Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?

Subject: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 15 May 00 - 03:47 PM

Tried to find any songs, preferably done in a church-y style, that are about not worshipping any gods at all. All I came up with was a very interesting thread on Music, Politics and the Mudcat, and a few mentions of atheism here and there in other threads. I know there are songs comparing gods, I liked the DoorKnockers one (I've seen it on a Tshirt), but can't find anything about not worshipping any god. Anyone know any?

Also, I should mention, that I'm really looking for songs promoting, rather than against, atheism. However, anti- would be fine too.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: sophocleese
Date: 15 May 00 - 04:10 PM

Well Mrr. its not quite what you were looking for but I thought thios might interest you I lifted it from the Private Eye Online page because it was easier than blue-clicking.

"The Council hereby grants permission for a weekly prayer call to be sung from the mosque of the World Islamic Mission in Oslo. The prayer call, or azan, will be allowed once every Friday, at midday, and the chant of 'God is Great' must last no longer than three minutes. "The Council also notes that a demonstration by members of the Heathen Society was held in Oslo last Saturday, protesting against the possibility that the weekly prayer call might be allowed. Therefore, in the interests of balance, permission is hereby also granted for the Heathen Society to chant 'There is no God' outside the mosque at five minutes before midday each Friday. This chant must also last no longer than three minutes. "By order, Old Town Council, Oslo." (Norway Post, 29/3/00. Spotter: Stedman)

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Wavestar
Date: 15 May 00 - 04:25 PM

I can't think of any church-y style songs that would promote aetheism, Mrr, but I can think of some recent popular songs that do.... Other than the screaming, shouting metal death ones, and NIN (Heresy, etc...) Sarah McLaughlin, Dear God certainly advocates atheism...

I'm sure Mbo and others can nthink of more...

-J

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Escamillo
Date: 15 May 00 - 04:30 PM

The only "churchy" godless hymns I've heard (and sang) are not folk but classical, inspired in medieval (and banned) profanity : Karl Orff's CARMINA BURANA is a cantata composed in 1937 on the basis of authentic poems dealing with carnal pleasure, wine, gambling and everything known to be good in medieval times. Some of the songs and dances could be adapted to pop and result in a pleasant surprise in a folk/pop concert. The melodies are simple and beautiful.
Un abrazo - Andrés

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Jed at Work
Date: 15 May 00 - 04:33 PM

Godless Hymns? Sounds to me like fat-free motor oil!

;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Escamillo
Date: 15 May 00 - 04:59 PM

Jed, one of the songs says (approximately)
Yes I am, yes I am..
the Abbot of Cucania (a fantasy land of dissolution)
and my council are that of drinkers
.. and who looks for me
at the Tavern in the evening
will find himself naked in the morning
crying loudly "Oh, Fortune !!
Stupid goddess, what you've done ?
Our lives you ruined ! ahh!"

This would be something like a moral-free priest !:)

Un abrazo - Andrés

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From:
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:01 PM

check out "The Preacher and the Slave" in the database. i think many of the early labor movement songs might fit your description

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:06 PM

Confusing Grace, how rich, how rare Each day we live, we learn And render daily all our prayer To Whom it may Concern

(Unitarian Gospel)

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:11 PM

All I can think of is to suggest that you find some tunes that were originally secular, but have now become known as "churchy", and then write your own words to them. I think the problem in finding them is that atheists are more likely to be diverse, and less likely to come together in bunches to sing that sort of thing than members of religious groups.What do you want to say? Our humanists in Britain are most notable for writing scathing letters to the papers slagging off the more ridiculous positions of the religious. (Church School bans Harry Potter, for example.) We seldom see what they do believe about human behaviour.

Second thoughts - try the French Revolution - or other writings of that period.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Mbo
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:16 PM

Sorry, Wavestar...if I have heard them, I'd have probably forgotten them very soon afterward.

--Mbo

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:55 PM

I think there's a negative, antireligious tone to the term "Atheism." If atheisim exists simply to deny the beliefs of those are religious, then it is a creed that essentially negative and destructive in nature. I don't think the atheists I know are like that - they're very positive, good people who just don't believe in God. They tolerate my religious beliefs quite well, and they share many ethical views with me. The idea of "secular humanism" and the practices of the ethical societies seem to typify the atheists I know.
A couple types of music that might fit the description of "humanist" music are the union and civil rights songs that were fashioned from old-time gospel songs. We had quite a discussion of those songs in this thread (click).
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:59 PM

Joe - they were the sort of atheists I was thinking of - I just couldn't imagine them singing about it. Actually, there are quite a few "hymns" in our school hymnbook which do not mention God at all, and could be seen as atheist - last week we sanf "The Ink is Black" for example. Would those do?

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 15 May 00 - 06:00 PM

Actually, we sang them.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 May 00 - 08:13 PM

The best modern hymns - though he, for good reasons, prefers to call them "carols" - I would say, are those made by Sydney Carter. And the interesting thing about many of them are that they take a very agnostic stance.You can read them several ways, and sing them from a range of different views about the world we live in.

For example you have Friday Morning, where the song is in the voice of one of the thieves crucified alongside Jesus:

It was on a Friday morning
they took me from the cell,
and I saw they had a carpenter
to crucify as well.
You can blame it on to Pilate,
you can blame it on the Jews,
you can blame it on the Devil,
it's God I accuse.
It's God they ought to crucify
instead if you and me
I said to the carpenter
a-hanging on the tree.

Or George Fox, for that matter:

With a book and a steeple
with a bell and a key
they would bind it forever
but they can't, said he.
For the book it will perish
and the steeple will fall
but the light will be shining
at the end of it all.
Old leather breeches, shaggy shaggy locks,
Old leather breeches, shaggy shaggy locks,
with your Old leather breeches,
and your shaggy shaggy locks
you are pulling down
the pillars of the world, George Fox.

Subject: Lyr Add: OLD TIME RELIGION (filk version) ^^^
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 15 May 00 - 08:40 PM

I'd have to agree with Joe. I would probably choose What A Wonderful World, but I'd be just as happy singing beautiful hymns, as I did before Easter when I sang Faure's Requiem.

There are many, many sites around with hundreds of verses to Gimme That Old Time Religion, many of them separated into various conventional creeds and paganism. Here is a very small sample:

OLD TIME RELIGION-----a filk song

REFRAIN after each verse (if you can stand it!)
GIVE ME THAT OLD TIME RELIGION,
GIVE ME THAT OLD TIME RELIGION,
GIVE ME THAT OLD TIME RELIGION,
THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!



There are people into voodoo
there are people into voodoo
I know, I know, I hope that you do,
it's good enough for me.

There will be a lot of lovin'
When we're gathered in our coven
With your pushin' and your shovin',
so there'll be room enough for me.

We shall worship with the Druids
Drinking strange fermented fluids
RUNNING NAKED THROUGH THE WOO-OODS,...
and that's good enough for me.

There's an opera written for us
We all join in the chorus
It's an opera 'bout Boris,
and it's.....

With your trusty old Althame
You can blast a double whammy
Or slice and dice a whammy
which is .....

Well, she raised an awful flurry
When she made the scholars worry.
Thank the gods for Margaret Murray!!!
It's good......

Let us go and worship Hermes;
Got a staff that crawls with wormies
That could knock out all the germies,
He's good.....
Well, there's one thing that I do know,
(insert someone's name) favorite is Juno,
'Cause she's awfully good at...you know,
And that's ......

It was good enough for Sapho
With her lady on her lap-oh
She put Lesbos on the map-oh
with her pagan poetry

Meeting at the witching hour
By the bud and branch and flower
Folks are raising up the power
That's where I want to be.

Let us gather in our saunas
When The Spirit comes upon us
To perform the rites of faunas,
That's good enough.....

We went off to worship Venus.
And by gosh you should have seen us!
Now the clinic has to screen us.
But, she's good enough for me.

We will pray to Aphrodite
Even tho' she's rather flighty
And they say she wears no nightie,
And that's good .....

We will pray with those Egyptians
Build our pyramids to put our crypts in
Cover subways with inscriptions,
And that's ......

Oh, Old Odin we will follow
And in fighting we will wallow
"Til we wind up in Valhallooooo,
And that's good enough.....

Let me follow dear old Buddha
For there is nobody cuter
He comes in plastic, wood or pewter,
And that's......

We will pray with Zarathrustra
Pray just like we usta
I'm a Zarathrustra booster.....
And that's good .....

Hare Krishna gets a laugh on
When he sees me dressed in Saffron
With my hair that's only half-on,
Oh, he's good.....

I'll rise early in the morning
When the sun gives me a warning
That the solar age is dawning,...
Well, that's good. ^^^

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,franz
Date: 16 May 00 - 06:36 AM

I'm not sure if this is what you want, but maybe Nash's "Cathedral Song" or Randy Newman's "God Song" will do.

franz

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,JulieF
Date: 16 May 00 - 07:36 AM

The song that comes to mind is RotherSingaDonSong which is a tribute to the workers of South Yorkshire sung to the tune of the hymn Jesus Christ is Risen Today. As a folk chorus we tend to sing it like a hymn with the concentina sounding a bit like an organ accompaniment.

On the subject of songs for Athiests ( or secular Hummanists if you prefer). I always found it difficult when I stopped believing in God when I was about 11/12. I thought it terribly hypocritical to sing hymns in assemby. Teachers tend not to accept that you are not singing on as a matter of principal. I've got over that and tend to sing to appreciate a good tune. I also sing a weddings etc because you are then doing it for your friends. I suppose any songs that about generally looking after your fellow man are hummanist songs. What about some of Burns - A Man's a Man for all that.

All the best

Julie

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Paul Burke
Date: 16 May 00 - 08:15 AM

Only remember the chorus, someone fill in the details?:

I don't believe in miracles,

Don't believe that's true, One life, one fight, one little dance, and that's you,

I don't believe in fairy tales, don't believe in lies,

You don't need to fly, just have to try, and that's all you do...

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 16 May 00 - 10:59 AM

All, thanks for the song suggestions, I especially like the one posted by John in Brisbane, even if it isn't "on point" exactly, it's great! Post more, everyone!

But Joe, I feel obliged to reply to your para which I repeat here:
I think there's a negative, antireligious tone to the term "Atheism." If atheisim exists simply to deny the beliefs of those are religious, then it is a creed that essentially negative and destructive in nature. [...] The idea of "secular humanism" and the practices of the ethical societies seem to typify the atheists I know.
When I meant Atheist, I meant a(NO - not "anti", which is "against")-the(GOD)-ist(BELIEVER) = One Who Believes There Is No God. It does not "exist simply to deny the beliefs of those [who] are religious" any more than Religion A exists to deny the beliefs of the followers of Religion B. (You could argue that all religions except the first, caveperson one, exists to deny the existence of the others, but that's specious, isn't it?)
Atheism is in its own right a belief system, which doesn't find the necessity to posit the existence of any gods to explain anything. The term Atheism is NOT equivalent to "secular humanism" which is more a form of agnosticism - which is when you don't believe in any particular god, but don't necessarily believe that there ARE NO gods. I really meant atheism, not secular humanism, in my query.

An atheist may respect the BEHAVIORS of religious folks, by not clapping in christian churches, covering women's heads in mosques and men's heads in synagogues, not eating till after someone says Grace, and so on. But no atheist I know respects (in the sense of thinking these are as valid as one's own beliefs) the BELIEFS of religious folks, any more than espousers of Religion A respect the beliefs of followers of Religion B.

If you want a term for radical rabid anti-any-religious-expression folks, use ANTITHEIST, not Atheist, as atheism is neutral in reference to theism, whereas antitheism is not.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 16 May 00 - 12:16 PM

In a very real sense, Joe Hill's (and other unionists') rewrites of popular hymns fit the description nicely. Preacher and the Slave. Hold the Fort. he IWW version of Onward Christian Soldiers, (all in DigiTrad).

Subject: Is Atheism a belief system?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 May 00 - 04:38 PM

I dunno, Mrr. It is highly unlike me to admit defeat in a debate, but I may have to, in this situation - to a point.
I wish I had time to nuance my response a little more carefully, but I made the mistake of volunteering to work this week, so I suppose I'd better head off and do it.
Nonetheless, I'd like to make a few points. I think it's safe to say that atheism is not a belief system, in and of itself. It is a word that describes a variety of belief systems that do not believe in a God. Secular humanism is a belief system that I think can be used to describe a lot of English-speaking atheists, although secular humanism can be either atheistic or agnostic.
Sometimes, atheists join together for various purposes - usually, it seems, to oppose the imposition of religious beliefs on society (the American Atheists might be a good example). It generally seems that these atheist unions are typified by their a desire for a lack of belief, rather than a belief in anything. While their purpose may be noble (and I agree with their purposes many time), they serve primarily a negative function of the sort that does not ordinarily tend to generate hymns and inspiring songs.
My point is that atheists have various systems of belief that are atheistic in nature - but that atheism is not a belief system itself. Semantics, perhaps, but it never hurts to define your terms.
And yes, I think my atheist and Jewish and evangelical friends respect my liberal Catholic beliefs. They don't espouse my beliefs and they may consider me quaint and perhaps eccentric for what I believe, but they respect me for believing what I believe. I, in turn, have great respect for a number of different systems of belief; and I study other beliefs because I have much to learn from what others believe.
So, Mrr, I guess I'm not quite ready to admit defeat - yet.
But feel free to keep trying to convince me.
-Joe Offer, off to work-

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 16 May 00 - 10:08 PM

Joe, (and this can of course wait till you have time), I wouldn't say I was trying to convince you of anything - I was just defining my terms. I'm all for semantics!
First, I don't know enough about secular humanism to discuss that term, so I'll go back to atheism. Having now checked out the link to the American Atheists, I still think that even when all-out for the "total separation of government and religion" (quoting the site) - which I am all for - atheism still is a belief system that could be viewed as taking the lack of gods on faith. The atheists I know have full sets of ethics and morals, as well as mythologies for explaining natural phenomena with the occasional personification metaphor - but just no gods. I don't know what else you need for a belief system? After all, arguing with someone about their faith's variance from yours is as rude coming from one religion to another as coming from atheism to a religion, if you can call the Crusades or the anti-Infidel terrorism of the '80's rude.
Oh well, I guess I am trying to convince you of something - which is that atheism is -or at least, can be- a belief in no god, rather than no belief in a god.
I guess if more people used the term atheism to mean a belief system including (if you will) faith in there being no gods, maybe it would get rid of its negative overtones, in fact. Which would be a good thing for the atheists.

(Thread creep alert)
I guess I'm for freedom FROM religion as much as freedom OF religion: you can believe whatever you like, and I will respect the rites which demonstrate those beliefs, unless it conflicts too strongly with my own belief system. To wit, I don't urge bacon on inappropriate kith or kin though my system allows pork, but I'd try my best to argue them into having life-saving surgery if they were against such things.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 16 May 00 - 10:33 PM

Damn, this is great! Someone to talk theology (in an intelligent way) with Joe.

I just sign my letters to him:

Heathen (but still thinking!)

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 17 May 00 - 12:06 AM

Andres, is *that* what Carmina Burana is about??? I never knew! If only I'd known that when I saw the ballet 20 years ago with a certain young lady, it might have led to some interesting conversation...

My contributions to Old Time Religion:

We will worship Mother Earth
In her length and breadth and girth
For of Earth there is no dearth
And that's good enough for me

Oh I love to worship Venus
There is nothing comes between us
'Cause she doesn't have a temple
But she's good enough for me

We will sing Gregorian chants
We will sing Gregorian chants
We will sing Gregorian chants
We will sing Gregorian chants

And one from Meryle Korn in Portland:
Oh we all will worship Loki
Who's the ancient god of chaos
Which is why this verse doesn't rhyme or scan very well either
But it's good enough for me

Joe and Mrrzy, interesting discussion. I think what appears to be a disagreement is more a difference in definition (or understanding) of what each of you means by "atheism", and you're probably quite close to agreement in your basic ideas about religion itself. Or so it seems to me. (This is more thread precession than thread creep, and I'm enjoying it.)

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Escamillo
Date: 17 May 00 - 12:32 AM

Let me introduce an example of atheism which is not at all a beliefs system : that of scientists (or an important part of them). The existence or non-existence of God is a matter of fact or fantasy, and not a belief for them. Many scientists are religious,but they will never establish a base for search, in any kind of faith, be it the main religions, or mythology or paganism.
This position does not qualify them for stating which beliefs are true and which are not, they simply remain neutral, and keeping an eye in facts. At the same time you will find a great, deep sense of humanism in them. (I adhere to that position as much as I try to humbly follow the philosophy of Jesus, though not in any church, but that´s a personal opinion.)
Un abrazo - Andrés

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 May 00 - 02:05 AM

Hey, Mrr - have your semanticist call my semanticist. When they come to an agreement on terms, we'll talk. I think Mark is right - our ideas are probably pretty much in agreement, and it's just the terms that we disagree on.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Stewie
Date: 17 May 00 - 02:25 AM

GuestPaul Burke, the song you quoted from is 'Miracles' by Jim Woodland. It was recorded by Roy Bailey on his 'Never Leave a Story Unsung' CD. Bailey noted: 'While I don't think all fairy stories are "lies", I do agree with the way the song uses the image'. Magnificent song.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,JulieF
Date: 17 May 00 - 05:10 AM

Quite often, it appears to me, that just by stating you are an athiest people consider it a affront to their own religious beliefs. I have lost track of the times that I have had the response - " but you have morals so you really are a Christian/Believer - you just don't admit it". I could not imagine an athiest being allowed to wander down the street with a plachard that states - There is no God. I have weighed up the pros and cons and decided than on balance it is much more likely that God doesn't exist. Hence - Athiest.

Another reason people think that Athiests and the Athiest press are anti - religious is because some religious people can handle any critisms of their religion and more specifically any attemps to remove additional privledges that their religion has given them. (Please note I did say some - not all. You should see the feedback to the Secular web sites - among the you will fry in hell letters are well thought out and reasoned religious agruments). A good example of additional religious priveldge - is the maintaining of the places for bishops in the House of Lords.

This means that I have to live my life to my own design. I would now call myself a Secular Humanist. In that I think that I should live my life with utmost consideration for other people and secular in that I have come to the conclusion that there is no external spirutal input. Needless to say I never live up to my ideals. But if you are living up to your ideals - you are setting them too low.

Sorry if I sound a bit overbearing but I feel fairly strongly about this.

Julie

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,micca at work
Date: 17 May 00 - 06:34 AM

For a mix of assorted "religous" and non religous "hymns" I would reccommend the recordings of fellow 'catter Animaterra.. the choir does some wonderful non "god" hymns.. ie "When the dark time ends" on there 99 winter CD... Animaterra is contactable thru' the private messages and could probably supply more info.. but the recordings are pure magic...and I couldn't reccommend them more..

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 17 May 00 - 06:53 AM

"But if you are living up to your ideals - you are setting them too low."

I nominate that for the book of new Mudcat quotations that some eagle-eyed Catter ought to set up. Too good to lose.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Pete Peterson at work
Date: 17 May 00 - 09:03 AM

WOW what a thread! For things that we believe in that deeply, it's good to see the amount of mutual respect that keeps being stated and re-stated. I agree with teh suggestion of some of the Joe Hill songs; I haven't seen Power in the Union (which U. Utah Phillips considered Joe's best song) mentioned yet. My two favorite songs along these lines: Give me the Roses (Dick, forgive me, I didn't look to see if it's in the database) which I know from the Carter Family but also found in my Sacred Harp book under the name of "Odum" Stan Roger's Mary Ellen Carter (Rise again!) I heard an anecdote that he had deliberately written it as an allegory. I hope so; he's not around for me to ask. And to Mark and John o' Brisbane (is that anywhere near Dreams?) thanks for Old Time Religion-- you had a couple verses I've never seen before! Some that I sing that aren't in most people's collection are:

We will all chant Hare Krishna
We will all chant Hare Krishna
I can't find it in the Mishna
but it's good enough for me

We will sacrifice to Kali
Though embracing her is folly
She is quite a handful-- golly
And she's good enough for me

It was good enough for Dagon
A conservative old Pagan
Who still votes for Ronald Reagon
and it's. . .

