Every once in a while, Pastor Dave will use these beautiful lines at the beginning or the end of a prayer:
“Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight…”
The first time I heard this, it stopped me cold. I knew these words, but from where? I figured it must have been a song lyric, and it haunted me until I was able to get to Google and discover/remember that it was from the classic reggae song Rivers of Babylon (originally by the Melodians and on the soundtrack of The Harder They Come, and later covered by Linda Ronstadt and many others).
Cool—Pastor Dave likes reggae!
But then a little further Googling led me to the real source of the words: they are from Psalm 19, verse 14.
Cool—reggae likes Psalms!
*****
Trying something new here: if it works, you’ll be able to listen to the song by clicking on the links below (you may have to register for Spotify, but it’s free and pretty painless). First: The Melodians:
The Melodians – Rivers Of Babylon
And here’s Linda Ronstadt’s version:
Linda Ronstadt – Rivers Of Babylon
(This is the first time I’ve tried to embed songs in this blog. Let me know in the comments or by e-mail at johnshoulberg (at) gmail.com if it doesn’t work for you and I’ll see if I can make it better.)
April 22, 2012
Chant a psalm a day … chant chant.
Moses he did chant chant
Samson he did chant chant
Elijah he did chant chant
“Steel Pulse “Chant A Psalm A Day”
http://open.spotify.com/track/5JkbyYRxPW7Wg1evBIVDmK
Lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/steel_pulse/#share
Reggae and religion are very much linked together. Though a Rasta’s version of the bible might be a bit different than yours. : ) Check out the Steel Pulse link above. Also check out this:
Steel Pulse ” Not King James Version”
http://open.spotify.com/track/3sNTB1CNO6itkkbLF9Pd1T
Lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/not-king-james-version-lyrics-steel-pulse.html
Oh and your links … people need Spotify to listen to them.
April 23, 2012
Cool, thanks! Let’s see, a psalm a day … I should be up to No. 90 by the time of Hoovstock! 🙂
April 24, 2012
Gee I better start practicing more! Glad you decided to come this year! It will be great to see you! Hey … and I only have to travel 6 blocks now, rather than 3000 miles. 🙂 Keep on chanting! Hoover Hoover Hoover!