by Big Jim 8 Replies latest jw friends
Am I the only one that catches myself either whistling or humming kingdom songs?
Usually I catch myself before I go to far as not to embarase myself.
My wife who is still very active gets a pretty good charge when she catches me at it.
You would think after being away for almost six years that would not happen.
Just wondering if it happens to any of you?
Yeah, once in a while I catch a KH tune zipping through my head. I have been away about 5-6 years now. After all, if you were in a long time like me, some 40+ years, how could you help it? It was a part of your life. I dream of the JWs I knew too. My dreams even have assembly and KH settings, or informal settings with JWs there among the other people. Normal and natural. They all were a huge part of my life. My girls told me they also have a song from the former times pop into their heads. No biggy. I just catch myself and go on.
When you were a JW didn't you have Christmas songs run through your head, or some popular old time religous tune click on when you least expected it? Same thing. I would hum Christmas carols all the time and catch myself in shame. Now I laugh at how silly it was to think that was soooo bad.
Just don't let your wife here it too much. She might start thinking there is hope you might return.
Lindy
No, that hasn't happened to me yet. Probably because I wasn't in as long as many of you ( 7 years).
I was dissappointed when I first went to the kingdom hall. No one sang with enthusiasm or from the heart. There wasn't a single song that I thought had a catchy beat.
I must admit that JW's do stand apart from all other churches when it comes to their singing and their kingdom melodies.......They're the flattest and the worst...
jurs
I've been out since 1984, and I occasionally start to hum a JW song. But it's usually a really old one--like from the pre-1969 green song book. Those were my favorites. I have a copy of that songbook and still like to play them on the piano once in a while. I have fond memories of my early JW days (back in the 50s and 60s). It wasn't until the 70s and 80s that I got disgusted with the organization. I'm not nearly so fond of the songs from that era. :-)
It's the principle of only spiritually qualified can compose music....of course, they are not musically qualified either....their work is being analyzed by the musically unqualified....in an organization that discourages musical attainments because it is not essential...I think the orchestras at the assemblies and the live musical accompanient at the KHs declined because music education was downgraded as an goal for witness children....look at the examples of families long ago...i.e., the Kusserows of "Purple Triangle" fame...everyone played an instrument and had musical training. Can't take music...it's full of nationalistic and religious songs, you know...
Does or did anyone sing their own words at the KH to the songs?
Jurs said:
No one sang with enthusiasm or from the heart.
How true! Those of you who attend the meetings and assemblies, just look around next time the cong. stands up to sing. I've noticed that in recent weeks about half of the cong. doesn't even sing the songs. They just stand there like zombies with their songbooks open, looking at the words. Most of the rest barely move their lips and mumble the words. And to be honest, I can't blame them!
Many of the songs lack life, and have tunes that are just too hard to learn.
The singing that JW's do is just a formality, a ritual, a routine. It's nothing more than a convenient way to open and close a meeting. It's also useful for giving the blokes who fill the seats a chance to stand up halfway through the meeting so their legs don't fall asleep.
Hi Not Blind,
It's true that not everyone gets into the singing. Not true of everyone though! Singing the songs is one of my favorite parts of the meeting, and I wish we did more singing. But I like singing in general, so that's probably why.
Hi Ya Troubled,
You have to admit you were in the vast minority of JW's that sing your heart out. I've belonged to 3 different halls in different cicuits and it was all the same. It really bothered me that there was no enthusiasm in the singing. I wasn't raised a JW i, I came in through the door to door woek. I've been to many churches when I was searching. The JW's were the worst singers. I even said that once to an elder who also wasn't raised in the truth. He agreed.
jurs
I must have been one of the few (like troubled) that actually enjoyed singing. Although most of the songs were pretty awful, there were a few (albeit the older ones) that had nice melodies. It's mainly the newer ones (the ones from the 84 songbook) that have the worst melodies.
I used to think it was a shame that no one had much interest in singing the songs. Had we been allowed to jazz up the melody, or sing in harmonies, or the like, many of the songs would have been more palatable.
