How much of a role in Brainwashing did the songs actually play? (page 2)

Gopher

Kingdom songs = Rhyming propaganda set to repetitive music

Narkissos

Probably no more than in the average church (and even less if you take into account the quality and quantity of singing).

I have often thought that church singing and prayer in general has the effect of "flushing out" any disturbing or puzzling thought that may be expressed in the service... of course this is less necessary in KHs since any disturbing or puzzling thought is carefully avoided in the talks themselves.

Anyway the formalised 2/3 Kingdom Songs per meeting with their pre-recorded music suit a religion ranging at the lowest on the scale of emotion.

Texman55

The songs just went along with the teachings.....not much of a brainwashing effect I think.....because I never remember anyone singing them outside of meetings.

I only remember 2.....the one about the Shulammite maiden was the prettiest melody in the songbook....though of course by the time I got there, 1970, nobody knew what the hell a shulammite was.....think that was an "old light" teaching that was allowed to quietly dissipate, except for the words of the song.

Also remember the one about myriads on myriads of brothers.....was rather thrilling to sing at district assemblies when you could look over the stadium and literally see myriads of fellow dubs at one time and place.

OMG come to think of it.....dork me, I actually ordered the whole set of kingdom songs on LP.....and I must still have them somewhere in a box here with all my other old LPs.....no record player anymore to play them on....but too sentimental to just dump them all in the trash. The "worldly" albums I mean....not the KS!! lol

Gee, wonder what price I could get for a complete (and mostly never-played) set of KS on ebay? or would anybody want that crap now, ya think??

nondescriptex

I always disliked the songs. They were irritating and annoying to me even when I was a full fledged 110% true JW. If anything, they were a minor contributing factor to my finally letting me ask myself "WHY am I doing this?!?" The one and only true religion, and this is the BEST, the very BEST and only correct way to worship God with song? I mean, this is IT?

yknot

Well I can still sing most without looking at a songbook, once the melody starts.....an automatic response.

shamus100

I don't think it contributed to much of anything - other than drudgery of meetings.

SirNose586

The songs played a needed role in the mind control, on a very low-intensity and longterm exposure. Every song contains snippets of approved behavior...some more than most, like song 123. It's really troubling if you actually take the time to consider the lyrics.

razorMind

"Loyally Submitting to Theocratic Order"

"The Shulamite Remnant" ---I recently got a good look at the lyrics and thought to myself, "What sort of lyrics are these for a WEDDING song?" But a wedding march down a KH aisle to any other song was downright blasphemy where I'm from. I remember one young sister who went down the aisle to the Isleys' "Between The Sheets" instrumental. I don't think the older members had a clue, though.

My toddler and I had quite an entertaining time on this site:

http://d21c.com/ljesun/KMelodies.html

I sang in my best opera voice whilst using a paintbrush for a mike and using the keyboard rest as a makeshift piano. She, of course, has never been to a KH and was just following my lead. I'm a little rusty on the lyrics, and could only sing along with the songs that have the lyrics attached.

watching

Sometimes I hum a tune. Some (and I mean the old ones that were around since I was born in in the early 60's) are quite beautiful melodies. But those are few and far between. You can tell that someone with talent composed them. (But then I'll hum a really terrible tune and do anything short of shock treatment to get it outta my head). As to some of the "newer" greatest misses! Oy! My wife and I joke that some of those badly composed lyrics and melodies were a sin and we were sure that God was rolling his eyes whenever one of those numbers came up. We were always saying "now THAT's a REAL sin!" and wondered if Jah just pulled the plug on listening to such awful stuff. Not God-honoring at all. :0

How much of a role in Brainwashing did the songs actually play?

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