Rod of Alexandria has started a new meme asking bloggers to name that one Contemporary praise song that just drives them bonkers. Here are the rules:
Please try to name ONE (I know, there are so many to choose from) CCM praise song that you find unbearable and at least 2-3 reasons why, pointing to specific lyrics if you must.
Rod picked “Days of Elijah” to start things off, and the meme has since been picked up by James McGrath (Chris Tomlin’s “Indescribable”) and Doug Chaplin (“Mighty to Save”), with more sure to come. This is a really hard meme simply because the number of truly bad modern praise songs is staggering. It’s also difficult because the definition of CCM is hard to pin down; how far back should we go here? Does praise music from the early 80s count? We need a ruling on this.
If the early 80s are in play, the first song that comes to my mind is “Blow the Trumpet in Zion” by Craig Terndrup, which is chock full of fail:
Blow the trumpet in Zion, Zion.
Sound the alarm on My holy mountain.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, Zion.
Sound the alarm.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, Zion.
Sound the alarm on My holy mountain.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, Zion.
Sound the alarm.
Sound the alarm.
Sound the alarm!They rush on the city; they run on the wall.
Great is the army that carries out His Word.
They rush on the city; they run on the wall.
Great is the army that carries out His Word.
The Lord utters His voice before His army.
The Lord utters His voice before His army.
This triumphant song actually manages to celebrate (and imply participation in) the army of locusts depicted in Joel 2, the army God is sending to destroy his people and his holy mountain. The trumpet discussed in the passage is no triumphant blast but the warning of a watchman upon the approach of an enemy (or locusts). This passage (along with some help from 1 Enoch and elsewhere) served as a model for the locusts released from the abyss in Revelation 9, and this song is rejoicing in being a part of this army!?! Seriously?
The passage in Joel implores the people to turn back to YHWH with weeping, fasting, and sackcloth in the hopes that he will turn back from unleashing this army upon his people, but this song actually celebrates this army of doom, destruction, and death. I’m pretty sure I don’t need a second or third reason for this being a rotten song. If “contemporary” music from 1983 is out of play, I’ll pick another from more recent decades, with Darrell Evans’ “Trading My Sorrows” the current frontrunner in that group.
I tag Joel and Michael Bird.