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 17 May 00 - 04:37 PM

Passing through the Body Mind and Spirit portion of the bookshop it occurred to me to wonder - would Buddhist chants suffice?

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Bill D
Date: 17 May 00 - 08:28 PM

"We will follow Jim & Tammy
Get a condo in Miami
Pay no tax to Uncle Sammy...
And it's good enough for me"

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: ddw
Date: 18 May 00 - 12:52 AM

Interesting thread.

Joe, I think I have to come down on Mrr's side on the meaning of atheist — it just means "without god" as far as I've ever been able to figure out. I think his term "antitheist" is closer to describing someone who is actively negative about about god and the religious trapping mankind has built around the belief.

All that said, though, I wonder if there really is such a thing as an atheist in the sense of it being a "religiously-held" belief. As Bertrand Russell and the cardinal (was it Cushing? I can't remember for sure) amply demonstrated in their famous debate, you can't PROVE the existance of god without first ASSUMING the existance of god. You also can't prove that god doesn't exist without assuming that god doesn't exist.

That makes agnosticism the only position open to a thinking person — an agnostic being someone who DOESN'T KNOW if god exists.

Then the relevant question becomes "Does it matter whether there is a god?" The only answer I've been able to come up with is that it doesn't, except to use it as a framework to scare people into adhering to societal rules if they're too slow to figure out for themselves that those rules — applied as evenly as possible — are what allows us to live with bunches of people without commiting or being victims of murder and mayhem.

Examples of this are easily found in the 10 Commandments. I don't remember all of them offhand, but take adultry, for instance. I really can't believe that there is an omnipotent, omniscient, omni-everything being who really gives a shit about who's doing who, but I can sure as hell believe that a lot of men will kill you in a minute if they catch you dipping your stick in THEIR PROPERTY.

Same goes for "thou shalt not steal" and all the other commandments. They make sense for the peace and wellbeing of the group — no matter how narrowly or widely it's defined — but it has nothing to do with a god. Or at least it NEED NOT NECESSARILY have anything to do with a god.

There are several other points in the thread I'd like to comment on, but work calls. Back later.

David

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Grab
Date: 18 May 00 - 09:29 AM

Re DDW, exactly. And most of the Jewish rituals (not eating the meat of scavenging animals like pork, and circumcision) make a lot of sense when you consider that they were thought up during a long period spent as nomads. It you're constantly on the move, the last thing you want is food poisoning or illness, otherwise you'll either slow up the whole company or be left behind when the group moves on. It just seems that someone forgot to tell them to stop when they settled...

Grab.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 18 May 00 - 09:41 AM

Boy, this is fun. And I just LOVE all the new verses to Old Time Religion - esp. that one that doesn't scan because it is about Loki! LOL! More, please!

But back to semantics. I think it important to diminish the negative connotations to the term atheism. This country was founded on great ideals, and freedom, real freedom of religion should include the freedom to have no religion at all, and have that be as "valid" a "belief system" and as respected by others as if it were a religion. It is a question of MANNERS, politeness - or ought to be.
I said earlier that I didn't know enough about Secular Humanism to comment upon it. Having done more reading, I have to admit that it comes about as close to defining what I think of as atheism as I've ever seen in writing... yet... I hesitate to encourage atheists to call themselves secular humanists, because suddenly that feels like putting them to a different, albeit atheistic, religion. I'd rather have the possibility of NO religion be considered valid than coin a new term so that atheists don't have to call themselves atheists, even if they agree with everything that is "preached" or whatever you want to call it by secular humanism.
That is actually a pet peeve of mine (we had another thread about it, anyone who can do a blicky, connect us to the one about what to call people) - inventing new terms like Wellness to add (what, exactly?) to perfectly good words like Health. Why, in this wonderful country of ours, can't the atheists just be atheists? It's their right, or ought to be, IM(NSH)O.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 18 May 00 - 01:26 PM

Forgot to mention, I have always thought there was a term for people who didn't care one way or the other about the existence of god(s), in contrast to those who are uncertain:

If you believe in the existence of god(s), you are a theist.
If you believe in the nonexistence of god(s), you are an atheist.
If you don't know whether god(s) exist or not, you are an agnostic.
And if you don't CARE whether god(s) exist or not, you are an IGnostic.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: ddw
Date: 19 May 00 - 12:11 AM

Mrrzy,

Is ignostic a real term, or just something you made up? Can't find it in my Webster's 9th Collegiate and I don't think I've ever encountered it before. Made me suspect it was your term, and I initially bridled at it, then realized that it's not that I don't care if there's a god (or gods), it's just that I don't think it's relevant to my life.

Arthur C. Clarke had an interesting observation in one of his novels — Rendevous with Rama, I think — on the concepts of good and evil as they relate to god. He said statisticians can prove good and evil don't exist on the human plane because everything that is good for one person or group is bad for another person or group. Makes sense to me. As long as mankind is fighting over scarce resources (food, oil, water, land — whatever), anything that wipes out one side is good for the other. Leaves more for the survivors. Nasty thought, but I can't see any way to argue with it.

Now, if good and evil don't exist, where does that leave our concept of god? Or, more specifically, our concept of evil as personified by the devil? Sorta knocks a lot of religions into a cocked hat, doesn't it?

That is not to rule out that there is a god who is the embodiment of both good and evil, but that also sorta knocks most religions into the dumpster, since most tell us that if we're good, god will favor us. Does that mean that only god gets to be evil with impunity? Come to think of it, maybe that's the case. Maybe we're rewarded for being good, 'cause god wants all the fun of being bad, commiting all the murder and mayhem for his own amusement. Doesn't sound like any god I'd want to worship, but there you are.

I couldn't agree more that any meaningful definition of freedom of religion must include freedom from religion. I'm perfectly willing to let anyone believe anything they want, as long as they don't try to convert me to their belief patterns or persecute me because I don't agree with them.

Growing up in a Presbyterian assembly grounds in North Carolina — and I come from a long line of (mostly) Presbyterian ministers — I quickly learned that believers weren't willing to cut me the same slack I cut them. I guess I just never got the "faith gene" in there and every time somebody told me about how wonderful god or Jesus was, I'd start asking questions. Their response, invariably, was anger. If not at first, always when my questions pushed them to the point at which they had to revert to "faith" and I asked what it was that gave them their faith. I've had many people tell me that my views were obnoxious to them, but I've never had one show any inkling that their views might be obnoxious to me. Faith seems to be a one-way street, albeit a dead end (no pun intended).

I do find blind faith obnoxious. Humans are generally capable of thought, of pushing perceptions past what is here and now to what was and what will be. It's a wonderful facility. Faith blocks that, stunts it, makes it wither. Any thing we believe is something we will never be able to know anything about. We would never push the envelope, never explore, never question anything that is an article of faith. What a waste! That's why I find most faith — and particularly most religions — obnoxious. They draw lines around our knowledge and say (like medieval maps) "beyond this lie demons." My response to that is, thanks for the warning — but maybe it's just YOU that pisses them off.

Enough of that rant.

cheers

david

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,JulieF
Date: 19 May 00 - 07:36 AM

You are not lacking a faith gene - you have a sceptic gene - ie it makes you question.

Julie

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 19 May 00 - 01:12 PM

David, I learned the term Ignostic in college, but I doubt it's made it into a dictionary. Unfortunately!

About good and evil - or the broader question of Can you have ethics/morals if you have no god(s) - I have never understood the link. And that's a whole 'nuther kettle of fish, e.g., is there absolute good or evil. Arthur Clarke's thing about it being relative is sensible - where I grew up in West Africa, thievery was a much worse crime/sin than murder, for example. So what is considered good BY CONSENSUS becomes what IS good. Thus in Abengourou (an upcountry village in Côte d'Ivoire), stealing is unforgivable. In Abingdon, Virginia, murder is unforgivable. As the village becomes global, either both of those will become "evil" or neither - and with the influence of the industrialized world, the chances are that it will be both, not neither- so then we all, on Terra, consider both theft and murder to be crimes. Where's the sin in that?

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 20 May 00 - 05:13 AM

I once saw a piece about good and evil which used the sort of scene you might get in a thriller. Two men are fighting on a cliff top, and one falls over the edge, hanging on by his fingertips. How can you tell if it is the hero or the villain who has fallen?

I use this with children who seem too ready to accept that the hero of a cartoon is the hero because he/she always wins, and they can usually work out the differences between the characters.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 20 May 00 - 12:15 PM

I guess if the guy at the top of the cliff stomps on the hanger-on's hands, then the stomper is the villain; if instead he tries to rescue the hanger-on, then the hanger-on is the villain? Is this like the Which Road Leads to Freedom conundrum?

Subject: Lyr Add: ONLY REMEMBERED ^^
From: GUEST,gharper
Date: 20 May 00 - 01:50 PM

The greatest secular hymn I know, and it's a rousing one, is "Only Remembered." But not the wimpy version in the database, but the version I learned it from the marvelous Canadian trio Finest Kind (Ian Robb, Shelly Posen and Ann Downey), on their cd "Lost in a Song", 1966, available from Fallen Angle Music (sic [they're serious scientific secularists, I suspect!]), 285 Spencer Street, Ottawa, ON K1Y 2R1. They got it from the English trio Coope, Boyes and Simpson, who say the the irresistible, uplifting waltz tune, as well as first two verse lyrics are trad.(2nd verse identical to last one in the mudcat db; 3rd verse written by John Tams, Voice Publishing)

Here are the lyrics oops, I guess it's agnostic, given the last line in the the last verse): CAN ANYONE PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME ON THE REFERENT OF "LINE" in the phrase, "Will the line hold; will it scatter and run?"

ONLY REMEMBERED

Fading away like the stars in the morning,
Losing their light in the glorious sun,
Thus will we fade from this earth and its toiling,
Only remembered for what we have done.

Only remembered, only remembered,
Only remembered for what we have done,
Thus will we fade from this earth and its toiling,
Only remembered for what we have done.

Only the truth that in life we have spoken,
Only the seeds that on Earth we have sown,
These will pass onward when we are forgotten,
Only remembered for what we have done.

Only remembered, only remembered,
Only remembered for what we have done,
These will pass onward when we are forgotten,
Only remembered for what we have done.

Who'll sing the anthem and who'll tell the story?
Will the line hold; will it scatter and run?
Shall we at last be united in glory?,
Only remembered for what we have done.

GH ^^

Line Breaks
added.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 20 May 00 - 03:00 PM

I've always had a difficult time with some of the definitions mentioned here. At different times I've called myself an agnostic or atheist, but neither really seem accurate. I see a strong probability of some kind of divine intervention at work, but am amazed when folks put it into white robes, give it an extended family,(with extensive man-made biography) and contribute huge sums of money to those who claim to be it's representatives on earth. Why is it so difficult to live with the knowledge that "I don't know, you don't know, the various eclesiastical CEO's don't know, and maybe...someday we'll find out.

On the other hand, I love Bob Zentz's song "Til All Thy Names Are One".

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 20 May 00 - 05:49 PM

I really like Only Remembered! (I figure the last line can always be amended.)
To answer your query, MY vision of the "line" is that of a holding-the-fort kind of line, picket line, anything where humans unite to prevent something (the guy in Tianenmen Square was a line unto himself); will they hold fast, or scatter and run? Anyone else have a better one?

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 21 May 00 - 11:12 AM

That's it, Mrrzy

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Edmund Flynn (inactive)
Date: 21 May 00 - 09:46 PM

I agree with the "theist - athiest" division and believe that both terms have no values invested in them until we take another step and express our values.
In the 1940's when I was pondering these things I decided that I was a homo-sapien chauvanist. I don't think that the term secular humanism was in use.
These days it is more often referred to as "Democratic Secular Humanism" to distinguish it from less desirable forms that the world has seen.

Edmund

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Davewilkes
Date: 21 May 00 - 10:09 PM

As a de facto Atheist theologian, I object to the use of the term, "believe" in reference to Atheists. An Atheist does not believe there is no god; an Atheist lives a life without a god.

a = without theist = following a god believe = to accept as true without credible evidence

I have found I can sing religious songs in such a way as to make them completely ridiculous. Imagine if you will a known Atheist singing, "They Whupped Him up the Hill Just for Me". One does not even have to change the words (although I have a version where I did just that).

I am not sure what the originator of this thread is seeking.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 22 May 00 - 01:11 AM

I would agree with those who have stated that the term "atheist" is a rather neutral one which, while declaring that the individual does not believe in God or gods, does not make any statement of belief or values outside that declaration. There are certainly many people walking around who do not believe in God, who also do not believe in any other moral or ethical guideline, with the possible exception of legal constraints. In the same way, there are people who have evolved their own moral and ethical belief system outside of any god-based religion, but I think that Existentialism is probably the most accurate term for this self-imposed and self-evolved ethical system. This term expresses a life philosophy in action, and no church membership is required.

To the person who alluded to AC Clarke in terms of no absolute good or bad because "what is good for one group of people is bound to be bad for another". I see no logic to the argument. To give food to the starving from our own larder does no one ill, while certainly doing good. To murder a fellow human being out of jealousy or anger does evil with no resultant good. From such in-born moral and ethical intuition, a rational belief system takes root.

I would also like to respectfully disagree with the person who stated that, because the existence of God is logically un-proveable, that all thinking individuals are thus obliged to practice Agnosticism. To attempt to explain all existance through Logic is like dissecting a flower to ascertain why it blooms. The non-believer sees God nowhere, the believer sees God manifested in everything.

As far as an anthem for Existentialists, I believe that Lennon's Imagine works as well as any -

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

LEJ

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 22 May 00 - 10:32 AM

Davewilkes, I was seeking beautiful music celebrating atheism, by which I did mean the belief that there is no god, not a life without god, which I would call secular. If atheism isn't the term for a belief in there being no god(s), what is? And that is a serious question; I keep running into atheism meaning secularism to people, and am looking for a term that is neutral in connotation (to wit, not ANTI-theistic) for people who really do believe that there is no god - they are thus not agnostic, so what do theologians call them?
And, Lonesome EJ, perhaps this will explain ACClarke's logic: where you say "To give food to the starving from our own larder does no one ill, while certainly doing good. To murder a fellow human being out of jealousy or anger does evil with no resultant good." - I must beg to differ. Instead, I agree that the CONTEXT in which you are acting can be paramount. For example: American soldiers liberating the concentration camps killed literally hundreds of survivors by giving them fortified K-rations and chocolate, whereas the British, less soft-hearted, refused them rich food till their systems could handle it. In this example, giving food to the starving from our larder did them a grave ill - it killed the starving who'd managed to survive the Nazis. By the same token, capital punishment can be viewed as murdering a fellow human being out of anger, but I'm not sure that (to those who support capital punishment) it does no resultant good. In many cultures, killing someone for committing a crime is seen as resulting in good for the rest of society, even if that killing is done in the heat of passion, in anger at the crime already committed.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 22 May 00 - 12:09 PM

Mrr, I don't want to get into a discussion of whether capital punishment is or isn't justifiable, but I would say that the execution of an individual for crimes committed is not an act of anger, but of puinishment and retribution. A better example of what I was talking about would be a jealous ex-boyfriend who murders his former love, or, to use a Biblical example(if I may be so bold) the slaying of Able by Cain. Your example of inadvertant death from feeding the starving is valid, but demonstrates that the accomplishment of good must consist of more than merely good intent. This however doesn't negate the source of the intent- the recognition and desire to do good. To feed the starving concentration camp prisoners is easily recognized as the right thing to do, the method of doing so called for more thought.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 22 May 00 - 12:29 PM

Agree with you mostly - and don't lets go anywhere near Is Capital Punishment A Good Idea, I agree! And someone said The Road To Hell is Paved with Good Intentions... was it Shakespeare or The Bible? I can never keep my sources straight...

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 22 May 00 - 12:50 PM

Agreed Mrr. You may find this discussion interesting

Clickit

Best to you, LEJ

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 22 May 00 - 01:55 PM

Yes, very! Fun Fact to Know and Tell - also a little family bragging - My dad, in his youthful existentialist past, was the first American to interview Jean-Paul Sartre!

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Sian in wales
Date: 22 May 00 - 05:53 PM

I was looking through some books for a thread in soc.culture.welsh and came across something which reminded me of this discussion.

In the Journal of the Welsh Folk Song Society, 1910, Vol 1 Pt 2 there's a footnote under Hen Wr Mwyn (a Welsh *Henry My Son*) as follows...

