I always thought Dylan’s The Mighty Quinn, if not outright skeptical, pokes fun at the idea of religious faith:
Everybody’s beneath the trees feeding pigeons on a limb,
But when the Quinn the Eskimo gets here, all the pigeons gonna run to him.
True, although Imagine contains the “and no religion too” line, so one wonders.
The OP doesn’t say if he means “skeptical of religion” or “skeptical of god” or what. The little I know of Tool indicates they find religion pretty stupid, so I’m not gonna say that leads me to think there’s any “relationship with god” there. The lyric from Opiate (remember Marx said “religion is the opiate of the masses”) shows a dislike for religion, religious thinking, and the concept of god. None of those things require faith or a relationship with god.
I didn’t know optimism and skepticism were mutually exclusive.
Besides the lyric Marley mentioned there is also the line “Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try.” There was a huge outcry against the song from many religious sectors when the song came out.
Almost, but not totally, off topic check out this fundamentalist Baptist’s rabid diatribe against Mr. Lennon.The Evil Legacy of John Lennon
Hey, I’m a skeptical optimist (and quite gullible, too, if you can figure that one out).
Definitely not angry at God. Though I do have a bone to pick with Santa about giving me a hamster when I clearly asked Him for a pony.
How can this thread have gotten this far without mentioning MC Hawking’s Fuck the Creationists, a skeptical song if there ever was one?
Don’t forget “Heavenly Bank Account”, though admittedly that one is skeptical of Televangelists, which I think we can all get behind.
Nit-pick…The quote is paraphrased:
Great song, great album, great artist.
But the OP didn’t call for “anti-Christian” songs, it called for skeptical songs, which to me suggests “agnostic” more than “atheiest.” Tom Ames saying, “You don’t owe me nothin’ and as far as I know, Lord, I don’t owe nothin’ to you.” and the line in the final verse, “Aw but who in the hell am I talkin’ to? There ain’t nobody here but me.” both strike me as being eminently skeptical.
Uh, no. The song was in fact written by Steve Earle in 1975. It was covered by REK on Gringo Honeymoon in 1994, and we didn’t hear Steve perform it on an album until Train A’Comin’ in 1995. But it’s definitely Steve’s song.
I’m not quibbling with the meat of your post, Astorian. It’s well-reasoned and raises excellent points. And it’s a tribute to just how compelling the song is. In fact, to me, the real question raised by Tom Ames’ Prayer is did God hear Tom’s prayer? Does God hear the prayers of a skeptic, or only those of a true believer? And the brilliant thing about the song is we don’t learn the answer, which can lead to wonderful theological discussion.
Nor do I. But I DO know what Steve Earle has said on the subject of God: “I just know two things about God. He exists and I ain’t him.”
I certainly didn’t mean to suggest that the SONG is meant to espouse agnosticism. I included it as a song about a character who is skeptical about God.
Don’t you know there ain’t no devil, there’s just God when he’s drunk - Tom Waits
or
Heaven… heaven is a place, where nothing, nothing ever happens (Talking Heads)
Blasphemous Rumours by Depeche Mode might fit. Although it may fit better in the angry at god group.
Martin Gore of Depeche Mode is probably religious though, quite a few of the songs he has written for DM contain religious references. I believe he said in an interview, in response to a question on his writing process, that he tried to mention love within the first couple of lines and then God and Sex a few lines after that.
Das Ich has a few songs that could fit the bill as well. Gottes Tod (God’s Death) is one
“Knock 'Em Down” by Firewater would fit the bill:
I think Cursive’s Vermont is counts here. It seems to be about a person realising they live in a godless world:
Well, I intended for this to be a more open-ended thread. I am agnostic, but I’d like to hear atheist stuff and also music that expresses any kind of skepticism at all. Note in the OP where I said that the skepticism didn’t even have to be about God, but could be fighting anything one perceives to be ignorance. “Angry at God” is okay too, IMHO. I consider questioning a god’s decisions and actions (or lack thereof), even if you do believe in him, to be a skeptical activity.
Hell, I could even throw in a few of Tori Amos’s “angry at god/religion” moments, because they do make some great quotes, even if the whole songs aren’t neccessarily about religion.
For example, from In the Springtime of his Voodoo:
“Honey, we’re recovering Christians.”
Or from her B-side, Beulah Land :
“Give me religion and a lobotomy.”
Possibly “God Was Drunk When He Made Me” by Jim White; I’m not sure if this song reflects skepticism on White’s part or is simply a dig at fundamentalists.
There’s a song from Camelot, “The Seven Deadly Virtues,” with some great lines in it, like “It isn’t Earth the meek inherit, but the dirt.” And all of Judas’ songs in Jesus Christ Superstar reflect the POV of someone who’s less of a traitor than a critic and skeptic, a ballsy choice on the part of Webber and Rice, IMO.
Tom Lehrer’s entire canon has a certain skeptical edge, esp. “Werner von Braun” and “The Vatican Rag.”
Iris Dement’s Let the Mystery Be is a lovely song with an agnostic viewpoint.
http://www.coquet-shack.com/lyrics/Dement_Iris/Let_The_mystery_Be_1289.htm
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Shallow Be Thy Game is a skeptical scorcher and is IMHO their best song.
http://www.theaerozone.com/lyric/shallow_by_the_game.htm
I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus is pretty iconoclastic.
Poi Dog Pondering did a great song on their second album called Bury Me Deep
Here’s a snippet of lyrics
I was going to say the Iris DeMent song, but I was beaten to it. How about Believe from Run Lola Run.
rogzilla, are you a.k.a rogoriole on another board? If not, never mind…
Let’s not forget the sarcastic bridge-verse from Weird Al Yankovic’s “Your Horoscope For Today”:
“Now you may find it inconceivable
Or at the very least a bit unlikely
That the relative positions
Of the planets and the stars
Can have a special deep significance
Or meaning that exclusively
Applies to only you,
But let me give you my assurance
That these forecasts and predictions
Are all based on solid scientific
Documented evidence,
So you would have to be
Some kind of moron not to realize
That every single one of them
Is absolutely true.
Where was I?”