| "all I wanna do is have some fun", "if it makes you happy, it can't be wrong" - these are the chants of just two of the many songs rock artist Sheryl Crow has added to the Billboard Top 10 Charts in recent months. Crow is one of a burgeoning number of female rock artists making their claim in the modern music scene - along with names like Alanis Morissette, Tori Amos, Kathy Loeb, the Cranberries, Natalie Merchant, Sara McLachlan and Tracy Chapman. |
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The striking thing about these lyrics - and many of the lyrics of these female artists is how different they are from those of their male peers. For example, if you can wade through the sea of vulgarity and triviality of the lyrics of Nine Inch Nails, the Smashing Pumpkins or even the nascent REM, you find little in the way of thoughtful reflection.
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But what are these thoughtful lyrics telling us? Riddled throughout Crow's albums are references to the desperation of life - its hopelessness and severity. Tales of children frightened by wars and abuse and neglect. Stories of love gone horribly bad. And even the occasional throwing up of the hands in resignation in an attempt to wear the mask of joy in an otherwise tragic world.
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What is the response of the thoughtful person to these lyrics?
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While occasionally littered with bad grammar and requisite (in today's market-driven rock music industry) profanity, the lyrics echo the true state of the world. We long to "have some fun" - to make ourselves happy.
But we see around us the futility of our existence; the injustice in the world; the finality of death. And, so, we sometimes seek refuge in hedonism (if it makes you happy...), or in ignorance of the truth (all I wanna do...).
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The message woven into these sometimes disturbingly honest lyrics is the message of all history: this world is a hard, cold, desperate place. And there is no way to make sense of what we see around us - the violence, the injustice, the tragedy. And our temporary respite in sensual pleasures may offer some balm to the seeping wounds in our souls. The message seems profoundly tragic.
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And the message is true.
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This world is profoundly unjust and harsh - especially on the innocent and the helpless. And it is futile and careless and tragic.
But all this is only one side of the story. Blended throughout the history of humanity is the story of an answer to our plight; a summation and completion to the struggle of our species.
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Woven carefully into the fabric of time is the melody that resolves the dissonant chord of our human existence into a meaningful, purposeful, beautiful symphony.
And while at times the orchestra plays hard upon the instruments - in fugue-like fervor - the symphony is not over. In fact, we are even now only hearing the overture.
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And this story - this harmony - is penned and played by God himself. He calls to us from our broken, somber and dischordant lives. And he lets us, even now, hear the tune that will be ours to play for all eternity.
The most beautiful symphony in the world can begin with a single note. We are all just players in a larger score - and the composer invites us to join our note - our solitary lives - with the chords of all ages. This is the message of Christ - that God longs to use our lives for a greater purpose than seeking a moment's pleasure to dull our memories of the years of desperation. That he loves us and longs for us to join his symphony and be caught up in the rapturous chorus.
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| Will you settle for so little a tune when so much is offered? | |