--This suggests the song 'I will sing you one, O!' For versions of it see 'Come I will sing ou' in English Country Songs; 'The Dilly Song'.....: also 'Household Tales' by addy ('Two Pagan Hymns') and the Breton tune, 'Ar Rannou'--

The music for Ar Rannou follows this entry, but that's all I've got on the Pagan Hymns ...

sian

Subject: ADD: Old Time Religion Verses
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 23 May 00 - 01:10 AM

Mrr, you said you would like a few more verses of Old Time Religion - ever willing to oblige. Here's 667 of them. Regards, John

AFRICAN PAGANISM
We will hang out with Anansi	I will visit with Nyame
He's the spider god we fancy	The Ashanti god of all, hey
And he wears eight legged pants, He's	I will bring him a salami
got enough legs there for me!	And we'll both sit down to tea!
AGNOSTICS AND ATHEISTS
Lots of folks are into God	Let us praise God for creation
And I've often thought it odd	And he made more than one nation
Do they love Him for His bod'?	Let's give Him a big ovation,
Or is it ideology?	And then tell Him "Let us be!"
I don't care about Jehover	It's the Fundie Right's solution
Soon his office term is over	To put Christian absolution
I would sooner worship Rover	In the U.S. Constitution
'Cause he's good enough for me!	And that don't sit well with me!
I won't go into no temple	I shall stay a firm agnostic
Not for Graham nor Miss Semple	I can't do a double-crostic
No, not even for a "semple"	I'm a fan of Barry Bostwick
It ain't good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
If you think religion's awful	But the True Religion's Science
And you've really had your craw full	Where we place our great reliance
Just be sure your acts are lawful	'Cause it's laws don't take defiance
Or they'll -all- be after thee!	So it's good enough for me!
We will go and worship Jesus	We give thanks to Jerry Falwell
Yes we will, when Hades freezes	If his Crusade we can't stall, well,
He is full of guilt and fleases	Ship him one-way to Rabaul - well!
Which ain't good enough for me!	that's not far enough for me!
Are you waiting for the Rapture?	Whene'er I hear Jerry Falwell
Superstition's got you captured!	Quite soon I don't feel at all well
You believe a lot of crap, sure	Throw him down a sacrificial well
Isn't good enough for me!	That'll be good enough for me!
There are those who worship no gods	Madelyn Murray O'Hare hollers
For they think that there are low odds	Let's get God from off our dollars
That the god-seers aren't drunk sods	God is something I can't swaller
And they're good enough for me!	'Cause he's got more balls than me!
There are those that sing out "Amen"	Are you waiting for the Rapture?
To a bastard Jewish shaman	Go on, wait, and see if I care!
You know who, so I won't name him	I'll go off and take a nap, sure
But it's good enough for me!	Isn't good enough for me!
Call Him God, or call him Allah	The very first of chiromancers
The priest will take your dollah	Overdosed on mood-enhancers
Easy living from -your- follah-	And found his palm had all the answers
-wers, but sorry, -not- from me!	Which is good enough for me!
You can keep your Old Religion,	Jehovah's fine transcendence
It's for suckers and for pigeons!	And the Church's great resplendence
I don't buy it! Not a smidgen!	Pushing guilt and co-dependence
I'm an atheist, you see!	Ain't good enough for me!
AGNOSTIC/ATHEIST CHORUS: Gimme NO	kind-a religion
Gimme NO	kind-a religion
Gimme NO	kind-a religion
It simply	ain't for me!
ASATRU AND ODINISM
I hear Valkyries a-comin	One-eyed Odin we will follow
In the air their song is comin	And in fighting we will wallow
They forgot the words! They're hum	min! Till we wind up in Valhallow
But they're good enough for me!	Which is good enough for me!
We will drive up to Valhalla	It was good enough for Odin
Riding Beetles, not Impalas	Though the tremblin' got forbodin'
Singing "Deutschland Uber Alles"	Then the giants finally strode in,
And that's good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
It was good enough for Loki	Shall we sing a verse for Thor,
It was good enough for Loki	Though he leaves the maidens sore?
He thinks Thor's a little hokey	They always come back for more,
And that's good enough for me!	So he's good enough for me!
Shall we sing in praise of Loki,	It was good for Thor and Odin
Though he left poor Midgard smokey	It was good for Thor and Odin
Oh, his sense of humor's hokey,	Grab an axe and get your woad on!
But he's good enough for me!	and it's good enough for me!
All the Gods tore into Loki	We will worship now with vigor
Saying Deicide is hokey!	The goddess known as Frigga
And they threw him in the pokey!	Tho there are some who don't dig her
And that's good enough for me!	She is good enough for me!
Good old Thor's the god of thunder	If you wanna worship Odin
Really helps us get our plunder	You don't have to have a coat on
Tho his head's still truly dunder	Grab a sword and slap some woad on
He is good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
In the halls of Frey and Freya	We will sing a verse for Loki
All the priestesses will lay ya	He's the old Norse god of Chaos
If you're good enough, they'll pay ya	Which is why this verse don't
And that's good enough for me!	rhyme or scan or nothin'
	But it's good enough for me...
Odin is a mighty thinker	Give a hand to darlin' Freya
And he is a heavy drinker	There's no need to ask her "May ya?"
With the girls he likes to tinker	For a necklace she will lay ya!
So he's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will go and worship Loki	We will go to Utgard Castle
He will tell a dirty jokie	We'll watch Thor and Elli wrassle
And get locked up in the pokey	Thor will have a lot of hassle
But that's good enough for me!	But he's god enough for me!
We will go and worship Frigga	It was good enough for Thor 'n'
And the men will be much bigga	I can hear the thunder roarin'
And they won't have a hair-trigga	Or maybe it's his snorin'!
And that's good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
Do you know what brought Balder low	We will all go worship Hoenir
His Achilles heel, mistletoe	Who has ears that hear by sonar
His systems are no longer "Go"	And a most impressive boner!
But he's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will raise our cups to Bragi	It was good enough for Loki
And we'll drink until we're groggy	Whose humor was okey-dokey
And the pretzels get all soggy	He'd laugh and take a tokey
But that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will ask a boon of Mimir	We will walk upon ol' Bifrost
With the Northern Lights a-glimmer	Tell ol' Heimdall that we're not lost
I would not mind being slimmer	Ask Odin what the runes cost
Which is good enough for me!	And hit Loki with a pie!
BRUJA
Let us sing for Brujaria	We will watch a Bruja giggle
Though the blood's a lot less cleaner	At a novice witch's wiggle
It's not Christian Santaria	For you see, a Bruja's giggle
So it's good enough for me!	Is a Brou-ha-ha to me!
BUDDHISM
We will all go to Nirvana	Oh we all will follow Buddah
So be sure to mind your manners	Oh we all will follow Buddah
Make a left turn at Savannah	And we'll eat no food but Gouda
And we'll see the Promised Land!	Which is Gouda-nuff for me!
It was good enough for Buddha,	We will go and sing "Hosanna"
As a god he's kinda cute-a,	To our good ol' pal, Gautama,
And he comes in brass or pewta'	He will never flim or flam ya',
So he's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
No one wrote a verse for Buddah	We will all go to Nirvana
Tho I think they really coulda	We will all go to Nirvana
And I really think they shoulda	Make a left turn at Urbana
'Cause he's good enough for me!	And you'll see the Promised Land!
We will all follow Buddah	We will venerate the Buddah
He's one really serene dude-a	Comes in silver, brass and pewta'
But you have to beg for food-a	He ain't quite the Lion of Judah
And that's good enough for me!	But he's good enough for me!
We will sing for Yama-Dharma	Maybe I should try ol' Buddah
At our revels on the farm-a	We can share a little Gouda
Though it messes up our karma	I hope he won't think it rude-a
It's good enough for me!	Me to say he's not for me!
I am darn confused by Zen	Clap one hand if you love the Buddha
It seems way beyond my ken	It will put ya in the mood ta
Could you say it all again	Set off for Nirvana
Somewhat clearer so I'll see?	And that's good enough for me!
CARGO CULT & PACIFIC ISLANDS
To the tune of Handel's "Largo"	If you get too tired
We will hymn the gods of Cargo	And you need to get up higher
'Til they slap on an embargo	Just have Pele light your fire!
And that's good enough for me!	From her island in the sea!
You can keep your saints with halos,	It was good enough for Maui
Your incense, hymns and aloes:	And for his communion chow he
Let's throw virgins in volcanos!	Served up poi and long pig - Wowee!
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will go and worship Maui	We will watch the hula dancers
With that Polynesian zowie	Topless Polynesian prancers
And he'll give us Maui Wowee!	And we'll get pagan romance, sir
And that's stoned enough for me!	And go to Easter Island, free!
CHRISTIAN
We will worship with the Fundies	Say the Baptists, "We're the only
With their itchy hair-shirt undies	We're the one church that's not phony
If they don't bring "Mrs. Grundy,"	If you give us all your money
Then it's good enough for me!	Then to Heaven you shall go!
It was good for old Jehovah	Let's all listen up to Jesus
He had a son who was a nova!	He says rich folks like old Croesus
Hey there, Mithras! Move on ova'!	Will be damned until Hell freezes
Another resurrection Day!	And that don't sound good to me!
Jerry Falwell thinks he's sav-ed	Oh we'll all be Fundamental
In a lamb's blood he's been lav-ed	And be Holy Testamental
And HE thinks that I'M deprav-ed	And never Trancendental
But that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Tho J.C.'s into fish, too,	Anytime that I start hearin'
He's an avatar of Vishnu	"Jesus loves you" I start leerin'
So he is welcome here, too,	Maybe so, but not like Brian
And that's good enough for me!	Which is good enough for me!
Brother Jerry is a cretin	Brother Oral's in his tower,
But with all the cash he's gettin'	Trusting in the Lord's power
Lotsa folks'll be forgettin	Getting richer by the hour,
It's the "Land of the Free!"	Now he's got the ransom fee!
Brother Robert's church is Crystal	Brother Earnest is a healer
But all the Bible that he's missed 'll	And not QUITE a wheeler-dealer --
Make you "hotter than a pistol"	More a jumper and a squealer
But he's good enough for me!	So he's good enough for me!
Brother Jim and Sister Tammy	Then there's good ol' Brother Billy
Had a show that was a whammy	Bringing souls in willy-nilly.
But now they are in Miami	All his trips are kinda silly,
Tryin' t'get back on TV!	But he's good enough for me!
That Bob Larson shrieks and hollers	s We will finally pray to Jesus
Fighting demons in his callers	From our sins we hope he frees us
Save his program: SEND YOUR DOLLARS!	Eternal life he guarantees us
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
You could join Jehovah's Witness	And let's not forget Pelagius
Running door to door for fitness	Though some call him outrageous
Well if you've been blessed with quickness	He is pious and courageous
Then thats good enough for me	And he's good enough for me!
Oh the Christians worship Jesus	Oh my name is Torquemada
But their sermons sure don't please us	I burn Lutherans in Grenada
It's a Sin each time ya sneezes	It's all for the Holy Fadda
That ain't good enough for me!	And it's good enough for me!
We will worship Christian Jesus	It was down in Waco, Texas
And do just like John Paul pleases	When they came to arrest us
That we will... when Hades freezes	We needed britches of asbestos
And that's good enough for me!	That was hot enough for me!
It was good for Oral Roberts	We will witness for Jehovah
It was good for Oral Roberts	Sell "Watchtower" ten times over
Not so good for elves and hobbits	But it ain't no bed of clover
And it's good enough for me!	So I'm sorry; not for me!
Whether Low Church or it's High Church	And the Romans said of Jesus
Or it's Pie-Up-In-The-Sky Church	"Lets kill him, he don't please us"
Come on down and visit my Church	"But the Atheists will tease us"
'Cause it's good enough for me!	And thats good enough for me
Well you can worship Jesus	It's no good for Billy Graham
Go ahead and pray to Jesus	'Cause he just won't give a damn
But I tell you, he don't please us	'Cause he's too much of a ham
Just leave my Gods to me!	But it's good enough for me!
Others followed Rev. Jim Jones	Oh the Christian sects they will clutch
In Guyana they found their bones	At their dogmatic hate-crutch
Kool-Aid mixed with cyanide stones	I'm afraid that is just too much
That ain't good enough for me!	Sects and violence for me!
Well I hear your god's named Jesus	Take the Blarney Stone and pitch it
You can do just as you pleases	To the nuns of St. Bridget
Even bless me if I sneezes	Tho they're pious, they're not frigid
Cause its good enough for me!	And they're good enough for me!
It was good enough for Jesus	Let us pray to the Virgin Mary
Though Paul's doctrine doesn't please us	Let us pray to the Virgin Mary
We prefer a faith that frees us	As our Rosary we carry
And that's good enough for me	And she's good enough for me!
CLASSICAL PAGANISM
We will go to worship Zeus	You can dance and wave the thyrsos
Though his morals are quite loose	And sing lots of rowdy verses
He gave Leda quite a goose	Till the neighbors holler curses,
And he's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will pray to Father Zeus	We will sing for great Diana
In his temple we'll hang loose	Who will teach of love and honor
Eating roast beef au jus,	But you really gotta wanna!
And that's good enough for me!	'Cause she's tough enough for me!
Shall we sing a verse for Venus,	We went off to worship Venus
Of the Gods she is the meanest,	By the Gods! You should have seen us!
Cause she bit me on my...elbow!	Now the Clinic has to screen us...
And it's good enough for me!	But that's good enough for me!
We will venerate old Bacchus	It was good enough for Sappho
Drinking beer and eating tacos	With her lady on her lap-o
Til you've tried it please don't k	nock us She put Lesbos on the map-o
'Cause it's good enough for me!	With her pagan poetry!
Let us raise a toast to Bacchus,	When we worship Bacchus
We will raise a royal ruckus,	The ethanol will sock us
Then we'll lay us down and f**k us	We'll all get good and raucous
That's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Diana is a little spikey	We'll sing praises to Apollo;
And she is a little dyke-ey	Where the Sun God leads we'll follow
You don't have to be a Psych-e	('Though his head's a little hollow)
To know that's right for me!	He's good enough for me!
We will worship with Poseidon	Don't neglect that shrine of Zeus'
We will meet him when the tide's in	Tho he's lost his vital juices
All the maidens he will ride in	The old boy still has his uses
Then he'll give 'em all to me!	And he's good enough for me!
All the hunters start convergin'	We will all bow to Hephaestus
When Diana is emergin'	As a blacksmith he will test us
It's too bad she's still a virgin	'Cause his balls are pure asbestos
But there's still hope left for me	So he's good enough for me!
And what about this Bacchus,	There is room enough in Hades
Who lives just to raise a ruckus?	For lots of criminals and shadies
Loosens women so they'll f**k us,	And disreputable ladies,
Well, that's good enough for me!	And they're good enough for me!
We will all see Aphrodite	And to help things get real racous
Though she's pretty wild and flighty	The priests of Pan and Bacchus
She will meet us in her nightie	Will hold a f***ing contest!
And she's good enough for me!	And that's all right with me!
Oh we will go and worship Pan,	Bumper stickers of all sizes
'Cause he just don't give a damn!	At quite reasonable prices
Grab a woman or a man,	They say 'ankh' if you love Isis
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Was a time, so I've heard tell, a	We all worshipped Dionysus
Fine and promising young fella	'Till we ran into a crisis:
Gave his all to serve Cybele	The bar had raised its prices;
But that's damn well not for me!	That's not good enough for me!
We'll sing praises to Apollo	There's that lusty old Priapus
Where the Sun-God leads, I'll follow	He's just itching to unwrap us.
From Ionia to Gaul-o	(He'd do more to us than tap us
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!)
We will have a mighty Party	Pan's pipes got plugged last summer
In the honor of Astarte	And it really was a bummer
Grab your chiton - don't be tardy	Finally had to call a plumber!
'Cause she's good enough for me!	But he's good enough for me!
In his dancing Pan will lead them	Now Danae was sweet as flowers,
When his pipes call we will heed them	She was into golden showers;
In truth tho, he don't need them	And that showed her Zeus' power
He's more than enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
It was good enough for Venus	We will sing our staves to Venus
She'd have sighed if she'd of seen us	We will sing our staves to Venus
Letting morals come between us	Tho I think this rhyme is henious
And she's good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
There's one thing that I do know	Let us dance with Dionysus
Zeus' favorite is Juno	And get drunk on wine and spices
She's the best at doing...you know	The Christians call them "vices"
And that's good enough for me!	But they're good enough for me!
It was good enough for Cupid	We will venerate old Hermes
It was good enough for Cupid	With his staff entwined with wormies
His wings look kind of stupid	Warding off the nasty germies
But that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Let's all drink to Dionysus	We will all bow down to Venus
Wine and women beyond prices!	As we dance upon Mt. Zenos
He made a Maenad out of my Sis!	We will worship with our....voice
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
There are those who, when they've got e-	We all worship Aphrodite,
Normous problems that are knotty	And Her sister bold Astarte,
They just take them to Hecate	They both throw a lovely party,
And that's good enough for me!	And that's just fine with me!
In the church of Aphrodite
She's a mighty righteous sightie,
The Priestess wears a see through nightie
And she's good enough for me
We remember Ariadne	Tho they wrote "Star Spangled Banner"
To whom Theseus was a cad, he	On Anacreon's pinanner
Split and left her feeling badly	He has such a laid-back manner
Good old Baccus set her free!	That he's good enough for me!
Anacreon's drinkin' hearty	If you plan to court Medusa
At a never-ending party	At her place in Syracusa
Charter member from the start, he's	s Take a mirror; what's the use-a
Got the seat I'd like for me!	Getting stoned before your spree?
To Prometheus let us hark	Aphrodite in her bower
In bringing fire, he made his mark	Calls her lovers by the hour
Or we'd be dancing in the dark	Joyful loving is her dower
And that's not good enough for me!	And she's good enough for me!
Pan and all the satyrs prayed in	If you have the itchy-squirmies
Chorus when they saw a maiden	Then you better pray to Hermes
What a great place to get laid in!	He will cure you of your germies
And it's good enough for me!	And he's good enough for me!
We had better worship Neptune	If you pray unto Uranus
We had better worship Neptune	Then your crime is truly henious
If we don't we'll all be wet soon	You can stick it in your...songbook
And that's wet enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Let us all join with the Dryads	A most vile persisten lecher
Let us all join with the Dryads	Scorned by one, set out to catch her
Trees may not be quite the Triad	When his magic couldn't fetch her
But they're good enough for me!	Poor Atlanta turned to me!
It was good for Greek Apollo	We will frolic with old Bacchus
Though his act is hard to follow	We don't care if some folks mock us
Full of lyres I cannot swallow	'Cause his rites are rather raucous
But it's good enough for me!	And they're good enough for me!
It was good for old Achilles	We will even worship Hades
Though death gave his Mom the willies	ies Though he dwells among the shadies
She Styx-dipped him by the heelies	He still picks up pretty ladies
And that's good enough for me!	And he's good enough for me!
We will worship Aphrodite	In the Temple of Apollo
We will worship Aphrodite	All the laurel leaves we'll swallow
Cause we've seen her in her nightie	ie Then the colored trails will follow
And that's good enough for me!	And that's stoned enough for me!
Let us never forget Puck	We will worship old Apollo
Leads us wand'ring thru the muck	He's got others beat all hollow
He don't give a flying f***	Let him lead and we will follow
But he's Fool enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will worship old Poseidon	We will run the Lupercalia
And the dolphin he's a-ridin'	With our leather paraphenalia
Tho it has a scaly hide on	Substitute for genitalia
Still, that's good enough for me!	That ain't good enough for me!
It was good for fair Apollo	It was good for lovely Artemis
For the Sun's rays he doth follow	Who'd like to get to the heart of us
He'll be back again tomorrow	She's glad to be a part of us
And that's good enough for me!	And she's good enough for me!
It was good enough for Hecate	At Troy nobody was mean-a
She's trying to make a witch of me	That the Great Goddess Athena
I wish I could choose which one of	Mopped them up with Ajax clean-a
And it's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
If you're worshipping Athena	It was good enough for Hades
Then your morals must be clean-a	Tho I'm glad he didn't make us
And your brain a little keen-a	At least, he won't try to save us
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We've neglected Father Zeus	We will worship Queen Omphale
Tho it seems a bit obtuse	Who drove Heracles to folly
We think more of Mother Goose	For they dressed in drag, by golly!
But he's good enough for me!	I dunno if that's for me!
We will all go worship Plutus	Young Bacchus in the springtime
And with riches he'll salute us	Leads the dancers round the grapevine
All that gold would surely suit us	Soon those grapes are gonna be wine
And it's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Demeter's bees within the hive	Dionysius drank his wine down
Hum with joy to be alive	And the Bacchae stumbled all 'round
Matriarchy is no jive	And the pirate ship went aground
And it's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will go and worship Juno	In the temple which is Hebe's
For there's one thing that we do know	now And constructed by the Sea-Bees
She did not burn Brother Bruno	She can cure the heebie-jeebies
And that's good enough for me!	Which is good enough for me!
We're not crazy over Aries	We will go and worship Vesta
For his men give us the scaries	For her cooking is the best-a
And they kill like Christ's and Mary's	ry's All the food at the fiesta
Which ain't good enough for me!	Which is good enough for me!
I'll bow down and worship Ops	Let us pray to our Demeter
'Cause we think that she is tops	In the fields we'll go to greet her
Turns a lotta guys into Pops	Then we'll grind her up and eat her
And she's good enough for me!	And it's good enough for me!
Let us all sing for the Dryad	Let us run from the Bacchantes
Let us all sing for the Dryad	For they're not your maiden Aunties
For Bulldozers make them may-ad	And they don't wear underpanties
But they're good enough for me!	But they're mad enough for me!
It was good enough for Cybele	We will -not- go worship Aries
She brought Attis back from Hell	Tho his chest's a mat o' hair, he's
Though his tee-tee wasn't well	Down on Wogs and Pinks and Fairies
But it's good enough for me	And that isn't cool, by me!
We will all team up in dyads	Sweet Persephone was roaming
With the Oreads and Dryads	Through the meadows far from home 'n
Succubi and Sylphs and Naiads	Pluto grabbed her -- awful omen!
Cause we like variety!	(Though it shows he has good taste...)
COMMUNISM
Millions Marx and Lenin follow	Some still worship Chairman Mao
In the "Little Red Book" wallow	But I'll bet that Deng Xiao -
Their Party line I cannot swallow	Ping will soon bring back the Dao
There are better gods for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will worship Karl Marx	There are some who fall a-grinnin'
Carry Red Flags in the parx	At the cult of Marx and Lenin
Only make love in the darx	They kill heretics for sinnin'
And that's Marxism to me!	And that's proof enough for me!
CONFUCIANISM
Let us read works of Confucius	We used to study old Confucius
As we walk thru Massachusetts	As we sat there on our tushes
In white robes that freeze our tus	hes We're learning but don't push us
But it's good enough for me!	And thats good enough for me
CTHULHU
We will worship mighty Cthulhu	We will worship Great Cthulhu,
H. P. Lovecraft's big old hoodoo	We will worship Great Cthulhu,
(1930's fiction voodoo....)	And we'll feed him Mr. Sulu
But that's good enough for me!	'Cause that's good enough for me!
Let us sing to Lord Cthuhlu	We will sacrifice to Yuggoth
Don't let Lovecraft try to fool yo	u We will sacrifice to Yuggoth
Or the Elder Gods WILL rule you	Burn a candle for Yog-Soggoth
And that's good enough for me!	And the Goat With a Thousand Young
Of the Old Ones, none is vaster	Well it's good enough for *
Even Cthulhu's not his master	He's a mighty kinky master
I refer to the unspeakable *	When you pray he goes much faster
and that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
(* - well, do YOU waNT TO SAY IT)
And for those who follow Cthulhu	Let's go worship Great Cthulhu,
We have really got a lulu:	And run naked like a Zulu,
Drop a bomb on Honolulu!	You and me and Mr. Sulu,
'Cause that's good enough for you!	And that's good enough for me!
We will worship Great Cthulhu	We will worship Holy Cthulhu
You and me and Mr. Sulu	And we'll run around like Zulus
Howling like a drunken Zulu	Then we'll feed him Mr. Sulu,
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
It was good enough for Cthulhu	We will bow down to Cthulhu
Who'd eat me and who'd eat you, too	o; We think he is quite a lulu
If it's good enough for Cthulhu	He's not good enough for Zulus
Then it's good enough for me	But he's good enough for me!
DAO
All the Chinese pray to Yao	Next to Yao, they worship Yu
For he showed the farmers hao	He built roads and bridges tu
And there's bumper harvests nao	And canals - there's quite a few -
Which is good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
DEUS EX MACHINA
Gimme that database religion	I will learn to use SQL,
Gimme that database religion	So my searches will all run well,
Gimme that database religion	Though the learning curve can be hell,
It's good enough for me...	It's good enough for me.
I will stick with my flat-file,	CA-Clipper can compile
Though it may be lacking style,	RDDs will make you smile
Its ease-of-use makes me smile,	(though its queries take awhile)
And that's good enough for me.	Still it's good enough for me!
Oh, 4D it is a monster	We're all aware that FoxPro
And can be slow as molasses	Runs in Windows and is not slow
At least now it's with compiler	(and it's what my bosses bought) so
But it was good enough for Guy!	It must be good enough for me.
I will write my code for PICK now	And then Pr1me bought INFORMATION
I will write my code for PICK now	So there was massive consternation
And when I'm finished I will say W	OW! What understated observation --
And that's good enough for me...	Was not good enough for me!
I use , not Lotus, I will organ	ize mine relationally,
Though the market-share is bogus;	So it re-indexes sensationally --
Like that famous racing tortoise,	It's only useful occassionally,
It is good enough for me.	But that's good enough for me.
I'll print data from my floppy,	I used to perl my flat-file data;
And I'll file the paper copy --	I ran on Unix, so I hadda,
It keeps my secretary happy	Now I do it 'cuz it's fasta
And that's good enough for me.	And that's good enough for me.
We will keep on writing FOCUS	You may code your CRTFORMs
Because Gerry came and woke us	They're not dash-CRTFORMs
We will work our hocus-pocus	Just wait for MAINTAIN & WINFORMs
And it's good enough for me.	They'll be good enough for me.
It was good enough for Simon Fortran	an, I remember the P-Eight-Fifty
Good enough for Simon Fortran,	With 2K you've got to be thrifty
Good enough for Simon Fortran,	But the Instruction set's quite nifty
And it's good enough for me.	And it's good enough for me
You might think that I'm a yahoo,	I am getting one of those work-
Hacking on my seven-oh-two,	Stations that are known as PERQ
But it's good enough for Big Blue,	Even though there's the odd quirk
And that's good enough for me.	It's good enough for me
Now that wire-wrap we're routing	We're 'puter hackers who speak jargon
Very soon we'll all be booting	And may play chess with good old Sargon
Yeah Gimme that old time computing	Have ya got yer mountain boots on?
It's good enough for me	(We'll go climbing soon, you see!)
We will write our code in COBOL
DB2, FORTRAN, and SNOBOL
Wanna SPICE up that old low-ball?
They're all good enough for me!
DISCORDIANISM
Let us sing to old Discordia	Of Great Murphy much is spoken
Cause it's sure she's never bored ya	ya For his Law shall not be broken
And if she's good enough for ya	It's not pretty when he's woken
Then she's good enough for me!	Things go wrong for you and me!
If your rising sign is Aries	If your god of choice is Squat
You'll be taken by the Fairies	Well then trendy, man, you're not!
Meet the Buddah in Benares	But you'll get a parking spot!
where he'll hit you with a pie!	And that's good enough for me!
We will sing a verse for Eris	Let us do our thing for Eris
(Golden apples for the fairest!)	Goddess of the discord there is
Though she sometimes likes to scare us	e us Apple's golden, it's not ferrous
But she's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Let us praise the Holy Fool	And the brave Illuminatti
For he's breaking all the rules	Can hail Eris in a body
Holds you up to ridicule,	Tho we think they're rather dotty
And that's good enough for me!	They're good enough for me!
There are those who worship Eris	It was good enough for Eris
There are those who worship Eris	We'd love to have her near us
If you're one of them, you scare us	s! Her apple is the fairest
So keep away from me!	And she's good enough for me!
It was good for the goddess Eris	We all know the goddess Eris
Who in anger would not spare us	She had an apple for the fairest
Gave and apple for to snare us	But we've got to learn to share, is
And that's good enough for me!	That good enough for you?
We will praise the wily Trickster	We will howl with ol' Coyote
Who of talents is a mixture	Pee on bushes, eat peyote
And is famous as a prickster	Then we'll roast ol' Mendes' Goatie
And that's good enough for me!	And that's wild enough for me!
Say hosannas to "Bob" Dobbs
With space aliens he hobnobs
He's the patron saint of slobs
And that's good enough for me!
(THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR)
Oh, the dollar is our Saviour	There are those who scream and holler
If we spend Her or we save Her	And get hot under the collar
She controls all our behaviour	For their god, Almighty Dollar,
There's not enough for me!	Who is good enough for me!
Let us praise the Almighty Dollar	Oh the Dollar is the True God
Let us praise the Almighty Dollar	Not the Sun God or the Moon God
Tele-Evangelistic holler	'Cause it's my God and it's your God
And it's good enough for me!	And that's God enough for me!
DRUIDS AND FAERIE
We will worship like the Druids,	In Pwyll's hall you will be welcome
Drinking strange fermented fluids,	But he's not at home too often
Running naked through the woo-ids,	Spends all his time in Annwyfn
Coz that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
I'll go get my golden sickle	We will worship like Zen Druids
And I'll wear it where it tickles	In their non-existant wooids
It ain't used for cuttin' pickles!	Don't try to think, just dooid!
And it's good enough for me!	And it's good enough for me!
We'll go riding with Arawn	That old wondrous faerie, Morgan
In the dark before the dawn	Could appreciate an organ
Wildest Hunt that we've been on!	Just as long as it was workin'
But it's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Now there was this wizard, Merlin,	There's this Druid who is Jewish
Really kept the world a-twirlin'	He is nice and sometimes foolish
'Til he got mixed up in girlin'	"Oy vey! You don't -look- Druish!"
But he's good enough for me!	"Let's define our terms," says he!
Wrap your sacrifice in wicker	Oh the Welsh gods, -you- announce 'em
It will make the flames burn quicker	er Asking my gods to renounce 'em
Tho the smell makes some folks sicker	ker But our gods, I can't pronounce 'em
It's still good enough for me!	Being tongue-tied's not for me!
When I hear the Ban-Sidhe wailing	When the Morrigu are riding
Sure it sets my heart a-quailing	And the fell Trollwives are striding
Death behind someone is trailing	I'm sure going into hiding!
And I hope it isn't me!	'Cause that battle's not for me!
When the Wild Hunt fills the evening	ng We will visit with the Sidhe
With a howling and a screaming	And we'll drink until we're giddy
How the Lady's eyes are gleaming	Leave behind G. Gordon Liddy
And that's where I wanna be!	And that's good enough for me!
We will dance 'round with the Dus	We will play with the Pookah
Tho he plays us fast and loose	It will aspect as a hookah
He plays jokes on me and youse	Or a haunted pressure-cookah
But he's good enough for me!	But that's good enough for me!
If you like aggressive women	Said the Sidhe to their new war-duke
Morrigan with tricks is brimmin'	"You must quell Balor, that fierce gook;
Do you groove on S&M-in'?	"Just remember -- USE THE FORCE, LUGH!
Then she's just the one for you!	"You'll be good enough for us!"
EGYPTIAN
Let us sing the praise of Horus	When we all bowed down to Nuit
As our fathers did before us	There was really nothin' to it
We're the New Egyptian Chorus	(Alex Sanders made me do it...)
And we sing in harmony!	But that's good enough for me!
We will venerate Bubastis	We will pray with those Egyptians
We will venerate Bubastis	Build pyramids to put our crypts in
If you want in, then just ast us!	Cover subways with inscriptions,
'Cause that's good enough for me!	Which is good enough for me.....!
Let us all now worship Ra	We will all do praise to Horus
And take care of our Ka	In an old Egyptian chorus
We'll all sit round and go "Ah-h-h	If there's something in it for us
Which is good enough for me!	Then it's good enough for me!
Here's an invitation for us	We will venerate Bubastis
All to go and worship Horus	Cause my cat walked up and ast us
Doff your clothes and join the cho	rus (Now the cat box is DISASTROUS!)
And that's good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
It was good for old Osiris	We will worship old Osiris
But what I want to inquire is:	As we sit and smoke papyrus
Can you Xerox (tm) a papyrus?	We will prob'ly catch a virus
And it's good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
I prayed to mighty Isis	Let us not forget ol' Isis
To relieve romantic crisis	She will help you thru your crisis
Now I've got satyriaisis	'N make your dreams glow brightest
Which is good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will go and worship Isis	We will bow down to Osiris
Tho she won't help lower prices	At the blooming of the Iris
We won't find someone as nice as	And he'll save us from the virus
She - that's good enough for me!	Which is good enough for me!
Oh you need no priests for Amon	There's the God who is a monkey
He looks kindly upon laymen	His behaviour's kinda funky
'Course he'd much rather lay women	And he makes a lousy bunkie
And he's good enough for me!	But he's good enough for me!
We will go and honor Isis	Let us worship Egyptian Min
She will help us thru our crisis	Christians call our orgies "sin"
'Cause she has no minor vices	But New Morality is 'in!'
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will go to worship Ammon	We will sing the praise of Ra
He will send to end a famine	And of Ammon who goes "B-a-a-a!"
Bagels, cream cheese and smoked sa	lmon And the Pharaoh's whole brou-ha-ha
Which is good enough for me!	Which is good enough for me!
It was good for Mother Hequet	We'll all be Egyptian mummies
Who bought babes with lots of rack	et With bandages 'round our tummies
It was good for Mother Hequet	And we'll stagger 'round like rummies
And it's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Thoth (or should we say Tehuti?)
Thinks that scholarship's our duty
Though he's more than somewhat snooty
That is good enough for me!
ELVIS
We will all worship Elvis,	We all worship good ol' Elvis,
He's the one with the Pelvis,	Though he was kind of selfish,
And some think he's still alive, which	hich, He could rock and grind his pelvis
Is good enough for me!	And he's good enough for me!
FICTIONAL GODS, DE
Here's to those who copy Conan	We will sing of Foul the Render,
Here's to those who copy Conan	Who's got Drool Rockworm on a bender
They're just Followers of Onan	In his cave in Kiril Threndor--
And that's good enough for me!	They're both too much for me!
There are followers of Conan.	Of Lord Shardik you

