Anointed Songs

I wanted to share this email exchange I had with Robert Darden of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project. It’s a subject I find fascinating.

I wrote:

I’ve heard you refer to certain songs as being “anointed.” I love this concept. I wonder, have you ever written anything about anointed songs, which ones they are, and this is asking the impossible, I know, what makes them anointed? If you have, I’d love to read it. If you haven’t, and know of someone who has, I’d love to read that! If you haven’t, well feel free!

Bob responded:

Well, good question. I talk about it a lot in the final chapter of Volume II of Nothing But Love in God’s Water. It’s a term that ‘s more commonly used in the black church and some of the “lower” protestant denominations (such as Pentecostal). The concept that maintains that some things — individuals, songs, paintings, etc. — can be “touched” by the Holy Spirit and have additional spiritual power.

My particular denomination, liberal Baptist, doesn’t use the term much.

There are many people who only believe in the term if it applies to humans.

But in the case of the Freedom Songs and certain gospel songs (“Take My Hand, Precious Lord”) or even hymns (“Amazing Grace”), the concept of anointing is said to mean that this song will continue to “speak” to people — perhaps forever, that is has been gifted with an over-abundance of spirituality and “favor.” The pre-Christian Irish talked about certain items having a “glamour” — like a sprinkling of fairy dust, that made them supernaturally potent. In that, an anointed song could be construed as a “charmed” song, one that continues to speak and transform people for generations.

Why are we moved by “Danny Boy”?

Why do many African Americans cry while singing “Lift Every Voice”?

My grandmother cried whenever she heard “The Old Rugged Cross.”

Certain songs carry a lot of emotional and historical weight — we know that for sure. In religious circles, certain songs can also carry additional spiritual weight as well.

Does that make sense?

It most certainly does.

And, though this is quite different, I believe we all have songs that will move us our entire lives, bring us to tears, for some reason or other. Maybe the song is associated with a person or time, or maybe it’s the quality of the voice that strikes us, like a frequency set specifically to our minds and hearts.

I can give you a personal example of both.

Kate Bush “Cloudbusting”  — this song was on heavy repeat when I was visiting my father in the hospital the two months before he died.

Of course this song has nothing to do with my father or his demise (ten years ago to the day). But when she says (not sings) “We’re cloudbusting daddy,” invariably I begin to sob, if I’m not already. I can’t tell you why. I can’t explain it.

Cocteau Twins – practically any song. Something about Elizabeth Fraser’s voice — what adjectives to use, mystical, transcendent. iridescent. I don’t care how processed her voice it, it doesn’t matter to me at all. And her voice’s ability to bring me to another state has nothing at all to do with the lyrics because, after all, they  “often abandoned recognizable language altogether.”  Maybe that has something to do with their songs’ magic.

I’d love to know what songs have that certain something that moves you. Leave it in the comments below or on the ALW Facebook page or send it via telepathy.  I’m waiting to hear from you.

If you’ve made it this far, you are obviously in tune with A Life’s Work, maybe you’ve even donate some dollars, so for you, here’s an update.

There are a few things to be done before I can say the film is completed. Color correction is more than halfway done — I hope to take a look at it with d.p. Andy Bowley next week and give some final notes. The credits are mostly done; I’m waiting to hear about the rights to one piece of gospel music. The composed music is more than halfway there, too; a few sections need reworking. Then there is the music mix and the sound mix.

Then I can say it’s done. It’s not much work, but everyone must get paid of, course. We’ve had some help…

This fine and very generous gentleman has given before and he is very much a patron of the arts. You will see his name on the credits as co-producer.

I know everyone isn’t in the position to be so generous. But if you’d like to see this film completed, please consider donating. Just click the button below and it’ll take you to a simple, no-muss-no-fuss form. All amounts help. Really, truly, honestly, they do. (There’s a minimum of $5, which is unfortunate because I’d be happy with $1.)

With gratitude,

David

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