Beatitude
(FROM THE ALBUM SPY LOVE BOX)
If Jesus hates fags
If Jesus hates Jews
If Jesus hates Arabs
Could Jesus hate you?
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
And it will come back around
If Jesus loves nigger haters
If Jesus loves Jew baiters
If Jesus loves Crusaders
Could Jesus love me, too?
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
And it will come back around
He died trying to explain it to y'all
He died trying to explain it to y'all
He died trying to explain it to y'all
And it's killing me.
Blessed are the poor,
for theirs is heaven
Blessed are the merciful
for they shall have mercy
Blessed are the meek
for they shall inherit the earth
Blessed are the peacemakers.
The peacemakers are the children of God
But she opens the Book of George
She turns to chapter W
She seeks to justify a stupid, stupid, stupid war
My Jesus wept! Oh, doesn't that trouble you?
But some of the people some of the time
And some of the people some of the time.
And some of the people some of the time
And 59 million people all of the time.
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
We all fall down
And the meek shall inherit the earth
"I'm gonna try and break it down
into a language he can understand:
this is to the son of a president
from the son of a preacher man."
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
But perfect would be too good for you
Hatred is not a moral value.
Lying is not a moral value.
Torture is not a moral value.
War is not a moral value.
To the son of a president, from the son of a preacher man...
NOTE: The rough mix of the song 'Beatitude' is temporarily offline in anticipation of the official release of SPY LOVE BOX July 30, 2005.
Last night I started writing a short piece about this song for this page. It turned into a book. A classic case of dude, just shut up and sing.
But of course, I can't shut up completely.
So let it suffice to say this: I have no problem with religion or the religious. To the contrary, I grow weary of how some on the left are of late painting religious Americans - specifically Christians - all with the same red-state brush.
But I do have a problem with the long tradition of using religion to turn people against one another. Cuz it's not the religion. It's the hypocrisy, stupid. It's the use of religion to promote bigotry and hatred. And it's willfully playing to that bigotry and hatred to win an election.
Sigh.
So with that said:
Beatitude was conceived November 2004 in the city of Babylon - a.k.a. Washington, D.C. It's a 7-beat soul rock Election Day epilogue, and it's just the latest addition to the ever-growing organic online sweet sticky album thing we call Spy Love Box.
Suggested reading
- The moral majority's mandate is neither moral, nor a majority, nor a mandate.
The Economist - Lookin' for Judgement Day? Careful what you wish for. And fasten your seat belt.
larryrant @ Daily Kos - How to use the Bible in political arguments. (Hint: It takes a lot more than the Sermon on the Mount and a funky 7-beat.)
PastorDan @ Daily Kos - Values and polls: the real debate
Jim Wallis @ Sojo.net - Evangelicals to Bush: payback time
ABCNews.com - CBS and NBC banned this ad because apparently it's too controversial these days even to suggest that Christianity is supposed to be inclusive. This is beyond belief. Pun intended.
StillSpeaking.com - Matthew 5
New Testament
Photos by TheHiddenCity.com