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: John in Brisbane Date: 23 May 00 - 01:21 AM FICTIONAL GODS, DEMONS Here's to those who copy Conan We will sing of Foul the Render, Here's to those who copy Conan Who's got Drool Rockworm on a bender They're just Followers of Onan In his cave in Kiril Threndor-- And that's good enough for me! They're both too much for me! There are followers of Conan. Of Lord Shardik you must beware; And you'll never hear 'em groanin' To please him you must swear; Followed Crom up to his throne(in) 'Cause enraged he's a real Bear, And it's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! St. Waldo is a were Ethyl is the female part Call on him if you dare Of Sativa's holy art He may come on as a bear Drink her if you've got the heart And he's good enough for me! For a holy man to be! Azahoth is in his Chaos We will sing of Iluvatur, Azahoth is in his Chaos Who sent the Valar 'cross the water Now if only he don't sway us To lead Morgoth to the slaughter That is good enough for me! And that's just fine with me! We will worship Holy Ford We will sing the Jug of Issek, Beta, Delta, Gamma, Lord And of Fafhrd his chief mystic, But the Alphas might get bored Though to thieving Mouser will stick, A Brave New World for you and me! And that's good enough for me! Let us note the might of Ils We'll invoke the blessed Camber With a thousand or more quills And the Unicorn of Amber By the light that from him spills And the wizard Deliamber He is good enough for me! They're good enough for me! The late return of the Prophet Zarquoh quon We will praise the gods of Hagar Caused his followers to hearken At a sort of Nordic seder As the Universe went dark on Buy the sacraments from Zabar All of you and me! And that's good enough for me! Oh the Trekkies worship Spock "Necronomicon?" I'll buy one! To the movies they will flock "Liber Eibon" I'll rely on Girls as baldy as a crock And "The Protocols of Zion" That's not good enough for me! They're all good enough for me! We'll pay homage to Godzilla We will worship Paul Atreides In the Oriental thrilla Tho he sort of lost his sight he He went and stomped the whole megillah llah Got a son that's rather mighty And he's good enough for me! And a Sandworm now is he! Donal Graeme is part Maran It was good for Bilbo Baggins And the Com'yn all use "laran" It was good for Bilbo Baggins Why the hell am I still Terran? Treasure sometimes comes with Dragons But it's good enough for me! But it's good enough for me! Michael Valentine is grokking Roger Elwood got religion Clothing usage he is stopping No more sex in Science Fiction Thou art God the phrase he's dropp ing Claims we've all got drug addiction And I'm good enough for me! He ain't good enough for me! There may be reincarnation The "Necronomicon's" still leadin' There may be reincarnation All the others its exceedin' Let us hope we keep our station Just don't move your lips while readin' and be born again as fen! 'Cause that isn't good for -you-! You may marching with your Cross go o There are Frogs out in the Abyss You may marching with your Cross go o Armed with athame and labrys I will worship Ghu and Roscoe They are green and rather scabrous 'Cause they're good enough for me! But they're good enough for me! I won't worship ol' Dormammu Let's not worship old Galactus To that fire-head I'll say "Damn you!, He's more nasty than a cactus I will worship whales named Shamu Eating worlds takes lots of practice Or the Chicken of the Sea! He's too scary for me! I won't worship ol' Bill Cosby We've all heard of Illuminati Tho he's funnier than Fozzie We've all heard of Illuminati He is smiling just because he Their security's kinda spotty Makes much money on TV! It's a conspiracy for me! Robert Wilson keeps on bookin' We will light up to Sativa For his titles I keep lookin' I've got toke-weed up my sleeve, a He always knows what's cookin' Trick I learned in the Yeshiva But don't take him seriously! And that's good enough for me! St. Blooper's rather clumsy St. Frieda's quite a mama If he hits you, you'll feel numsy She can pinch you thru your armor But he's got a sense of whimsy F*** her to increase your karma And I -like- the S.O.B.! She's more than enough for three! St. Hermann's got a bong St. Gerald's quite a fellow If you sniff you'll be high long Don't you dare to call him yelow It'll make your eyes ping-pong For he will make you bellow His dope's good enough for me! So he's good enough for me! Sativa is no peon He's the head of our pantheon Better him than snorting freon Cause that'll play hell with your nasal passages man Where'd you get this dope anyway? I mean Far-r-r-r-r farking out! Let us shout to the Goddess Lum Let us huumm for the Great Pumpkin Let us shout to the Goddess Lum Hum hm huumm hum hum huumm humhumn From another world she's come From the pumpkin patch he's comin' And shes good for An-a-me! And it's good enough for me! Let us question Deep Thought too Let us praise the Babel Fish Let us question Deep Thought too Let us praise the Babel Fish 'Cause the answer's Forty-Two! For it made God but a wish And it's good enough for me! But it's good enough for me! Let us look for the Invisible Man We will worship great Godzilla Let us look for the Invisible Man Or King Kong, that big gorilla And see him if we can If ya don't, then they will kill ya And he's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! It was good for Uncle Fester Say hosannas to "Bob" Dobbs Though he's really quite a jester With space aliens he hobnobs And a perfect light bulb tester He's the patron saint of slobs And that's good enough for me And that's good enough for me! We've decided you are naughty, If you're not of Landru's body, Though his robes get kind of shoddy They're good enough for me! THE FORCE It was good for old Darth Vader For we are the Knights of Jeddi It was good for old Darth Vader And in us the Force is reddi He'll be back a little later Grab your sabres, throw confetti And he's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! We will even worship Yoda Let us all use the Force Who is small as an iota Let us all use the Force But fulfills his Jedi quota And stay on the proper course Which is good enough for me! But it's good enough for me! If the Force makes you a hater We will worship like the Wookie Tall and black like ol' Darth Vader r 'Cause he gets a lot of nookie And not recalled by Ralph Nader Thinks the DeathStar's just a cookie Then you're good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! HINDU There are some that call it folly We will go to worship Kali When we worship Mother Kali. Though embracing her is folly She may not be very jolly She'd be quite an armful, golly! But she's good enough for me! And she's good enough for me! As the goddess Kali dances I will wait till four-armed Kali With her worshippers in trances Drags me thru that lonesome valley You can learn some Hindu stances She's disgusting act-u-all-y And that's good enough for me! But She's good enough for me! So you want's to be a Deva We will sacrifice to Shiva A real Bodhisavatta We will sacrifice to Shiva A -really- Old Believe-a If you are a True Believe-a And that's good enough for me! Then you're good enough for me! Just like Swami Sachenanda We will worship Jargonatha Just like Swami Sachenanda But altho we risk his wrath-a Hold your breath and throw a tantra a There won't none stand in his path-a And you're good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! We'll all study the Vedanta We will all practice Tantra We'll all study the Vedanta Groans and grunts will be our mantra It's no good for sharks and mantas There is nothing that you can't-ra But it's good enough for me! So it's sex enough for me! We will go and worship Brahma We will sacrifice to Kali Like a Saddhu or a Llama Tho her Thugs don't act too pally Clad in less than a pyjama When you meet them in an alley And that's good enough for me! She's still good enough for me! We will read the Kama Sutra If you want to worship Shiva The positions are quite "outre" Throw some flower in the river But as long as you're not "neutre" But if Shiva will deliver Then it's good enough for me! then that's good enough for me! You can sacrifice to Kali We will go and worship Shiva Even if you're no Bengali While we're bathing in the river Just by mugging in an alley It's so cold it makes me shiver And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! We will all go worship Rama Kali has her vengance brewin' Who created quite a drama Against all the evil-doin' When he rescued his sweet mama It was she shot J. R. Ewing! And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! If a damsel wears a sari Let us take time out to dally Krishna's arts can make her tarry With the Priestesses of Kali Some folks say that he's too hairy They need petting to get pally But he's good enough for me! But they're good enough for me! ISLAMIC We will all bow down to Allah All the warriors for Allah For he gave his loyal follow- Are sure to have a gala (cENSORED) Party time in old Valhalla And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! Let us listen to the Prophet We will all recite the Koran Let us listen to the Prophet We will all recite the Koran Gets more tail than Andy Offut Scots can stick it in their sporran And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! Oh the Muslims worship Allah We will guzzle RC Cola And obey the Ayatollah When we join the Ayatollah And they can't drink alcohol-a 'Cause he ain't no Holy Rollah That's not good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! JEWISH If you think that you'll be sav-ed Some guys have a circumcision If you think that you'll be sav-ed On account of their religion, If you follow Mogen David An embarrassing incision Then that's good enough for me! Cut just ENOUGH from me! Let us worship old Jehovah Let us celebrate Jehovah All you other gods move ovah Who created us "ab ova" Cause the one God's takin' over He'll be on tonight on "Nova" And it's good enough for me! 'Cause he's good enough for me! Oh the Jews prefer Jehovah You can worship God Adonai But their life is not all clover Be allowed few things to enjoy 'Cause they're hung with rules all over I'd much rather be just a goy But that's good enough for me! More comfortable for me! We will observe Tu b'Shevat We will all observe the Pesach Its a Jewish holiday that And try not to get Tay-Sachs Sounds Druidic - but don't say that For God the waters unlocked Or the J.A.P.s will come for me! When He set our people free! KABBALLA We will read from the Kabahlah We will read from the Cabala. We will read from the Kabahlah Quote the Tree of Life mandala It won't get us to Valhalla It won't get you in Valhalla, But it's good enough for me! Yet it's good enough for me! KRISHNA We will all sing Hare Krishna Hare Krishna gets a laugh on We will all sing Hare Krishna When he sees me dressed in saffron It's not mentioned in the Mishna With my hair that's only half on But it's good enough for me! But that's good enough for me! I was singing Hari Rama Hare Krishnas worship Rama With my friend the Dalai Lama With their tamborines and drum-as 'Til they dumped us in the slammer But their lifestyle is a bumm-a But that's good enough for me! That ain't good enough for me! MIDDLE EASTERN PAGAN We will hoist a mighty flagon To Our Lady of Ephesians To the honor of ol' Dagon Who has taps for all secretions And we won't go on the wagon We will dance like Polynesians Which is good enough for me! Which is good enough for me! I'll sing some songs to Lilith, We will have a mighty orgy Not so young, and not so girlish, in the honour of Astarte and She's always PMS-ish, it'll be a mighty party but She's good enough for me! and it's good enough for me! Lilith wears a lacy nightie We will sing to Lady Isis And She is a little flighty She'll stand by us in a crisis She will get you all excite-y And She hasn't raised Her prices She's wet-dream enough for me! And She's good enough for me! We will all bow down to Dagon We will all bow down to Enlil A conservative old pagan We will all bow down to Enlil He still votes for Ronald Reagan Pass your Cup and get a refill! And that's good enough for me! With bold Gilgamesh the Brave! Let us worship sweet Eninni Oh the ancient goddess Nerthus Let us worship sweet Eninni From herself the Earth did birth us In a skimpy string bikini And I wonder: are we worth us? And that's good enough for me! But she's good enough for me! With Inanna don't try flirtin' She got eager for Dimuzi To your freedom she'll say "Curtain Said she'd meet him up by Nuzi 'Cause she finds it most impertin- Now he's taking quite a snooze, he Ent tosay "She don't suit me!" Might revive next century! We will go to worship Lillith Well Dimuzi's on vacation Grab your cup, step up and fill it He'll be back when spring awakens Tho 'ware she don't make you spill it it! There will be such recreation And that's good enough for me! There will be enough for me! Oh the Phillistines abound We will all bow down to Moloch Oh the Phillistines abound We will all bow down to Moloch They had the biggest Baals around 'Cause his Pope is not a Polack And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! If you want to save your soul, ac- I'll let Moloch light my fire CENSORED Of his worship I won't tire You must sacrifice a Polack Cheapest baby-sitter's hire.... And that's good enough for me! And that's cheap enough for me! We will bow down to Astarte We will go and weep for Tammuz And we'll have a great big party And we'll laugh at Springtime's promise And your welcome will be hearty And a few then will be mommas And that's good enough for me! Which is good enough for me! We will bow down to the Goddess When we gather with Astarte As She wears Her Cretan bodice It will be a lovely party And the women cry "Come prod us!" And the lovin' will be hearty And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! We will all go worship Rimmon We will go and worship Baal All us Pagan men and women For he is the Lord of All And our goblets will be brimmin' In the fields and in the hall And that's good enough for me! He is good enough for me! Let's go for temple prostitution We will build Baal up an altar It's an ancient institution In our duty we'll not falter That provides a quick solution And we'll drink our barley malt-er For horniness in you and me! And that's drunk enough for me! Erishkigal was a vixen But when Nergal got her mixin' Socially, she soon was fixin' His connubiality! MITHRAISM We will sing a song of Mithras We will all be saved by Mithras Let us sing a song of Mithras We will all be saved by Mithras But there is no rhyme for Mithras! Slay the Bull and play the zithras Still he's good enough for me! On that Resurrection Day! MOONIES We will worship Sun Myung Moonie Oh the Moonies worship Moon Though we know he is a goonie (Not the Goddess but the goon) All our money he'll have soonly They'd eat his s*** without a spoon And that's good enough for me! And that's not good enough for me! Sun Moon's kids are kind of funny But they stick to him like honey He just wants their souls and money And it's good enough for him! MORMON (LDS) We will worship like the Mormons I will have a Mormon mammy And we'll be Masonic doormen Tho' her hands are kinda clammy Round the Temples we'll be swarmin' n' They believe in polygammy And that's good enough for me! And that's wives enough for me! Moroni's job is simple: We'll be reachin' thru the curtain Blowin' jazz from top the Temples With the women we'll be flirtin' Loud enough to pop your pimples! Secret handshakes, we are certain And that's good enough for me! Will be good for you and me! We will worship with the Mormons Cause they're not like Martin Bormann Into gods they'll be re-bornin' And that's good enough for me! NEW AGE Oh, our Spirits will awaken Well I'm tired of Ronald Reagan, Oh, our Spirits will awaken He's too square to be a pagan, Watch the Universe a-quakin' Let's all vote for Carl Sagan! Which is Gurdijeff to me! He's good enough for me! Timmy Leary we will sing to I'll arise at early mornin' And the things that he was into When the Sun gives me the warnin' (Well, at least it wasn't Shinto) That the Solar Age is dawnin' And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! In the sky I hear a hummin' Just like Carlos Castenada It's the UFO's a-comin' Just like Carlos Castenada That's not banjos that they're str ummin It'll get you sooner or later But it's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! NEW AGE CHORUS: Gimmie that New Aeon Religion Gimmie that New Aeon Religion Gimmie that New Aeon Religion Where everyone's a star NEW WORLD PAGAN Let us pray to the Great Spirit Let us pray to the Great Spirit Let us pray to the Great Spirit Let us pray to the Great Spirit Like the Eagle he will hear us Like the Thunderbird He'll hear us And it's good enough for me! And It's good enough for me! Let us join the Earth Spirits Let us journey like the Shaman Let us join the Earth Spirits Let us journey like the Shaman With the Earth they will heal us To the next de-men-shan And its good enough for me! And it's good enough for me! Thanks to great Quetzacoatl Some folks pray to the Great Spirit And his sacred axolotl Most folks just cannot get near it And his gift of chocolatl So they hate it and they fear it And please pass some down to me! But it's good enough for me! Praise to Popacatapetl Some folks worship the Kachinas Just a tiny cigarette'll Some folks worship the Kachinas Put him in terrific fettle They look like "deus ex machinas" So he's good enough for me! But they're good enough for me! Now watch out for the Maya's, Montezuma liked to start out They might really try to fry ya, Rites by carrying a part out Sacrifice people, not papaya's, That would really tear your heart out, Just as long as its not me! But it's good enough for me! Quetzacoatl's flyin' And when old Quetzacoatl With the Toltec and the Mayan Found a virgin he could throttle And the mushrooms he's been buyin' And put her heart into a bottle Are good enough for me! It was good enough for me. We will worship Xochipilli We will worship Xipe-Totec Though it might be a bit silly Tho it is a little low-tech Running naked makes me chilly It is not a bit ero-tek (erotic) But it's good enough for me! But it's good enough for me! Oh, there's none like Huizlipochtli The Kachinas of the Hopi For destroyin' people tot'ly Dance about and some act dopey Best to worship -him- remotely! They don't leave you feelin' mopey But he's good enough for me! So they're good enough for me! I have gotten in the way-o When the blood it was a-surgin' Walkin' with the Monster Slayer Aztec priests wore skins of virgins He is worthy of a prayer Cause they had transvestite urgins And he's good enough for me! That ain't good enough for me! Be the Great Spirit devotees We will worship like the Incas On the mesa smoke peyote Who were great heroic drinkas 'Til we think we're all Coyote Tho the Spanish called them stinkas And that's good enough for me! Still it's good enough for me! Come and worship Huehueteotl Let us sacrifice to Chac Mol Sit around and chew peyotl For rain just burn some copal What a way to get totalled! Hey! There's a flood out in the hall! And it's good enough for me! And it's wet enough for me! We will go to worship Inti We will dance unto the Sun Soon around us we will all see Pull weights stuck thru our buns Cocaine being snorted freely Yank 'em out at a dead run And that's stoned enough for me! And that's pain enough for me! We will worship with the Sioux We will all be Contrary Use the bushes for a loo Walk backwards, and we'll marry And scalp Gen'ral Custer too! A Sioux "winkte" (that's a fairy!) And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! NORTHERN EUROPEAN (GENERAL) We will praise the god Toutatis I was there when Lemminkainen When the Pagan frenzy's got us Crazed the winin' and the dinin' Till we strain our epiglottis And left poor old Louhi whinin' And that's good enough for me! Which was quite a sight to see! We will go and worship Veles There's the Russian god Yarilo All us Pagan gals and fellows As a love-god he's a thrill-o And we'll Czech out what he'll sel l us When he comes there is no chill-o And that's good enough for me! And he sounds a lot like me! We will bow down to Perkunas I remember Vainomoinen And we'll chant old Baltic 'runos' Chasing Winter on that mornin' Save the dolphins and the tunas As the Spring came finally dawnin' And that's good enough for me! And that was good enough for me! Then there's ol' Koschai the Deathless He will leave you a bit breathless Face him with steadfastness And it's good enough for me! OTHER LANGUAGES Nous nous appellons Druides, C'est peut-etre un peu stupide, Et vienon d'Atlantide. Mais c'est bon assez pour moi RASTAFARIANISM Jah will come to set us free here I be talkin' to da Great Jah Jah will come to set us free here With me dreadlocks and me ganja We won't see Him but He'll be here I be a Rastaman, ya! And that's good enough for us! And it's good enough for me! Let us mourn Haile Selassie As a Rasta Saint, he's passe But as Emperor, he's classy And that's good enough for me! SATANISM Oh the Satanists worship Satan There are those who worship Satan And behave so aggravatin' And are just anticipatin' I think they need castratin' Armageddon's conflagratin' And that's good enough for me! That ain't good enough for me! Asmodeus will excite us There are folks who get their hats in To an orgy he'll invite us They go out and pray to Satan He may have his High Priest bite us s On TV this gets a ratin' But that's good enough for me! And Geraldo says "Oh, GEE!" I would go and worship Satan I will kill an old black rooster If I could memorize verbatim Show that I'm a Satan booster Cause with him there ain't no fakin in' He's not drawing like he uster And that kinda frightens me! But he's good enough for me! We will all go to the Black Mass We will follow Satanism And kiss the goat on his ass And use a disgusting chrysm Tho you think it hasn't much class Made of blood and old stale jism Still it's good enough for me! And that's pretty gross for me! It was good enough for Satan Then there's Michael Aquino Whom the Christians are all hatin' Thinks that Set is really keen-o But the Beast they are awaitin' (Satan moved to Argentine-o And that's good enough for me After World War Two, you see....) JUST PLAIN GRATUITOUS SEX I got a new diversion Gimme that real old-time religion It's a new kind of perversion! Where sex ain't doled out in smidgens I gotta ask: Are you a virgin? And we don't sacrifice no pigeons 'Cause that's good enough for me! It's good enough for me You are very, very pretty Let's forget those moral urges As you sing this little ditty Get your spurs and chains and scourges I like little ditties.... And accentuate your urges And I like big ditties too...!!! So come and play with us! At the Festival of Milcom Ancient British music is such Let the women on the Pill come Put the BBC well in dutch And then everybody will come! Just because that it was too much And that's good enough for me! Saxon violins for TV! SCIENTOLOGY L. Ron Hubbard liked precision In matters Dianetic And he founded a religion You need not get frenetic That has caught a lot of pigeons Make your Engrams copacetic And it's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! SHINTO There are some who practice Shinto I don't really go for Shinto There are some who practice Shinto It's just something I'm not into There's no telling what WE'RE into ! Tho I guess I could begin to but that's good enough for me! 'Cause it's good enough for me! In Japan they thought it neato Well the Japanese use Shinto When they worshipped Hirohito There's no telling what they're into But that didn't sit with SEATO It helps them outsell the Pinto So it never more will be! And that's good enough for me! Ameratsu brought the light in We will venerate the Kami And love's bonds began to tighten Tho they don't wear no pyjommies The whole world began to brighten And they ain't got any Mommies And that's good enough for me! But they're good enough for me! THELEMA Uncle Crowley was a dreamer When the clouds they are a-rumbling At the Abbey of Thelemer And the thunder is a-grumbling But his magic is a screamer, Then it's Crowley that you're mumbling So it's good enough for me! And it's good enough for me! There are those who follow Crowley Let us call an Elemental Tho the stuff that he held holy For a temporary rental Turn your your brain to guacamole Just as long as it is gentle But he's good enough for me! It is good enough for me! It was good enough for Crowley The Thelemites worship Crowley With his sacraments unholy While he's roasting very slowly Who smoked pot and ate some moly 'Cause they think he's so damn holy And it's good enough for me! He don't do a thing for me! It's no good for Jerry Falwell Magick's language is so queer And he don't think we're at all well Causes Crowley to appear But the Great Rite's when we ball well And to stick it in your ... ear! And that's good enough for me! That's not good enough for me! Let us not forget St. Crowley There are those who worship Crowley For he's humble, meek and holy 'Cause they say he rhymes with "holy" Kind and jolly, roly-poly, What I say is "Holy Moley!" And that's good enough for me! "Perfect love, and ninety-three!" When the wind is turnin' howly Ninety-three and forty-leven And the thunder's gettin' growly Sixty-nine and eighty-seven Then you know you're workin' Crowley Crowley won't get you to Heaven And he's good enough for me! Ain't no good for you and me! VOODOO There are people into voodoo There are people into Voodoo Africa has raised a hoodoo With a mojo and a hoodoo Just one little doll will do you I know I do, I hope you do! And it's good enough for me! And it's good enough for me! If you're really into dancing We will all go worship Shango And you wanna try some trancing Who will make the thunder bang-o Then the Voodoo gods are prancing End the drought down in Durango And that's good enough for me! Which is good enough for me!

