Do you think people listen to song lyrics?
Maybe? Maybe not?
How about congregational singing: do you think people pay attention to the words they’re reading and singing?
Honestly, I’m not convinced most people pay attention to the words, whether or not they’re singing or listening to someone else sing.
I’d had too many experiences where it’s clear that people didn’t HEAR the words…or else suffered from major cognitive dissonance? (I’m thinking about conservative friends whose favorite songs were mega explicit…or churches that sang songs that didn’t line up with their beliefs….)
I still choose hymns and anthems as if people pay attention to the words.
But more and more often, I think that I’m ministering to a minority in the church. The minority who hear the song’s words and carry the music home as their sermon.
Maybe that’s okay? Not everything in the church service has to be for everyone. And I certainly don’t need to get up on a high horse and insist everyone experience congregational singing like I do. There are so many ways to worship God and connect with God’s people – music lyrics are just one way, not the only way.
So I’m curious about your experiences – do you think most people pay attention to the words?
Image via.
Even if they are not paying attention in the moment….the songs are seating themselves in people’s hearts and minds. Music has an amazing power to make us remember. Especially songs that are sung more than once — they will come back (earworm, anyone?) and they will influence people’s thoughts and beliefs – perhaps even subconsciously.
Keep choosing like it matters – because it does!