First line in Prince’s “Thunder” – Thunder/ All through the night/ Promise to see Jesus in the morning light/ Take My hand / It’ll be all right /C’mon, save your soul tonight.
There’s lots of faux-religious imprecations and imagery but nothing in the song is remotely treated as sacred, holy or a praisesong.
Drop Kick Me, Jesus by Bobby Bare
Jesus Was Way Cool by King Missile
They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore by Kinky Friedman
Are You Drinking With Me Jesus? by The Beat Farmers
Two Eltons (or Bernies) mentioned thus far: *Tiny Dancer * and Levon. There was also a later one: the title cut from Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.
Another mention for Don Henley, from “The Last Resort” - two actually:
‘And you can leave it all behind and sail to Lahaina
Just like the missionaries did, so many years ago.
They even built a neon sign that said “Jesus is coming”,
They brought the white man’s burden down
They brought the white man’s reign’
following shortly after:
'Some rich men came and raped the land
Nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought ‘em’
Must have been in his religious phase.
The Hooters - Living in the Shadow of Jesus
Unlike some of the other songs listed already, Jesus doesn’t just get a passing mention here - it’s about a relationship torn apart by widely differing feelings about religion.
Jesus, He knows me by Genesis is a song about the televangelist scandals in the late 1980s
Lots of different people apparently. But originally, Ernie Marrs:
“Don’t wanna talk, talk about Jesus – just wanna see his face.” (The Stones)
On Jeff Mangum’s “Live at Jitter Joe’s” there’s a lot of banter with the audience. At one point, one of them asks for the “Jesus Christ” song, and Mangum eventually plays it after saying something like “I’m not one of those, y’know… I’m just as confused about it as everybody else” so I guess it is secular. Also, a lot of the “In the Aeroplane over the Sea” album is about Anne Frank, and (my guess) in this case perhaps the song is supposed to reflect her beliefs rather than the songwriter’s.
Tom Waits , “Chocolate Jesus”
Modest Mouse, “Jesus Christ was an only Child”
PJ Harvey, “Taut”
Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne”
And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower.
And when he knew for certain
Only drowing men could see him.
He said “All men shall be sailors then
Untll the sea shall free them.”
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open.
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone.
And you want to travel with him,
And you want to travel blind.
And you think maybe you’ll trust him
Cause he’s touched your perfect body with his mind.
Also “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which is not religious.
John Prine wrote “Jesus: The Missing Years” and named the whole (Grammy-winning) album after it. It’s worth a listen.
Tom Paxton’s “Jesus Christ SRO.”
Yes. Martin is an accomplished visual artist and songwriter who released several albums in the early 70s. His best album is probably “Martin Mull and his Fabulous Furniture Live in Your Living Room,” with “Deuling Tubas,” “(How Could I Not Miss) A Girl Your Size,” “Ukelele Blues,” “2001 Polka,” and “Licks Off Of Records,” plus he had realeased singles like “Santa Doesn’t Cop Out on Dope.” Funny stuff.
"Sam Stone" by John Prine:
There’s a hole in Daddy’s arm
Where the money goes
And Jesus Christ died for nothing
I suppose
"You Are Loved" by Victoria Williams:
Jesus walked on the water
He turned the water into wine
He went down to the drunkards
To tell them everything was fine
"Long Haired Country Boy" by Charlie Daniels:
Jesus walked on the water
I know that it’s true
But sometimes I think that preacher man
Would like to do a little walkin’ too
Oh yeah, and an indirect mention in **“She Talks to Angels” by The Black Crowes:
She keeps a lock of hair in her pocket
She wears a cross around her neck
Yes, the hair is from the little boy
And the cross is someone she has not met, not yet
That title reminds me that Jesus also pops up in “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” by Smashing Pumpkins. The line is “Jesus was an only son.” That band also did an EP called Pisces Iscariot, which is sort of a Biblical thing I guess.
Nailed from Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Jesus in a Camper Van by Robbie Williams.
astorian, yesterday at church, the guest speaker said “the Lord is on your side” and I immediately thought-
“I was so pleased to be informed of this that I ran 20 red lights in his honor.
Thank you Jesus! Thank you, Lord!”
G
now to the OP, Nirvana/Kurt Cobain had a song with the line “Jesus doesn’t want me for a sunbeam.”
Leonard Cohen’s “Closing Time”- “the whole damn place goes crazy twice and it’s once for the devil and once for Christ”, and “The Future”- “Give me Christ and give me Hiroshima”