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: John in Brisbane Date: 23 May 00 - 01:27 AM And finally? WICCA AND GENERAL NEO-PAGAN Well, she raised an awful flurry When old Gerald got it goin' When she made the scholars worry When old Gerald got it goin' Thank the Gods for Margaret Murray All that hidin' turned to showin' She is good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! It was good enough for Granny It's not good enough for Reagan She could throw a double-whammy It's not good enough for Reagan That would knock you on your fanny He's too square to be a Pagan! And she's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! With the aid of my athame Meeting at the Witching Hour I can throw a "double-whammy" By the Bud, and Branch and Flower (And can slice and dice salami!) Folks are raising up the Power So it's good enough for me! And that's where I want to be! There will be a lot of lovin' We will worship with the witches When we're meetin in our Coven 'Cause we're rowdy sons-of-bitches Quit yer pushin and yer shovin' And they scratch us where it itches So there's room enough for me! And that's good enough for me! Well the Christians all are humming We will gather at our saunas Cause they say their God is coming When the spirit comes upon us Our God came three times this evening To perform the Rites of Faunus And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! Some folks worship all of Nature Perfect love and perfect trust Tho they love to taunt and bait-cher We shall rise up from the dust They're just funnin', they don't hate-cher And become the upper crust And they're good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! We are Children of the Goddess After converts we're not chasing And the Horned One begot us And their money we're not fleecing And with love the Craft they taught us Still our numbers are increasing And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! We are children of the Wicca In the face of Inquisition And although we may bicker We maintained an Opposition Our loving is much quicker And preserved the Old Tradition And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! When the blizzard is a-whirling We survived the conflagration And the Yule log is a-burning And emerged with jubilation And the Sun God is returning In a new reincarnation It is good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! When the ice is a-breaking Now the candles are a-gleaming And the buds are a-taking And the Cauldron is a-steaming And the Lady is a-waking And the full Moon is a-beaming It's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! When the day meets the night Let's go skyclad all together In equal dark and equal light Dance the Circle round the heather God and Goddess shall unite Never mind the freezing weather And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! On the evening of the May Come and join the celebration Round the fires buring gay Pour the Goddess a libation Witches dance the night away You don't need initiation And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! When Midsummer fires burn When the red-necks say we're sinning Ere the Sun begins to turn I don't care, 'cause we are winning Comes the flowering of the fern And this is only the beginning And that's good enough for me And that's good enough for me! When the Sun is a-going When the souls of the departed And the crops have finished growing Come to join us, cheerful-hearted and we reap the fruits of sowing We know in death we are not parted It's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! When the night meets the day Our High Priestess is a doll When leaves turn brown and skies turn grey But she's fond of alcohol And the Sun is going away Carlo Rossi she'll extoll That is good enough for me! But she's good enough for me! Our Coven is a bunch Our High Priest thinks he's Conan But I have a sneaking hunch But he cannot keep a bone-on That their brains are out-to-lunch He resorts to the Rite of Onan But they're good enough for me! But he's good enough for me! Our Maiden is a virgin Our Maiden is a virgin But her big toes keep divergin' But her buttocks keep divergin' And she don't need any urgin' In Greek Rites she don't need urgin' And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! Our Summoner thinks he's lusty Our Witch-Queen has a tushie But his balls are gettin' dusty Which is big and wide and plushy And his nail is gettin' rusty Altars under her go sqooshy But he's good enough for me! What e're the carpentry! Our Coven has a charter Our First-Degree has curves They recieved from some old farter That give all men the swerves And they gave him one in barter It gets on the ladies' nerves But it's good enough for me! But she's good enough for me! Our Healer shaves her thing Our Neophyte's a fool Once a month we see the string But he's got a ten-inch tool Back and forth it tends to swing He'll have Third Degree by Yule But she's good enough for me! If all the girls agree! Our Familiar is black Those Evangelists all say With a white stripe down his back They possess the one true way When his tail goes up, make tracks I'll take Wicca any day 'Cause it ain't perfumery! And that's good enough for me! When the full Moon's in the sky Up the chimney, down the street And the witching hour is nigh Flying at ten thousand feet Flying ointment we'll apply Hey, Pan Am, we gotcha beat! And that's very good for me! And it's good enough for me! Our Bard is macrophonic Our chalice holds six quart And he thinks he's so harmonic And our wine -- it sure ain't port! But he's more like cacophonic It's distilled in a retort And he plays a mile off-key! But it'sh good enough f'me! Our Book-Of-Shads is old Our rituals are diverse Every page inch-deep in mold Every week a different curse Cause the store where they are sold Goddess! What if they reverse? Got flooded by the sea! It won't be good enough for me! Bakersfield has Minstrel Puck We were told in Pagan class Who with verses shows much pluck That leaping cauldrons is a gas Though I think he'd rather ...play But I got a roasted...pentacle But he's good enough for me! And I can't sit down for tea! Outdoor skyclad is for wierdos Gavin Ice took out his phallus Who forget about mosquitoes And he stuck it in the Chalice And they zap you like torpedos Please don't pee, Gav, out of malice That ain't good enough for me! That ain't good enough for me! I inherited from Mommy When a witch says "wackawacka" I inherited from Mommy You must kiss her "smackasmacka" My big, black, switch-blade athame And recieve one "backabacka" And it's ba-a-a-d enough for me! And that's good enough for me! We will worship in the Northwest The God of Man entices Where the water is our fortress Paganism our life spices Where the Lord and Lady know best So just 'ankh' if you love Isis And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! It was good enough for Grannie As the waning year is ending It was good enough for Grannie Young and old souls now are blending It was good enough for Grannie Voices round the Circle sending And she taught it all to me! Samhain joy across the worlds! Through the endless night we shiver Pagans gather in the clearing Flames around the Yule log quiver For the end of Winter's nearing As we sing to praise the Giver And the Maiden is appearing Of the Sun on Solistice morn! Bringing promises of Spring! Light and darkness stand together Hand in hand we leap the fire Leafing birch and flow'ring heather To the meadows we retire Brethren clad in fur and feather To fulfill Beltane desire Tell us Spring has come again And give seed unto the land! While the Solistice Day is fleeting Joy and fruitfulness abound Bull and Stag again are meeting On Lammas Eve, the fertile ground For the honor of repeating Reveals the gift of Love that's found Vows that bind them to the Queen! When the Horned One dies once more! For the Wintertide preparing Always be polite to witches Harvest baskets we are bearing Always be polite to witches Goddess bounty we are sharing If you cross them they are bitches When the night and day are one! And they throw some nasty spells! It was Gerald wrote the ditty When I first became a pagan And Al Crowley made it pretty It was daring and outragin' Ain't traditional one bitty Now my Circle's started agin' But it's good enough for me! But they're good enough for me! We will follow Gerald Gardner We go skyclad for the Goddess In our faith he is our partner So we wear no shirt or bodice All that scourgin' makes it harder And it isn't very modest But it's good enough for me! But it's good enough for me! Let's all hug our Earthy Mother We will gather come the Lammas There is nothin' that I'd druther It is writ in Nostradamus She's better then any other We will take off our pyjamas And She's good enough for me! We'll make merry, She'll be pleased! I've got a modern-type athame Some are self-initiated And it packs a six-part whammy Tending to be addle-pated That'll knock you on your fanny If their rituals are X-rated Samuel Colt made it for me! That ain't Wicca, don't you see! It was good enough for Brigid It was good for Gerald Gardner Oh, she surely isn't frigid Scourging is a penis hardener She sure keeps Jack's pecker rigid Then you do it to your partner And that's good enough for me And that's good enough for me It's those good old connotations I'm full mooning evil spirits Which make grow the Pagan nations Throwing wild derriere fits Leading us to conjugations And on me they can't lay their mitts And that's good enough for me! 'Cause my charm's protecting me! To the Goddess lift our glasses MAPPCAF I and II were heaven And let's all get off our asses And the spirits worked like leaven Teach those Pagans, hold them clas ses I can't wait 'til MAPPCAF VII And that's good enough for me! More than good enough for me! We will pray for Ruthie Carter We will worship Frey and Freya That she may become much smarter Yao and Vesta, Lugh and Gaia And put on a Witches' Garter Any more? Perun! and Maia! And that's good enough for me! That's still not enough for me! It was good enough for Tim Zell We will jump the old bonfire It was good enough for Tim Zell Tho the flames are roaring higher With that beard he'll never freeze well If you miss you join the pyre And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! It was good enough for Margot Burn Damiana for a lover It was good enough for Margot And burn Rowan to the Mother And her book I could not forego Cense will show many another And it's good enough for me! Clear the smoke! I cannot see! All the apple trees wassail It was good for Beltane fires As we heft the flowing pail Put out by lying friars A good cider mixed with ale It was good for Beltane fires And that's good enough for me! And it's good for you and me! We're all children of the Goddess If you think that you're a Bard We're all children of the Goddess Go and practice in the yard She always fed and shod us Annoy the neighbors till you're tarred She is good to you and me! And feathered, but don't mention me! Give thanks to the Earth our Mother Hail to Regan and to Sagan Give thanks to the Earth our Mother Hail to Regan and to Sagan She'll care for us like no other I'm a San Diegan Pagan! And she's good enough for me! And it's good enough for me! If the HP wants some lovin' This old Cosmos needs the Grace in As an entrance to his Coven God and Goddess for creation Shout it to the Gods above Take them both in combination That that's not Wicca, don't ya see And you have the true T'ai Ch'i! Oh they say its knife and chalice But we know its quim and phallus In the woods or in the Palace And that's good enough for me" ZARATHUSTRIAN We will pray to Zarathustra It could be that you're a Parsi And we'll pray just like we usta It could be that you're a Parsi I'm a Zarathustra boosta! Don't need a ticket; you get in free And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! I pray to Ahura-Mazda I can't rhyme Ahura Mazda, He's one god who sure won't pause ta I'll praise the man who tries ta Pound some heads when given cause ta Then I'll wait for Barak Raz ta Which is good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! UNCLASSIFIABLE VERSES AND UNKNOWN GODS Let us watch Ka-ka-pa-ull Where's the gong gone? I can't find it Frolic in her swimming pool I think Northwoods is behind it! Subjecting chaos to her rule For they've always been cymbal-minded And that's all right with me! And they're good enough for me! They revered ancient ENIAC Some folks pray to the Orishas And sacrificed to UNIVAC Tho their humor can be vishas Now we sing our chants on VAX pack When they grant your stupid wishas And that's good enough for me! But they're good enough for me! When you worship Rusto There are those who worship science Treat your friends with lust-o And some would send 'em to the lions Pursue your faith with gusto! Without 'em we'd have no appliance And that's good enough for me! So they're good enough for me We will all bow down to Gozer John, Paul, George and Ringo Priestess did it with that Joser We will worship playing Bingo Cross the streams, and there she goes Sir We will listen to them sing-o And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! Drink to FUFLUNS he's just fine I have got a strange religion The Etruscan god of wine I will worship Walter Pidgeon This verse doesn't really rhyme Is he sacred? Just a smidgen! But it's good enough for me! But it's good enough for me! We'll do a film on Caligula Let's have one verse that's Carl Sagan's The perverted Roman rula He's seen Earthmen, Martians, Vegans It will make a lot of moolah But he's yet to meet us Pagans And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me We will sing to Ronnie Ghu un- We will have no mullets voided -til they ask us what we're doin' Within annulets conjoin-ed Cause it's good enough for you an' If it's good enough for Ioseph Babe, it's good enough for me! Then it's good enough for me! I like old Hewlett-Packard, Sing a chorus of "Hosannah!" Whose old software can be hackered Sing a chorus of "Hosannah!" And their printers' been all lacquered Hit the Top Ten in Nirvana And they're good enough for me! And it's good enough for me! Sigmund Freud, now he's another We thought Lashtal Lodge was snooty Kill your father, screw your mother So we founded Camp Tehuti Feeling guilty's such a bother We will make off with the booty No, the shrinks are not for me! And that's good enough for me! If I come a fatal cropper It was good for Jimmy Carter Then a rebirth would be proper He just wanted to be a martyr I'll meet up with Cosmo Topper He coulda been if he'd been smarter And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! Doctor Bob and ol' Bill W. We will go down to the temple Clean from alcohol will scrub you Sit on mats woven of hemp-le 'Cause your Higher Power loves you Try to set a good "exemple" And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! We will praise the goddess Gorgo There's a goddess known as K'rta For a skill we would not forego She, from whom all life doth s'prta Makes the bull and ram and boar go And She won't let us get h'rta (M: And it also works on me!) And She's good enough for me! (F: And it brings my men to me!) We shall drink throughout the day When Alphito gave us beer And to junk food not say nay We all raised a ringing cheer Thru the night to Ralph we'll pray We will surely hold it dear In the toilet bowl, you see! As we drink up, merrily! We'll all follow Tanna Hanna We give thanks to Gregor Mendel Celebrate Solistice in her manna Pea plant's alleles he did bend-el Let her be our menu planna Now we breed men just like Grendel That's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! We all like to go skinny dippin' It was good for Boojum-Under-the-Rock After which, we're often drippin' He keeps money in his sock And some of us are trippin' Has big ears and a great big nose And hey there! Wait for me! And that's good enough for me Well, gather me in a basket Let us all go squeeze the Charmin And then find me a lead-lined casket Send Mister Whipple back to farmin' Three Mile Island blew a gasket He will find our pranks alarmin' And that's all that's left of me! And it's good enough for me! Down in Jonestown they were boozin There's a woman I've heard tell on And there might have been more enthusin' Thinks a gay is just a felon! Had us Pagans been there loosin' Throw her into Mt. St. Helen! But that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! It was good for Mother Shipton We will all go be nice SCAdians It was good for Mother Shipton And get nice and truly laid - ian And her herb teas sure beat Lipton Not a lot of them are maid-i-ens And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me! With the old traditions cracking The wacky ol' inventor Modern Amazons are packing With his brain a bit off-centre What they used to be a-lacking Whomped up A-bombs for adventure And they sure look good to me! And that's good enough for me When Erzulie takes the floor-o Kuan Yin, she of Potalaka, Her seductiveness scores Four-Oh Of sharp words is not a lacker If she'll fool around some more-o Best that you not be a slacker Then that's better still for me! To be good enough for Her! THE OBLIGATORY LAST VERSE If you think these verses floor us It's the opera written for us! Then go write another chorus We will all join in the chorus! Just as long as you don't bore us It's the opera about Boris, Then it's good enough for me! Which is Godunov for me! THE FINAL WORD We will bow down to John Boardman Joe Bethancourt's a swordsman Tho he's not a master swordsman And he also is a Hordesman Verses of this song he hoards, man And he'll sing 'til he gets bored, man And he's good enough for me! And he's good enough for me! Give a rest to old religion, If you want a new edition If only just a smidgen. Let its writing be -your- mission! It's really not my pidgin, As for me, I'm goin' fishin'! Though it's good enough for you! Or I'll go and watch TV!

