Ever since college my friends and I have been a part of taking apart a song and putting new lyrics to it. I don't really know why it was so fun...maybe because of our love for good ol' rock and roll, and then our other love for family and friends. I remember my friend Tana's dad had a birthday coming up. I think he was turning 50. We got together all the songs we could find that sort of made fun of him turning 50, and cut and pasted segments of songs together (on cassette tape!) and then played it for him over the phone on his birthday (he was 500 miles away). Although we couldn't actually sing the songs ourselves, he still loved every minute of it. I'm certain he knew it took a lot of time and effort on our part. And time and effort equal love, don't they? I remember one of the songs was called "Through the Years" or something like that. They were all classic songs though, and ones he loved. We sent him the tape; I'll bet he still has it and plays it. He's that type of guy.
Well, now we have a business kind of like that. Not Tana and me, but my husband Bill and his brother and me. Bill is a great musician with exceptional talent and has always loved taking apart secular songs and putting Christian lyrics to them. Or, in other cases, rewriting the lyrics of someone's favorite song by making the lyrics reflect their lives, and then singing the favorite song to lyrics that reflect their lives. He's especially good at poking fun at people. But he's also been known to write songs from scratch-wedding songs and such- so he can be as serious as anyone prefers.
We sang together at our wedding reception. It was the song "Still the One". What a great upbeat song. I'd imagine that could make a fantastic customized song for someone. That's what is so great about music- so many beats, genres, types. I'll bet there is no one out there who doesn't love some sort of music! Maybe it's rock and roll or maybe it's something from the 20's! That music was great too! Man! To think that that music is nearly 90 years old! I myself even love a little classical music now and then. I really do! There are just times when I want to sit back and let the music calm me down. And other times, it's the music that makes the party so much fun.
I believe music creates real memories. My friend Tana emailed the other day and mentioned some songs we created new lyrics to. One was for a joke on a friend. What great memories it brought back! Not necessarily specific memories, just memories of happy times with her and my other friends hanging out-listening to music. College was a blast, and a lot of it had to do the music. There was always a radio on or a cassette tape in the player.
My husband always says "Why should the devil have all the great music?" That's when he sits down and creates new lyrics to a great old tune. I have to agree that a lot of great tunes have been ruined by some pretty dumb lyrics. Think of the song "Running with the Devil". What an awesome song! But even in the 8th grade I felt guilty just listening to that song. I actually asked my pastor during confirmation class if he thought it was ok for me to listen to that song, and I explained that I really just liked the music! His response was "What do you think Jesus would think of it?". Bummer. I was hoping for a better answer. Why couldn't they have written better lyrics like "Running with my do-og". I would have been thrilled to take my dog out for a jog with my headphones on listening to that song. I guess I'll have to get my husband to get to work on that one so I can introduce it to my kids. 'Cause you know I'd never want them to listen to it either- unless it's been tweeked with a little song customization!
