00:27:05Z")
Beg pardon? The notion that God was just a slob like one of us is the core tenet of Christianity. What church would object to that? What about “Tears in Heaven”; does that count as religious? And one of the books of the Bible was “just a love song”. Wise elders assure us that it’s actually about the love between God and Humanity, and all that stuff about boinking is purely metaphorical. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/65 "2019-11-08T00:28:53Z")
Unless I missed it, nobody’s mentioned “People Get Ready,” which has charted at least twice. The Impressions went to #3 in 1965 and then Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart took it to #5 twenty years later. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/66 "2019-11-08T00:44:18Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Greenbaum wrote it mockingly Not mockingly - cynically. ‘Oh, hey, I can do that’ (his stated inspiration) isn’t really mocking, even though it’s sure not doing it out of actual belief. (Greenbaum, as is likely to be surprising to nobody who’s seen his name, is Jewish.) Funnily, he didn’t actually ‘do that’ - he set out to write a gospel song, but when he went to write the instrumentation, he never liked any of the attempts that actually hit a gospel chord…so he went with the hard rock note and got a kickass rock song about Jesus (with slightly wrong theology, but, hey, again, Jewish). ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/67 "2019-11-08T01:15:55Z")
[![](http://songsalike.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/no-stairway-to-heaven-denied.gif) ](http://songsalike.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/no-stairway-to-heaven-denied.gif) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/68 "2019-11-08T01:59:54Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Mr Mister - Kyrie Eleison > > Don't know if it was top 40, but I heard it on the radio a lot when I was in high school. Ah yes, the “Give me a laser” song. Could never figure out why the guy wanted a laser…only found out it was a mondegreen last year after Googling it after hearing it in the grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/69 "2019-11-08T02:06:41Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > so he went with the hard rock note and got a kickass rock song about Jesus (with slightly wrong theology, but, hey, again, Jewish). What? You mean Jesus isn’t going to recommend me to the spirit in the sky? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/70 "2019-11-08T02:24:24Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not a sinner > I’ve never sinned > I’ve got a friend in Jesus. Christian belief is that everyone is a sinner, and that’s why we need a friend in Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/71 "2019-11-08T02:30:16Z")
“Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” “Sky Pilot” - Eric Burdon and the Animals It’s a questioning song, but with strong religious themes. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/72 "2019-11-08T02:50:09Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > U2’s “With or Without You” can be seen either as a love song or as a man struggling with the demands of faith. Many U2 songs share this characteristic. If you think he’s singing about a woman, he’s probably singing about Jesus/God: _Mysterious Ways, Vertigo (your love is teaching me how to kneel)_ and many others. The chorus of _Gloria_ comes from the hymn _Gloria In Excelsis Deo._ Gloria in te domine Gloria exultate Gloria, Gloria ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/73 "2019-11-08T04:12:41Z")
The Doobie Brothers - _Jesus is Just All Right_. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/74 "2019-11-08T04:40:33Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Is “Dust In The Wind” overtly religious? Or just philosophical? I’m pretty sure it’s based on the teachings of Socrates. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/75 "2019-11-08T05:40:09Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Is “Dust In The Wind” overtly religious? Or just philosophical? > [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I’m pretty sure it’s based on the teachings of Socrates. Dude! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/76 "2019-11-08T05:47:06Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Dude! [.jpg"]So]([https://imgprod65.hobbylobby.com/sys-master/migrated/h48/hae/h00/9265516019742/1296276](https://imgprod65.hobbylobby.com/sys-master/migrated/h48/hae/h00/9265516019742/1296276)[5) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/77 "2019-11-08T05:53:48Z")
“Signs”–One Man Electric Band “C’Mon Get Happy”–Judy Garland “DAMNATION”–Squirrel Nut Zippers ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/78 "2019-11-08T06:07:21Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > Jars of Clay’s biggest song “Flood” always sounded religious to me. I mean: > > “But if I can’t swim after 40 days > And my mind is crushed > By the crashing waves > Lift me up so high > That I cannot fall > Lift me up” Am I missing something here? They’re a Christian band - all their songs are religious! Some of them might be more subtle than others (‘Flood’ seems on the more subtle side but it’s still got ‘Casting down all the waves of sin / And guilt that overthrow me’ which is a bit of a dead giveaway) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/79 "2019-11-08T06:15:48Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” “Comin’ in on a Wing and a Prayer.” _Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer With our full crew on board And our trust in the Lord We’re comin’ in on a wing and a prayer._ \*\*This one \*\*made it to #17 (on the C&W chart): They don't get much more wretched than this! :( ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130/80 "2019-11-08T06:50:14Z")
Don’t forget “Oh Happy Day,” a #4 hit on US pop charts in the late Sixties for the Edwin Hawkins Singers. Lyrics: Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day) Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day) When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed) Oh, when He washed (When Jesus washed) When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed) He washed my sins away (Oh, happy day) Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day) Clearly [you have to hear it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfGDvDGE7zk)to appreciate its blend of gospel and soul. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtly-religious-top-40-hits/843130.md?page=5)