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,Mrr Date: 23 May 00 - 10:27 AM Thank you, thank you, these are SUPERB! Must copy, transcribe, and post in my office at home forthwith! I am also reminded of a bumber sticker: Cthulhu For President! Why vote for the lesser of two evils?

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: John in Brisbane Date: 23 May 00 - 08:20 PM I hereby claim the prize for the greatest number of verses submitted for a single song in the DT. Mrr, glad you enjoyed them. Regards, John

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: Mrrzy Date: 24 May 00 - 01:31 PM Joe or any other officials, any counter-offer on the greatest number of verses? I go with John in Brisbane too! And I'll get the whole thing cleaned up and resubmitted in Digitrad format. At some point. In my copious free time...(says a single parent of preschool twins whose firm is undergoing yet another merger)

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: Penny S. Date: 24 May 00 - 01:44 PM It was good enough for George Fox, for me. Penny

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: Penny S. Date: 24 May 00 - 01:46 PM Perhaps this works better. It was good enough for George Fox, ---------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -------------------------for me. Penny

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: John in Brisbane Date: 24 May 00 - 11:51 PM Mrrzy, I had to do a lot of work to get it into HTML table format. If you want to save yourelf a lot of duplication I'll send you the original .csv or similar file. Regards, John

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,Mrr Date: 25 May 00 - 11:03 AM Sure, John, I've only gotten it into text so far...My email is on the bbc site if you want to do it that way.

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST Date: 25 May 00 - 01:30 PM Hi, all! I just read a couple of these threads on a whim, hoping for, well, I don't know what. I never expected such a fascinating and intellectual discussion- thanks you all for your intelligence and tolerance! I go to school in Virginia, and the campus is overwhelmingly Christian. I'm agnostic; the attitudes of most of the people I know towards that can get very wearing. A lot of people I know (including a roommate...grr!) don't seem to be able to accept that I'm actually happy with such a belief system, and really don't secretly yearn to be converted. It's wonderful to have found a group of folks who don't consider agnosticism/atheism to make one a sort of misguided moral misfit! As to the original question of this thread, I'd like to suggest a very old Celtic song, written by a poet named, I believe (though I can't vouch for the spelling), Amergin Glungel. The version I have is called "Wind on Sea", and it's recorded by Anuna on their CD "Invocation". The lyrics are in English, translated from the original poem and then set to music. It's not really a song celebrating atheism, but it does celebrate the self in an almost religious way. The chorus reads: "Who but I can cast light upon the meeting of the mountains? Who but I will cry aloud the changes of the moon? Who but I can find the place where hides away the Sun?" And one last comment, concerning the Carmina Burana. A little bit of history- these songs were written, for the most part, by men known as Goliards or clerici vagantes (wandering clerics). During, I believe, the 9th through 13th centuries, these men generally drifted around Europe seeking learning and writing poetry. And yes, some of it is pretty racy. The Goliard songs were generally written about women, drinking, the corruption of the church, and the joys of the wandering lifestyle. One of my favorites is the Archpoet's "Goliardic Confession". "Made of the light stuff of the elements, I am like a leaf, with which the winds play." Beautiful Latin; the beginning celebrates the many pleasures of not being tied down to anything- both local and moral. Sorry this is so long and rambling! If my info's wrong, let me know- I'm a Latin fan, but I'm a little too lazy (and busy!) to give it the time I should. Valete! Prezmyra

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,Mrr Date: 25 May 00 - 01:38 PM Hi, Guest, glad you like this thread, can you post anything else on Wind on Sea? Sounds beautiful, just what I wanted...

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: John in Brisbane Date: 25 May 00 - 07:36 PM There have been quite a few mentions of 'Carmina Burana' and although I've had the pleasure of singing Carmina Burana (or at least the O Fortuna component in Latin), I just realised that some readers here may not be totally familiar with it. Orff's copyright is very vigilantly protected by his estate/attorneys to the extent that even the method of presentation must be sanctioned, eg if he wrote the piece for French Horn and two pianos, then permission for performance may not be granted for some other form of accompaniment. For this reason the MIDIs for his works are not present on many of the larger Classical MIDI sites. I'll find a site with Carmina/O Fortuna and post the URL. It's a fantastic hummable tune a la Chariots of Fire or Conquest of Paradise and one that's probably been flogged to death in corporate TV ads around your part of the world. Maybe someone could help me find a good English translation on the Web. I know that there's at least one out there, but I won't have a chance to go looking for a while. Regards, John

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,Prezmyra Date: 26 May 00 - 12:08 AM Here're the complete lyrics to "Wind on Sea" (the Anuna translation): "I am the wind that breathes on the sea I am the wave, wave on the ocean I am the ray, the eye of the Sun I am the tomb, cold in the darkness I am a star, the tear of the Sun, I am a wonder, a wonder in flower. I am the spear as it cries out for blood the word of great power. I am the depths of a great pool I am the song of the blackbird. Who but I can cast light upon the meeting of the mountains? Who but I will cry aloud the changes of the moon? Who but I can find the place where hides away the Sun? Ailiu iath nErenn. From the breeze on the mountain to the lake of deep blue; from the waterfall down to the sea Never changing or ending on the voice of the wind Sing the dark song of Erenn to me." Again, that's from the Anuna CD "Invocation"- lovely recording; there's a beautiful version of Siuil a Ruin on it, too. Valete, Prezmyra

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,MMB Date: 10 Apr 11 - 10:18 AM CBS Sunday Morning just ran a feature on the "war horses" that preceded the introduction of tanks into warfare, and the carnage, both human and equine, that followed. The piece focused on a stage production originally mounted in London that is now moving to the US, where the horses are presented by larger-than-life puppets. I wouldn't have paid it much attention if "Only Remembered" hadn't played in the background throughout much of the piece, which is what led me to Mudcat to refresh my memory of the lyrics, which was enriched by seeing the variety of versions I'd never heard before. Thanks to all who contributed!

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,Charles Biada Date: 10 Apr 11 - 12:17 PM 110 Mount Vernon in the Sacred Harp is rather areligious for a hymn: What solemn sound the ear invades, What wraps the land in sorrow's shade? From heav'n the awful mandate flies, The father of his country dies. Where shall our nation turn its eye, What help remains beneath the sky? Our friend, protector, strength and trust, Lies low and mould'ring in the dust. So is 67 Columbus, if you ignore the last verse. And of course there is always Leon Rosselson's magnificent "Stand Up For Judas."

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: Desert Dancer Date: 10 Apr 11 - 12:21 PM Another Atheist Hymns thread, which pretty much chronologically brackets this one. ~ Becky in Long Beach

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: Stringsinger Date: 10 Apr 11 - 01:01 PM My last post didn't make it. Condensed it said hymns can be beautiful, my faves are African-American but they are irrelevant to any marriage ceremony depending on the wishes of the couple. Plenty of secular songs about love, social beneficence and humanity. I essentially agree with Joe's cogent observation about atheists. The word "anti-theist" might suggest an antipathy to those who are religious but most of the secular folks I know don't go there. Again, Separation of Church and State from the warnings of Madison and Jefferson are implied in the Constitution regardless of what Christine O'Donnel says. Adams pointed it out very well in the treaty to the Mohammedan Nation, to whit, "We are not a Christian nation". He is still right.

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: FreddyHeadey Date: 14 Aug 18 - 12:26 PM ^^^^^^^ ""Lost in a Song", 1966, " =1996

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,Observer Date: 14 Aug 18 - 02:11 PM The Rev. Horatius Bonar's Only Remembered would fit the "Godless Hymn" part of the equation. His original words are as follows: Only Remembered (Horatius Bonar 1870) Fading away like the stars of the morning, Losing their light in the glorious sun— Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling, Only remembered by what we have done. Refrain Only remembered, only remembered, Only remembered by what we have done; Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling, Only remembered by what we have done. Shall we be missed though by others succeeded, Reaping the fields we in springtime have sown? No, for the sowers may pass from their labors, Only remembered by what they have done. Refrain Only the truth that in life we have spoken, Only the seed that on earth we have sown; These shall pass onward when we are forgotten, Fruits of the harvest and what we have done. Refrain No mention of God, or of religion.

