I was reading a post today about the kingdom songs we sang as JW's.

by booker-t 41 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Beta Male

  I found the arrangements of the songs played at the assemblies very disturbing. LOTS and LOTS of snare drum rolls. Get the whole "were an army" thing pumping. And one year they played a more "MODERN-ER" version of one of the songs. It had a Casio keyboard like sound, terrible. People were cringing visibly as they walked about the assembly. Then there were those terrible barbershop quartet arrangements you could get on tape some years back. I made direct fun of those to many people, they would actually get angry in return, as if they were HOLY recordings. But you have to keep in mind that liturgical music is supposed to be simple, for simple people to memorize.

  I cant remember which song it was in the book, but one had an incredibly complicated and choppy rythym no one could sing. Beautiful!
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  twinflame

  I am such a music lover. I'm one of those people that hum all the time without thinking about it. I just got through checking this post again for comments, remembering every song mentioned.

  I'm at work and just left my desk for a minute and realized I was humming.......Myriads on Myriads of Brooothersss

  MAKE IT STOP!!!!

  I keep trying to remember one song though....every time it started I felt like it was a funeral march. Very dark sounding. It would be good to have playing at your door on Halloween.
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  144001

  "Kiss the son lest God be angry and you perish in the way"

  You forgot the next line, "Happy are all they who put their trust in him today!" Of course, "him" means the Watchtower Society, but it's interesting to note how often the pigeons comprising the "great crowd" are told to "put faith in Jehovah" or "trust" in the Watchtower, and further admonished to avoid questioning god's "arrangement." Give them time, and the KoolAid will be passed out at meetings.
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  Jobees

  Definately the Victory Song. The kingdom hall seemed to resound with the voices and the whole congregation gave their everything to singing it. I loved sitting in the front of the congregation at meetings because no one voice behind you interfered. Singing was the only good thing that I can look back on and say I enjoyed from that point in my life.
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  mamochan13

  
  I liked many of them, we sang them at family gatherings, and I played them for many funerals (i was the KH pianist before they went to canned music).

  Yes, many of the lyrics and melodies were inane and simple. But singing can have such an uplifting and unifying effect on people - I don't think the lyrics/melody are all that important. It's wonderful to hear people sing, regardless of whether they are a bit off-key, singing is such an expression of joy and emotion.

  Sadly, most JW's don't place much importance on singing or music (reminds me of a Much Music commercial - singing leads to dancing and dancing leads to the devil!)

  I remember one elder who was an ex-opera singer (can't pursue arts & be a witness). he gave talks in which he would incorporate several songs, and make everyone stand up to sing them - three or four times during the public talk! It was a hoot!!!

  Maybe if JW's sang more they would be less inclined to be engaged in hurtful activities (judgemental, gossip, etc.)

  and re specific songs - I always wanted the Jehovah is my shepaerd (how the H*** do you spell it?) for my funeral. I also liked Life without end at last, the old (original) memorial song, cant recall the number. Then there was that weird 5/4 tune that no one had a clue how to play or sing. I always imagined the writer as some highly creative JW musician in slavery at Bethel trying to be original in the only possible way he/she could...
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  Kaylen

  Great now they are stuck in my head too...groan...I am going to find the most annoying adds on TV and record them and play them over and over again until they are gone...I feel like chicken tonight like chicken tonight...what shall we bring....chicken tonight
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  bull01lay

  Was just thinking about these the other day when my old songbook turned up at my stepsons house !!

  I love the tune to "Keep your Eyes On the Prize" - it has an excellent lilt to it.

  I also play a few of them on my piano, simply cos I like the tune... but then again, I also like playing the theme tune to The Excorcist !!

  It's funny to look back now - I had marked some of them with a * ... and my put a note in the back "* = Screechers!".. I guess they were the really difficult ones to reach!

  Bull!
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  skinnyboy

  "Kiss the son lest God be angry and you perish in the way"
  
  OMG how i laughed when i saw this topic, i had to post!! If there was ever a song that made me laugh it was this one, i thought as a kid "kiss the son? isn't that a bit gay?"
  
  my mate at the hall, his dad used to crack me up when the singing started. He used to say the words to the next line to his younger son, but imagine Terry Thomas or Leslie Phillips saying it, you get my drift? I used to howl laughing!
  
  They were truly dire songs though, i remember imagining the wannabe Pavarotti's dying to read the program at the Assembly on the off chance that "We're jehovahs Witnesses" would be on the playlist so they could have their time in the sun! Tragic, like hoping the Eagles might not do Hotel California... As if!
  
  Now i'm humming "Myriads and Myriads..." Everytime i hear the Waltons theme tune, it reminds me of that song for some reason.
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  googlemagoogle

  there was no song i hated more than "children, precious gifts from god". when i was a child i used to sing along with it, but always had to stop at the line "he says 'use the rod'..."
  
  the rod was used a lot on me. when i was older i brought up the topic when talking with other witnesses, but they usually said, the beating aint got nothing to do with being a jehovah's witness, there are non witnesses beating their children too and witnesses not beating their children.
  
  but still they sing from the top of their lungs "he says 'use the rod'".
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  Cygnus

  Loyal Love, Make the Truth Your Own, and Keep Your Eyes On the Prize were district convention greats. Especially with the live orchestra (long since gone).

  I always liked "As wih Gideon's 300 men, our Commander soon will tell us when..." - Stay Awake, Stand Firm and Grow Mighty.

  One convention us dubs overran a hotel and in the lobby they had a piano. A JW girl decided to play We're Jehovah's Witnesses and about 10 dub teenagers started singing it really loudly. Looked like fools, I thought. The hotel manager came over and said, "We know who you are, can you please keep it down?"

  http://members.aol.com/cygnus97/sounds/23.wav That link is me doing song #23 jazzed up a bit and recorded in my upstairs "studio". Some day I will redo the drums and add keyboards, when my hands come back.