Choosing to Sing a New (or Repurposed) Song

Who are those people who play Christmas music year-round? I know a couple of them. And it irritates me a bit. It’s not that I don’t like Christmas-themed songs, it’s just that “Jingle Bells,” in my mind, doesn’t fit during a heat wave in July. Of course, my Down-Under friends in Australia have reminded me that Christmas is a summer holiday for them, and they have learned to accept snow-themed lyrics while sunbathing on a steamy beach.

So, maybe I just need to deal with it.

It reminds me of how songs that were written for a specific objective can be repurposed for a theme or cause never originally intended. Think Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”: It was originally written as a bitter critique of the ‘American Dream’ and how Vietnam veterans were poorly treated after the war. Yet it somehow became a chest-thumping patriotic hymn (people often don’t absorb all the lyrics). And then there is the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” It was originally released in 1978, with at least two of the group’s members claiming it celebrates queer culture and the YMCA as a safe space for gay men. But with its lively tune, fun arm motions, and ambiguous lyrics, it quickly became a family-friendly sports anthem, and a dance routine performed at wedding receptions.

Redeeming a Melody

Religious songs can go through similar metamorphosis. It’s fairly well known that the reformer, Martin Luther, took tunes from drinking songs and turned them into sacred hymns. The melody of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” first echoed in a German beer hall. Its familiarity grabbed people’s attention while its new sanctified lyrics touched people’s hearts. There was a definite redemptive arc.

Another interesting story comes with one of the most well-known sacred Christmas carols, “Joy to the World.” The Englishman, Isaac Watts penned it in 1719, though it was not put to music till more than a hundred years later. It was Watts’ poetic interpretation of Psalms 96 and 98 from the Bible celebrating Christ’s second coming, not His advent as a baby.

Think of the words:

Joy to the world, the Lord  is come

Let earth receive her King

Let every heart prepare Him room

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven, and heaven and nature sing

It’s about the arrival of a full-grown, ready-to-rule monarch! When I first heard of its original meaning, the song was turned on its head in my mind. All kinds of theological thoughts were stirred about how alike and yet how different the two comings of the Incarnate God in Christ are. Jesus first came as a humble child and servant but will come again as a conquering king, joining heaven and earth (the spiritual and the physical) together under His reign.

Yes, let every heart prepare Him room!

Make It New and Your Own

The two Psalms from which Watts was inspired to write begin by telling us to sing a new song to the Lord. Oldies are nice, but new songs offer ways to explore untapped thoughts and ideas about God and express emotions of joy, sorrow, and hope. Expressions of emotion are encouraged in the Bible, but they’re meant to be directed to God first.

And you don’t have to be musical with a great voice or be a writer to put a new song together. Repurpose old tunes with new words that are stirring in your heart. I have memorized scripture by taking a familiar melody and pressing Bible passages in for the verses. My mind remembers the words easier, and it becomes my own. And it is a new song unto the Lord.

Music is a gift God has given that isn’t always used to glorify Him in our culture. But we can, I believe, repurpose and redeem the soundwaves by expressing our inspiration and emotions with new proclamations. The human heart naturally responds to music, and our souls desire to express the feelings that churn deep within. Let it come together in your life and sing a new song unto the Lord, even if it’s put to an old tune, and even if it’s sung in the closet or the shower.

The One Who it is for will hear.

And maybe I’ll go ahead and let those Christmas carols transform my summer into some new refreshing proclamations of praise!

Response:

• What does the word “redemption”  mean to me? Does it apply to music?
• When I read Psalm 96 and 98, what images come to mind that can make God’s coming kingdom here on earth more real?
• How many of my songs are new and personal praise and thanksgiving to God?
• Jesus, give me a new song from my heart to sing to you.