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,Observer Date: 14 Aug 18 - 02:11 PM The Rev. Horatius Bonar's Only Remembered would fit the "Godless Hymn" part of the equation. His original words are as follows: Only Remembered (Horatius Bonar 1870) Fading away like the stars of the morning, Losing their light in the glorious sun— Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling, Only remembered by what we have done. Refrain Only remembered, only remembered, Only remembered by what we have done; Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling, Only remembered by what we have done. Shall we be missed though by others succeeded, Reaping the fields we in springtime have sown? No, for the sowers may pass from their labors, Only remembered by what they have done. Refrain Only the truth that in life we have spoken, Only the seed that on earth we have sown; These shall pass onward when we are forgotten, Fruits of the harvest and what we have done. Refrain No mention of God, or of religion.

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,Martin Ryan Date: 14 Aug 18 - 02:13 PM A propos of very little ... This weekend saw the annual Cruinniú na mBád festival of traditional workboats here in my adopted home of Kinvara in the West of Ireland. On Sunday morning, as ever, there was an open air sung Mass followed by Blessing of the Boats. That Mass is in the Irish language, includes both solo and choral singing - and is broadcast on either national Irish language radio or, as this year, a local FM station. An avowed agnostic of (very) long standing, I am nonetheless very happy to join that choir and sing my heart out... Regards

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,John C. Bunnell Date: 15 Aug 18 - 12:21 AM I think I can make a recommendation here that actually meets the terms of the original request, way, way upstream, both for an artist and a specific song or two. The artist is Cat Faber, who's known in the SF/fantasy "filk" community as a first-rate musician and song-crafter, both on her own and previously as part of the duo Echo's Children. One long-running thread in her work is the importance of human action as opposed to dependence on the divine, and there is among her newer works in fact an Atheist's Anthem. A look through her other work, as archived on the linked Web site, may also prove fruitful. I would also suggest looking up the Echo's Children album A Dancing World; there are several songs on that album that may be of interest.

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: BobL Date: 15 Aug 18 - 02:49 AM Am I alone in thinking "only remembered by what we have done" to be utterly pointless? How else would we be remembered? I include such things as being a good friend/relative/spouse (or a bad one, come to that) under the heading of "what we have done" BTW

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: Joe_F Date: 15 Aug 18 - 09:49 PM The Preacher and the Slave

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: Phil Cooper Date: 15 Aug 18 - 10:36 PM Two of Dave Carter's songs would work as other types of hymns. Gentle Soldier of My Soul is a hymn for people of all beliefs. The imagery follows the 23rd Psalm with Native American imagery. Mother I Climbed he said is going beyond belief into acceptance. You can find both songs on youtube.

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,Observer Date: 16 Aug 18 - 06:05 AM Am I alone in thinking "only remembered by what we have done" to be utterly pointless? Asks BobL. Read the lyrics Bob - all about the inevitability of death, the choices an individual faces in life, the consequences of those choice and the importance of making the right choices. Far from pointless I would say. Plus the fact that it has given John Tams a good song to trot out now and again, that he doesn't have to work on too hard to remove any mention of religion or God.

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST,Grishka Date: 16 Aug 18 - 03:01 PM Horatius Bonar was a "rationalist" theologian, not an atheist at all. In 1870, many British citizens seemed to be remembered forever by their names and titles, such as 7th Earl of Something; Bonar's point is that this does not really count. As for naive ideas about afterlife, sitting on a cloud and watching the earth like a TV show, surrounded by 72 virgins - you may be surprised how many theologians of many religions failed to subscribe to that, without calling themselves atheists.

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

---

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music? From: GUEST Date: 17 Aug 18 - 01:02 AM Church style, no. However, for a more modern song dealing with religious hypocrisy, Pat Macdonald's "Prey" comes to mind; also, he is at least the partial writer of "Standard White Jesus." Perhaps more anti-theism than non-theism. Perhaps every song that doesn't mention one god or another, is godless. 'Atheism Church Music' might be a contradiction.

---

Post - Top - Home - Printer Friendly - Translate

---

Share Thread:

---

Reply to Thread

Subject:	Help
From:
Preview   Automatic Linebreaks   Make a link ("blue clicky")

---

Mudcat time: 26 April 3:09 AM EDT

[ Home ]

All original material is copyright © 2022 by the Mudcat Café Music Foundation. All photos, music, images, etc. are copyright © by their rightful owners. Every effort is taken to attribute appropriate copyright to images, content, music, etc. We are not a copyright resource.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 23 May 00 - 01:21 AM

FICTIONAL GODS, DEMONS
Here's to those who copy Conan	We will sing of Foul the Render,
Here's to those who copy Conan	Who's got Drool Rockworm on a bender
They're just Followers of Onan	In his cave in Kiril Threndor--
And that's good enough for me!	They're both too much for me!
There are followers of Conan.	Of Lord Shardik you must beware;
And you'll never hear 'em groanin'	To please him you must swear;
Followed Crom up to his throne(in)	'Cause enraged he's a real Bear,
And it's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
St. Waldo is a were	Ethyl is the female part
Call on him if you dare	Of Sativa's holy art
He may come on as a bear	Drink her if you've got the heart
And he's good enough for me!	For a holy man to be!
Azahoth is in his Chaos	We will sing of Iluvatur,
Azahoth is in his Chaos	Who sent the Valar 'cross the water
Now if only he don't sway us	To lead Morgoth to the slaughter
That is good enough for me!	And that's just fine with me!
We will worship Holy Ford	We will sing the Jug of Issek,
Beta, Delta, Gamma, Lord	And of Fafhrd his chief mystic,
But the Alphas might get bored	Though to thieving Mouser will stick,
A Brave New World for you and me!	And that's good enough for me!
Let us note the might of Ils	We'll invoke the blessed Camber
With a thousand or more quills	And the Unicorn of Amber
By the light that from him spills	And the wizard Deliamber
He is good enough for me!	They're good enough for me!
The late return of the Prophet Zarquoh	quon We will praise the gods of Hagar
Caused his followers to hearken	At a sort of Nordic seder
As the Universe went dark on	Buy the sacraments from Zabar
All of you and me!	And that's good enough for me!
Oh the Trekkies worship Spock	"Necronomicon?" I'll buy one!
To the movies they will flock	"Liber Eibon" I'll rely on
Girls as baldy as a crock	And "The Protocols of Zion"
That's not good enough for me!	They're all good enough for me!
We'll pay homage to Godzilla	We will worship Paul Atreides
In the Oriental thrilla	Tho he sort of lost his sight he
He went and stomped the whole megillah	llah Got a son that's rather mighty
And he's good enough for me!	And a Sandworm now is he!
Donal Graeme is part Maran	It was good for Bilbo Baggins
And the Com'yn all use "laran"	It was good for Bilbo Baggins
Why the hell am I still Terran?	Treasure sometimes comes with Dragons
But it's good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
Michael Valentine is grokking	Roger Elwood got religion
Clothing usage he is stopping	No more sex in Science Fiction
Thou art God the phrase he's dropp	ing Claims we've all got drug addiction
And I'm good enough for me!	He ain't good enough for me!
There may be reincarnation	The "Necronomicon's" still leadin'
There may be reincarnation	All the others its exceedin'
Let us hope we keep our station	Just don't move your lips while readin'
and be born again as fen!	'Cause that isn't good for -you-!
You may marching with your Cross go	o There are Frogs out in the Abyss
You may marching with your Cross go	o Armed with athame and labrys
I will worship Ghu and Roscoe	They are green and rather scabrous
'Cause they're good enough for me!	But they're good enough for me!
I won't worship ol' Dormammu	Let's not worship old Galactus
To that fire-head I'll say "Damn you!,	He's more nasty than a cactus
I will worship whales named Shamu	Eating worlds takes lots of practice
Or the Chicken of the Sea!	He's too scary for me!
I won't worship ol' Bill Cosby	We've all heard of Illuminati
Tho he's funnier than Fozzie	We've all heard of Illuminati
He is smiling just because he	Their security's kinda spotty
Makes much money on TV!	It's a conspiracy for me!
Robert Wilson keeps on bookin'	We will light up to Sativa
For his titles I keep lookin'	I've got toke-weed up my sleeve, a
He always knows what's cookin'	Trick I learned in the Yeshiva
But don't take him seriously!	And that's good enough for me!
St. Blooper's rather clumsy	St. Frieda's quite a mama
If he hits you, you'll feel numsy	She can pinch you thru your armor
But he's got a sense of whimsy	F*** her to increase your karma
And I -like- the S.O.B.!	She's more than enough for three!
St. Hermann's got a bong	St. Gerald's quite a fellow
If you sniff you'll be high long	Don't you dare to call him yelow
It'll make your eyes ping-pong	For he will make you bellow
His dope's good enough for me!	So he's good enough for me!
Sativa is no peon
He's the head of our pantheon
Better him than snorting freon
Cause that'll play hell with your nasal passages man
Where'd you get this dope anyway? I mean
Far-r-r-r-r farking out!
Let us shout to the Goddess Lum	Let us huumm for the Great Pumpkin
Let us shout to the Goddess Lum	Hum hm huumm hum hum huumm humhumn
From another world she's come	From the pumpkin patch he's comin'
And shes good for An-a-me!	And it's good enough for me!
Let us question Deep Thought too	Let us praise the Babel Fish
Let us question Deep Thought too	Let us praise the Babel Fish
'Cause the answer's Forty-Two!	For it made God but a wish
And it's good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
Let us look for the Invisible Man	We will worship great Godzilla
Let us look for the Invisible Man	Or King Kong, that big gorilla
And see him if we can	If ya don't, then they will kill ya
And he's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
It was good for Uncle Fester	Say hosannas to "Bob" Dobbs
Though he's really quite a jester	With space aliens he hobnobs
And a perfect light bulb tester	He's the patron saint of slobs
And that's good enough for me	And that's good enough for me!
We've decided you are naughty,
If you're not of Landru's body,
Though his robes get kind of shoddy
They're good enough for me!
THE FORCE
It was good for old Darth Vader	For we are the Knights of Jeddi
It was good for old Darth Vader	And in us the Force is reddi
He'll be back a little later	Grab your sabres, throw confetti
And he's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will even worship Yoda	Let us all use the Force
Who is small as an iota	Let us all use the Force
But fulfills his Jedi quota	And stay on the proper course
Which is good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
If the Force makes you a hater	We will worship like the Wookie
Tall and black like ol' Darth Vader	r 'Cause he gets a lot of nookie
And not recalled by Ralph Nader	Thinks the DeathStar's just a cookie
Then you're good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
HINDU
There are some that call it folly	We will go to worship Kali
When we worship Mother Kali.	Though embracing her is folly
She may not be very jolly	She'd be quite an armful, golly!
But she's good enough for me!	And she's good enough for me!
As the goddess Kali dances	I will wait till four-armed Kali
With her worshippers in trances	Drags me thru that lonesome valley
You can learn some Hindu stances	She's disgusting act-u-all-y
And that's good enough for me!	But She's good enough for me!
So you want's to be a Deva	We will sacrifice to Shiva
A real Bodhisavatta	We will sacrifice to Shiva
A -really- Old Believe-a	If you are a True Believe-a
And that's good enough for me!	Then you're good enough for me!
Just like Swami Sachenanda	We will worship Jargonatha
Just like Swami Sachenanda	But altho we risk his wrath-a
Hold your breath and throw a tantra	a There won't none stand in his path-a
And you're good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We'll all study the Vedanta	We will all practice Tantra
We'll all study the Vedanta	Groans and grunts will be our mantra
It's no good for sharks and mantas	There is nothing that you can't-ra
But it's good enough for me!	So it's sex enough for me!
We will go and worship Brahma	We will sacrifice to Kali
Like a Saddhu or a Llama	Tho her Thugs don't act too pally
Clad in less than a pyjama	When you meet them in an alley
And that's good enough for me!	She's still good enough for me!
We will read the Kama Sutra	If you want to worship Shiva
The positions are quite "outre"	Throw some flower in the river
But as long as you're not "neutre"	But if Shiva will deliver
Then it's good enough for me!	then that's good enough for me!
You can sacrifice to Kali	We will go and worship Shiva
Even if you're no Bengali	While we're bathing in the river
Just by mugging in an alley	It's so cold it makes me shiver
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will all go worship Rama	Kali has her vengance brewin'
Who created quite a drama	Against all the evil-doin'
When he rescued his sweet mama	It was she shot J. R. Ewing!
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
If a damsel wears a sari	Let us take time out to dally
Krishna's arts can make her tarry	With the Priestesses of Kali
Some folks say that he's too hairy	They need petting to get pally
But he's good enough for me!	But they're good enough for me!
ISLAMIC
We will all bow down to Allah	All the warriors for Allah
For he gave his loyal follow-	Are sure to have a gala
(cENSORED)	Party time in old Valhalla
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Let us listen to the Prophet	We will all recite the Koran
Let us listen to the Prophet	We will all recite the Koran
Gets more tail than Andy Offut	Scots can stick it in their sporran
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Oh the Muslims worship Allah	We will guzzle RC Cola
And obey the Ayatollah	When we join the Ayatollah
And they can't drink alcohol-a	'Cause he ain't no Holy Rollah
That's not good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
JEWISH
If you think that you'll be sav-ed	Some guys have a circumcision
If you think that you'll be sav-ed	On account of their religion,
If you follow Mogen David	An embarrassing incision
Then that's good enough for me!	Cut just ENOUGH from me!
Let us worship old Jehovah	Let us celebrate Jehovah
All you other gods move ovah	Who created us "ab ova"
Cause the one God's takin' over	He'll be on tonight on "Nova"
And it's good enough for me!	'Cause he's good enough for me!
Oh the Jews prefer Jehovah	You can worship God Adonai
But their life is not all clover	Be allowed few things to enjoy
'Cause they're hung with rules all	over I'd much rather be just a goy
But that's good enough for me!	More comfortable for me!
We will observe Tu b'Shevat	We will all observe the Pesach
Its a Jewish holiday that	And try not to get Tay-Sachs
Sounds Druidic - but don't say that	For God the waters unlocked
Or the J.A.P.s will come for me!	When He set our people free!
KABBALLA
We will read from the Kabahlah	We will read from the Cabala.
We will read from the Kabahlah	Quote the Tree of Life mandala
It won't get us to Valhalla	It won't get you in Valhalla,
But it's good enough for me!	Yet it's good enough for me!
KRISHNA
We will all sing Hare Krishna	Hare Krishna gets a laugh on
We will all sing Hare Krishna	When he sees me dressed in saffron
It's not mentioned in the Mishna	With my hair that's only half on
But it's good enough for me!	But that's good enough for me!
I was singing Hari Rama	Hare Krishnas worship Rama
With my friend the Dalai Lama	With their tamborines and drum-as
'Til they dumped us in the slammer	But their lifestyle is a bumm-a
But that's good enough for me!	That ain't good enough for me!
MIDDLE EASTERN PAGAN
We will hoist a mighty flagon	To Our Lady of Ephesians
To the honor of ol' Dagon	Who has taps for all secretions
And we won't go on the wagon	We will dance like Polynesians
Which is good enough for me!	Which is good enough for me!
I'll sing some songs to Lilith,	We will have a mighty orgy
Not so young, and not so girlish,	in the honour of Astarte
and She's always PMS-ish,	it'll be a mighty party
but She's good enough for me!	and it's good enough for me!
Lilith wears a lacy nightie	We will sing to Lady Isis
And She is a little flighty	She'll stand by us in a crisis
She will get you all excite-y	And She hasn't raised Her prices
She's wet-dream enough for me!	And She's good enough for me!
We will all bow down to Dagon	We will all bow down to Enlil
A conservative old pagan	We will all bow down to Enlil
He still votes for Ronald Reagan	Pass your Cup and get a refill!
And that's good enough for me!	With bold Gilgamesh the Brave!
Let us worship sweet Eninni	Oh the ancient goddess Nerthus
Let us worship sweet Eninni	From herself the Earth did birth us
In a skimpy string bikini	And I wonder: are we worth us?
And that's good enough for me!	But she's good enough for me!
With Inanna don't try flirtin'	She got eager for Dimuzi
To your freedom she'll say "Curtain	Said she'd meet him up by Nuzi
'Cause she finds it most impertin-	Now he's taking quite a snooze, he
Ent tosay "She don't suit me!"	Might revive next century!
We will go to worship Lillith	Well Dimuzi's on vacation
Grab your cup, step up and fill it	He'll be back when spring awakens
Tho 'ware she don't make you spill it	it! There will be such recreation
And that's good enough for me!	There will be enough for me!
Oh the Phillistines abound	We will all bow down to Moloch
Oh the Phillistines abound	We will all bow down to Moloch
They had the biggest Baals around	'Cause his Pope is not a Polack
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
If you want to save your soul, ac-	I'll let Moloch light my fire
CENSORED	Of his worship I won't tire
You must sacrifice a Polack	Cheapest baby-sitter's hire....
And that's good enough for me!	And that's cheap enough for me!
We will bow down to Astarte	We will go and weep for Tammuz
And we'll have a great big party	And we'll laugh at Springtime's promise
And your welcome will be hearty	And a few then will be mommas
And that's good enough for me!	Which is good enough for me!
We will bow down to the Goddess	When we gather with Astarte
As She wears Her Cretan bodice	It will be a lovely party
And the women cry "Come prod us!"	And the lovin' will be hearty
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will all go worship Rimmon	We will go and worship Baal
All us Pagan men and women	For he is the Lord of All
And our goblets will be brimmin'	In the fields and in the hall
And that's good enough for me!	He is good enough for me!
Let's go for temple prostitution	We will build Baal up an altar
It's an ancient institution	In our duty we'll not falter
That provides a quick solution	And we'll drink our barley malt-er
For horniness in you and me!	And that's drunk enough for me!
Erishkigal was a vixen
But when Nergal got her mixin'
Socially, she soon was fixin'
His connubiality!
MITHRAISM
We will sing a song of Mithras	We will all be saved by Mithras
Let us sing a song of Mithras	We will all be saved by Mithras
But there is no rhyme for Mithras!	Slay the Bull and play the zithras
Still he's good enough for me!	On that Resurrection Day!
MOONIES
We will worship Sun Myung Moonie	Oh the Moonies worship Moon
Though we know he is a goonie	(Not the Goddess but the goon)
All our money he'll have soonly	They'd eat his s*** without a spoon
And that's good enough for me!	And that's not good enough for me!
Sun Moon's kids are kind of funny
But they stick to him like honey
He just wants their souls and money
And it's good enough for him!
MORMON (LDS)
We will worship like the Mormons	I will have a Mormon mammy
And we'll be Masonic doormen	Tho' her hands are kinda clammy
Round the Temples we'll be swarmin'	n' They believe in polygammy
And that's good enough for me!	And that's wives enough for me!
Moroni's job is simple:	We'll be reachin' thru the curtain
Blowin' jazz from top the Temples	With the women we'll be flirtin'
Loud enough to pop your pimples!	Secret handshakes, we are certain
And that's good enough for me!	Will be good for you and me!
We will worship with the Mormons
Cause they're not like Martin Bormann
Into gods they'll be re-bornin'
And that's good enough for me!
NEW AGE
Oh, our Spirits will awaken	Well I'm tired of Ronald Reagan,
Oh, our Spirits will awaken	He's too square to be a pagan,
Watch the Universe a-quakin'	Let's all vote for Carl Sagan!
Which is Gurdijeff to me!	He's good enough for me!
Timmy Leary we will sing to	I'll arise at early mornin'
And the things that he was into	When the Sun gives me the warnin'
(Well, at least it wasn't Shinto)	That the Solar Age is dawnin'
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
In the sky I hear a hummin'	Just like Carlos Castenada
It's the UFO's a-comin'	Just like Carlos Castenada
That's not banjos that they're str	ummin It'll get you sooner or later
But it's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
NEW AGE CHORUS: Gimmie that New Aeon Religion
Gimmie that New Aeon Religion
Gimmie that New Aeon Religion
Where everyone's a star
NEW WORLD PAGAN
Let us pray to the Great Spirit	Let us pray to the Great Spirit
Let us pray to the Great Spirit	Let us pray to the Great Spirit
Like the Eagle he will hear us	Like the Thunderbird He'll hear us
And it's good enough for me!	And It's good enough for me!
Let us join the Earth Spirits	Let us journey like the Shaman
Let us join the Earth Spirits	Let us journey like the Shaman
With the Earth they will heal us	To the next de-men-shan
And its good enough for me!	And it's good enough for me!
Thanks to great Quetzacoatl	Some folks pray to the Great Spirit
And his sacred axolotl	Most folks just cannot get near it
And his gift of chocolatl	So they hate it and they fear it
And please pass some down to me!	But it's good enough for me!
Praise to Popacatapetl	Some folks worship the Kachinas
Just a tiny cigarette'll	Some folks worship the Kachinas
Put him in terrific fettle	They look like "deus ex machinas"
So he's good enough for me!	But they're good enough for me!
Now watch out for the Maya's,	Montezuma liked to start out
They might really try to fry ya,	Rites by carrying a part out
Sacrifice people, not papaya's,	That would really tear your heart out,
Just as long as its not me!	But it's good enough for me!
Quetzacoatl's flyin'	And when old Quetzacoatl
With the Toltec and the Mayan	Found a virgin he could throttle
And the mushrooms he's been buyin'	And put her heart into a bottle
Are good enough for me!	It was good enough for me.
We will worship Xochipilli	We will worship Xipe-Totec
Though it might be a bit silly	Tho it is a little low-tech
Running naked makes me chilly	It is not a bit ero-tek (erotic)
But it's good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
Oh, there's none like Huizlipochtli	The Kachinas of the Hopi
For destroyin' people tot'ly	Dance about and some act dopey
Best to worship -him- remotely!	They don't leave you feelin' mopey
But he's good enough for me!	So they're good enough for me!
I have gotten in the way-o	When the blood it was a-surgin'
Walkin' with the Monster Slayer	Aztec priests wore skins of virgins
He is worthy of a prayer	Cause they had transvestite urgins
And he's good enough for me!	That ain't good enough for me!
Be the Great Spirit devotees	We will worship like the Incas
On the mesa smoke peyote	Who were great heroic drinkas
'Til we think we're all Coyote	Tho the Spanish called them stinkas
And that's good enough for me!	Still it's good enough for me!
Come and worship Huehueteotl	Let us sacrifice to Chac Mol
Sit around and chew peyotl	For rain just burn some copal
What a way to get totalled!	Hey! There's a flood out in the hall!
And it's good enough for me!	And it's wet enough for me!
We will go to worship Inti	We will dance unto the Sun
Soon around us we will all see	Pull weights stuck thru our buns
Cocaine being snorted freely	Yank 'em out at a dead run
And that's stoned enough for me!	And that's pain enough for me!
We will worship with the Sioux	We will all be Contrary
Use the bushes for a loo	Walk backwards, and we'll marry
And scalp Gen'ral Custer too!	A Sioux "winkte" (that's a fairy!)
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
NORTHERN EUROPEAN (GENERAL)
We will praise the god Toutatis	I was there when Lemminkainen
When the Pagan frenzy's got us	Crazed the winin' and the dinin'
Till we strain our epiglottis	And left poor old Louhi whinin'
And that's good enough for me!	Which was quite a sight to see!
We will go and worship Veles	There's the Russian god Yarilo
All us Pagan gals and fellows	As a love-god he's a thrill-o
And we'll Czech out what he'll sel	l us When he comes there is no chill-o
And that's good enough for me!	And he sounds a lot like me!
We will bow down to Perkunas	I remember Vainomoinen
And we'll chant old Baltic 'runos'	Chasing Winter on that mornin'
Save the dolphins and the tunas	As the Spring came finally dawnin'
And that's good enough for me!	And that was good enough for me!
Then there's ol' Koschai the Deathless
He will leave you a bit breathless
Face him with steadfastness
And it's good enough for me!
OTHER LANGUAGES
Nous nous appellons Druides,
C'est peut-etre un peu stupide,
Et vienon d'Atlantide.
Mais c'est bon assez pour moi
RASTAFARIANISM
Jah will come to set us free here	I be talkin' to da Great Jah
Jah will come to set us free here	With me dreadlocks and me ganja
We won't see Him but He'll be here	I be a Rastaman, ya!
And that's good enough for us!	And it's good enough for me!
Let us mourn Haile Selassie
As a Rasta Saint, he's passe
But as Emperor, he's classy
And that's good enough for me!
SATANISM
Oh the Satanists worship Satan	There are those who worship Satan
And behave so aggravatin'	And are just anticipatin'
I think they need castratin'	Armageddon's conflagratin'
And that's good enough for me!	That ain't good enough for me!
Asmodeus will excite us	There are folks who get their hats in
To an orgy he'll invite us	They go out and pray to Satan
He may have his High Priest bite us	s On TV this gets a ratin'
But that's good enough for me!	And Geraldo says "Oh, GEE!"
I would go and worship Satan	I will kill an old black rooster
If I could memorize verbatim	Show that I'm a Satan booster
Cause with him there ain't no fakin	in' He's not drawing like he uster
And that kinda frightens me!	But he's good enough for me!
We will all go to the Black Mass	We will follow Satanism
And kiss the goat on his ass	And use a disgusting chrysm
Tho you think it hasn't much class	Made of blood and old stale jism
Still it's good enough for me!	And that's pretty gross for me!
It was good enough for Satan	Then there's Michael Aquino
Whom the Christians are all hatin'	Thinks that Set is really keen-o
But the Beast they are awaitin'	(Satan moved to Argentine-o
And that's good enough for me	After World War Two, you see....)
JUST PLAIN GRATUITOUS SEX
I got a new diversion	Gimme that real old-time religion
It's a new kind of perversion!	Where sex ain't doled out in smidgens
I gotta ask: Are you a virgin?	And we don't sacrifice no pigeons
'Cause that's good enough for me!	It's good enough for me
You are very, very pretty	Let's forget those moral urges
As you sing this little ditty	Get your spurs and chains and scourges
I like little ditties....	And accentuate your urges
And I like big ditties too...!!!	So come and play with us!
At the Festival of Milcom	Ancient British music is such
Let the women on the Pill come	Put the BBC well in dutch
And then everybody will come!	Just because that it was too much
And that's good enough for me!	Saxon violins for TV!
SCIENTOLOGY
L. Ron Hubbard liked precision	In matters Dianetic
And he founded a religion	You need not get frenetic
That has caught a lot of pigeons	Make your Engrams copacetic
And it's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
SHINTO
There are some who practice Shinto	I don't really go for Shinto
There are some who practice Shinto	It's just something I'm not into
There's no telling what WE'RE into	! Tho I guess I could begin to
but that's good enough for me!	'Cause it's good enough for me!
In Japan they thought it neato	Well the Japanese use Shinto
When they worshipped Hirohito	There's no telling what they're into
But that didn't sit with SEATO	It helps them outsell the Pinto
So it never more will be!	And that's good enough for me!
Ameratsu brought the light in	We will venerate the Kami
And love's bonds began to tighten	Tho they don't wear no pyjommies
The whole world began to brighten	And they ain't got any Mommies
And that's good enough for me!	But they're good enough for me!
THELEMA
Uncle Crowley was a dreamer	When the clouds they are a-rumbling
At the Abbey of Thelemer	And the thunder is a-grumbling
But his magic is a screamer,	Then it's Crowley that you're mumbling
So it's good enough for me!	And it's good enough for me!
There are those who follow Crowley	Let us call an Elemental
Tho the stuff that he held holy	For a temporary rental
Turn your your brain to guacamole	Just as long as it is gentle
But he's good enough for me!	It is good enough for me!
It was good enough for Crowley	The Thelemites worship Crowley
With his sacraments unholy	While he's roasting very slowly
Who smoked pot and ate some moly	'Cause they think he's so damn holy
And it's good enough for me!	He don't do a thing for me!
It's no good for Jerry Falwell	Magick's language is so queer
And he don't think we're at all well	Causes Crowley to appear
But the Great Rite's when we ball	well And to stick it in your ... ear!
And that's good enough for me!	That's not good enough for me!
Let us not forget St. Crowley	There are those who worship Crowley
For he's humble, meek and holy	'Cause they say he rhymes with "holy"
Kind and jolly, roly-poly,	What I say is "Holy Moley!"
And that's good enough for me!	"Perfect love, and ninety-three!"
When the wind is turnin' howly	Ninety-three and forty-leven
And the thunder's gettin' growly	Sixty-nine and eighty-seven
Then you know you're workin' Crowley	Crowley won't get you to Heaven
And he's good enough for me!	Ain't no good for you and me!
VOODOO
There are people into voodoo	There are people into Voodoo
Africa has raised a hoodoo	With a mojo and a hoodoo
Just one little doll will do you	I know I do, I hope you do!
And it's good enough for me!	And it's good enough for me!
If you're really into dancing	We will all go worship Shango
And you wanna try some trancing	Who will make the thunder bang-o
Then the Voodoo gods are prancing	End the drought down in Durango
And that's good enough for me!	Which is good enough for me!

