Talking Heads: 'Heaven"
And the fruit is rotten
The serpent’s eyes shine
As he wraps around the vine
In the Garden of Allah - Don Henley
Can’t post the song, it’s one of the ones that keeps getting pulled.
I love this part…
“Nice car!
I love those Bavarians, so meticulous.”
Without looking things up, I’m curious how others interpreted this part.
The second coming of the Holy Ghost
We need a pocketful of miracles
Two thousand years and he ain’t shown yet
We kept his seat warm and the table set
The second sitting for the Last Supper
- 10CC
Well, we’re rounding St. Louis and heading for the coast
When we pick up Chuck Berry in a little rowboat
With one oar in the water and one in the air
A lightning rod for a white guitar
And lightning struck once, and lightning struck twice
I said “If there’s a God, He sure ain’t nice”
Chuck said “God is an Indian giver
I don’t trust nothing but the Mississippi River”
“Downstream” - The Rainmakers
You might not see him in person
But he’ll see you just the same
Yeah, yeah
You don’t have to worry ‘cause takin’ care of business is his name.
“Jesus Just Left Chicago” by ZZ Top
The theology of The Rainmakers also includes “The Wages of Sin”:
I was praying last night when an angel broke the line
She said “I’m gonna have to put you on hold for a time”
I said “Hold like Hell, let me talk to the Boss”
She said “Sorry sinner, it’s the Boss’s day off”
And I realized then that the wages of sin
Was two bucks an hour and working weekends
…The wages of sin, the reward of fear
Is worrying and fretting every second of the year
If Heaven is guilt, no sex and no show
Then I’m not sure if I really want to go
Busload of Faith - Lou Reed
The Devil Inside, by INXS
Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones
Well, David he got a dose of frights
But he wanted to be King of the Israelites
So he put old Goliath right in his sights
And he bounced one off of his crown.
But what if David had whined and wavered?
We’d live like slaves to Philistine knaves
Our bosses would all be 30 feet tall
We’d wash their clothes with a fire hose
And we’d sleep in the cracks between their toes.
It’s scary but it’s true
And if I were you
I’d do what the good book
Do what the good book
Do what the good book tells me to.
-The New Main Street Singers
I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City - Nilsson
A couple I’ve been thinking about, maybe not strictly apropos, but they pop up in my head nonetheless - Frank Zappa’s “Jesus Thinks You’re A Jerk” & “Dumb All Over” - “This book says He made us to be just like Him - so if we’re dumb, then God is dumb…and maybe even a little ugly on the side!”
Jesus Just Left Chicago - ZZ Top
Jesus Built My Hotrod- uh, Ministry, I think
Metal Gods- Judas Priest
I think that’s enough.
Most of those teen death songs of the 60s have a “she’s in heaven now” component.
Or the Doobie Brothers’ “Jesus Is Just All Right With Me.”
Great additions, but if we could add some lines from songs, and not just titles of songs! Think of this as putting together sage snippets of advice from the religion of Rock n Roll.
"Have you ever thought about your soul can it be saved?
Or perhaps you think that when you’re dead you just stay in your grave
Is God just a thought within your head or is he a part of you?
Is Christ just a name that you read in a book when you were in school?
When you think about death do you lose your breath or do you keep your cool?
Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope do you think he’s a fool?
Well I have seen the truth, yes I’ve seen the light and I’ve changed my ways
And I’ll be prepared when you’re lonely and scared at the end of our days"
After Forever - Black Sabbath
I can’t see a dog planting a tree. Watering it, yes.
What are you waiting for
What do you think you were created for
Out of your seat, blind in the heat
Do the nasty boogie mama, stomp your feet
Born to raise hell, born to raise hell
We know how to do it and we do it real well
- Motörhead