There are certain religious songs that really move me. I suppose many would be songs that I sing at Catholic funerals, like "On Eagle's Wings," and "You Are Mine," "Shepherd Me, O God," and "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace." I don't think I'd sing any of these songs at a singaround - I just don't think it would be appropriate. I think when you sing a moving song, it should be moving to both the singer AND the audience.

One of the most popular workshops at San Francisco's Camp New Harmony, is Bob Reid's "Songs of Significance" Workshop, and he does it almost every year. The workshop has to run two hours to accommodate everyone who wants to sing. In that workshop, he asks singers to sing something that touches their heart, and the general idea is that listeners will listen without being judgmental. I go to the workshop only sometimes, because usually I prefer workshops where I can get a little goofy. Two hours of heartfelt intensity, can be a little much for me. The word "smarminess" can come to mind at times when I'm in that workshop - whether that's fair or not.

But I like the general idea of Bob's workshop, because it lets people sing what's in their hearts, without embarrassment. One year, I was thinking a lot of my late friend Jim, who was my wife's previous husband. At his deathbed and again at his funeral, I sang Bob Franke's Thanksgiving Eve:

What can you do with your days
But work and hope
Let your dreams bind your work to your play
What can you do with each moment of your life
But love 'till you've loved it away
Love 'till you've loved it away.

So I told the story of my friend Jim and sang the song at the "Significant Songs" workshop. I couldn't tell that story or sing that song in every situation, but it worked well in that workshop (except that I wanted to sing it a cappella, and some guy with a damn guitar decided to accompany me).

But anyhow, that's a religious-sounding non-religious song that expresses what I believe. When I express what I believe, it makes me vulnerable, so I'm careful about when and where I sing such songs.

-Joe-