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 23 May 00 - 01:27 AM

And finally?

WICCA AND GENERAL NEO-PAGAN
Well, she raised an awful flurry	When old Gerald got it goin'
When she made the scholars worry	When old Gerald got it goin'
Thank the Gods for Margaret Murray	All that hidin' turned to showin'
She is good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
It was good enough for Granny	It's not good enough for Reagan
She could throw a double-whammy	It's not good enough for Reagan
That would knock you on your fanny	He's too square to be a Pagan!
And she's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
With the aid of my athame	Meeting at the Witching Hour
I can throw a "double-whammy"	By the Bud, and Branch and Flower
(And can slice and dice salami!)	Folks are raising up the Power
So it's good enough for me!	And that's where I want to be!
There will be a lot of lovin'	We will worship with the witches
When we're meetin in our Coven	'Cause we're rowdy sons-of-bitches
Quit yer pushin and yer shovin'	And they scratch us where it itches
So there's room enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Well the Christians all are humming	We will gather at our saunas
Cause they say their God is coming	When the spirit comes upon us
Our God came three times this evening	To perform the Rites of Faunus
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Some folks worship all of Nature	Perfect love and perfect trust
Tho they love to taunt and bait-cher	We shall rise up from the dust
They're just funnin', they don't hate-cher	And become the upper crust
And they're good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We are Children of the Goddess	After converts we're not chasing
And the Horned One begot us	And their money we're not fleecing
And with love the Craft they taught us	Still our numbers are increasing
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We are children of the Wicca	In the face of Inquisition
And although we may bicker	We maintained an Opposition
Our loving is much quicker	And preserved the Old Tradition
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
When the blizzard is a-whirling	We survived the conflagration
And the Yule log is a-burning	And emerged with jubilation
And the Sun God is returning	In a new reincarnation
It is good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
When the ice is a-breaking	Now the candles are a-gleaming
And the buds are a-taking	And the Cauldron is a-steaming
And the Lady is a-waking	And the full Moon is a-beaming
It's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
When the day meets the night	Let's go skyclad all together
In equal dark and equal light	Dance the Circle round the heather
God and Goddess shall unite	Never mind the freezing weather
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
On the evening of the May	Come and join the celebration
Round the fires buring gay	Pour the Goddess a libation
Witches dance the night away	You don't need initiation
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
When Midsummer fires burn	When the red-necks say we're sinning
Ere the Sun begins to turn	I don't care, 'cause we are winning
Comes the flowering of the fern	And this is only the beginning
And that's good enough for me	And that's good enough for me!
When the Sun is a-going	When the souls of the departed
And the crops have finished growing	Come to join us, cheerful-hearted
and we reap the fruits of sowing	We know in death we are not parted
It's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
When the night meets the day	Our High Priestess is a doll
When leaves turn brown and skies turn grey	But she's fond of alcohol
And the Sun is going away	Carlo Rossi she'll extoll
That is good enough for me!	But she's good enough for me!
Our Coven is a bunch	Our High Priest thinks he's Conan
But I have a sneaking hunch	But he cannot keep a bone-on
That their brains are out-to-lunch	He resorts to the Rite of Onan
But they're good enough for me!	But he's good enough for me!
Our Maiden is a virgin	Our Maiden is a virgin
But her big toes keep divergin'	But her buttocks keep divergin'
And she don't need any urgin'	In Greek Rites she don't need urgin'
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Our Summoner thinks he's lusty	Our Witch-Queen has a tushie
But his balls are gettin' dusty	Which is big and wide and plushy
And his nail is gettin' rusty	Altars under her go sqooshy
But he's good enough for me!	What e're the carpentry!
Our Coven has a charter	Our First-Degree has curves
They recieved from some old farter	That give all men the swerves
And they gave him one in barter	It gets on the ladies' nerves
But it's good enough for me!	But she's good enough for me!
Our Healer shaves her thing	Our Neophyte's a fool
Once a month we see the string	But he's got a ten-inch tool
Back and forth it tends to swing	He'll have Third Degree by Yule
But she's good enough for me!	If all the girls agree!
Our Familiar is black	Those Evangelists all say
With a white stripe down his back	They possess the one true way
When his tail goes up, make tracks	I'll take Wicca any day
'Cause it ain't perfumery!	And that's good enough for me!
When the full Moon's in the sky	Up the chimney, down the street
And the witching hour is nigh	Flying at ten thousand feet
Flying ointment we'll apply	Hey, Pan Am, we gotcha beat!
And that's very good for me!	And it's good enough for me!
Our Bard is macrophonic	Our chalice holds six quart
And he thinks he's so harmonic	And our wine -- it sure ain't port!
But he's more like cacophonic	It's distilled in a retort
And he plays a mile off-key!	But it'sh good enough f'me!
Our Book-Of-Shads is old	Our rituals are diverse
Every page inch-deep in mold	Every week a different curse
Cause the store where they are sold	Goddess! What if they reverse?
Got flooded by the sea!	It won't be good enough for me!
Bakersfield has Minstrel Puck	We were told in Pagan class
Who with verses shows much pluck	That leaping cauldrons is a gas
Though I think he'd rather ...play	But I got a roasted...pentacle
But he's good enough for me!	And I can't sit down for tea!
Outdoor skyclad is for wierdos	Gavin Ice took out his phallus
Who forget about mosquitoes	And he stuck it in the Chalice
And they zap you like torpedos	Please don't pee, Gav, out of malice
That ain't good enough for me!	That ain't good enough for me!
I inherited from Mommy	When a witch says "wackawacka"
I inherited from Mommy	You must kiss her "smackasmacka"
My big, black, switch-blade athame	And recieve one "backabacka"
And it's ba-a-a-d enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will worship in the Northwest	The God of Man entices
Where the water is our fortress	Paganism our life spices
Where the Lord and Lady know best	So just 'ankh' if you love Isis
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
It was good enough for Grannie	As the waning year is ending
It was good enough for Grannie	Young and old souls now are blending
It was good enough for Grannie	Voices round the Circle sending
And she taught it all to me!	Samhain joy across the worlds!
Through the endless night we shiver	Pagans gather in the clearing
Flames around the Yule log quiver	For the end of Winter's nearing
As we sing to praise the Giver	And the Maiden is appearing
Of the Sun on Solistice morn!	Bringing promises of Spring!
Light and darkness stand together	Hand in hand we leap the fire
Leafing birch and flow'ring heather	To the meadows we retire
Brethren clad in fur and feather	To fulfill Beltane desire
Tell us Spring has come again	And give seed unto the land!
While the Solistice Day is fleeting	Joy and fruitfulness abound
Bull and Stag again are meeting	On Lammas Eve, the fertile ground
For the honor of repeating	Reveals the gift of Love that's found
Vows that bind them to the Queen!	When the Horned One dies once more!
For the Wintertide preparing	Always be polite to witches
Harvest baskets we are bearing	Always be polite to witches
Goddess bounty we are sharing	If you cross them they are bitches
When the night and day are one!	And they throw some nasty spells!
It was Gerald wrote the ditty	When I first became a pagan
And Al Crowley made it pretty	It was daring and outragin'
Ain't traditional one bitty	Now my Circle's started agin'
But it's good enough for me!	But they're good enough for me!
We will follow Gerald Gardner	We go skyclad for the Goddess
In our faith he is our partner	So we wear no shirt or bodice
All that scourgin' makes it harder	And it isn't very modest
But it's good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
Let's all hug our Earthy Mother	We will gather come the Lammas
There is nothin' that I'd druther	It is writ in Nostradamus
She's better then any other	We will take off our pyjamas
And She's good enough for me!	We'll make merry, She'll be pleased!
I've got a modern-type athame	Some are self-initiated
And it packs a six-part whammy	Tending to be addle-pated
That'll knock you on your fanny	If their rituals are X-rated
Samuel Colt made it for me!	That ain't Wicca, don't you see!
It was good enough for Brigid	It was good for Gerald Gardner
Oh, she surely isn't frigid	Scourging is a penis hardener
She sure keeps Jack's pecker rigid	Then you do it to your partner
And that's good enough for me	And that's good enough for me
It's those good old connotations	I'm full mooning evil spirits
Which make grow the Pagan nations	Throwing wild derriere fits
Leading us to conjugations	And on me they can't lay their mitts
And that's good enough for me!	'Cause my charm's protecting me!
To the Goddess lift our glasses	MAPPCAF I and II were heaven
And let's all get off our asses	And the spirits worked like leaven
Teach those Pagans, hold them clas	ses I can't wait 'til MAPPCAF VII
And that's good enough for me!	More than good enough for me!
We will pray for Ruthie Carter	We will worship Frey and Freya
That she may become much smarter	Yao and Vesta, Lugh and Gaia
And put on a Witches' Garter	Any more? Perun! and Maia!
And that's good enough for me!	That's still not enough for me!
It was good enough for Tim Zell	We will jump the old bonfire
It was good enough for Tim Zell	Tho the flames are roaring higher
With that beard he'll never freeze well	If you miss you join the pyre
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
It was good enough for Margot	Burn Damiana for a lover
It was good enough for Margot	And burn Rowan to the Mother
And her book I could not forego	Cense will show many another
And it's good enough for me!	Clear the smoke! I cannot see!
All the apple trees wassail	It was good for Beltane fires
As we heft the flowing pail	Put out by lying friars
A good cider mixed with ale	It was good for Beltane fires
And that's good enough for me!	And it's good for you and me!
We're all children of the Goddess	If you think that you're a Bard
We're all children of the Goddess	Go and practice in the yard
She always fed and shod us	Annoy the neighbors till you're tarred
She is good to you and me!	And feathered, but don't mention me!
Give thanks to the Earth our Mother	Hail to Regan and to Sagan
Give thanks to the Earth our Mother	Hail to Regan and to Sagan
She'll care for us like no other	I'm a San Diegan Pagan!
And she's good enough for me!	And it's good enough for me!
If the HP wants some lovin'	This old Cosmos needs the Grace in
As an entrance to his Coven	God and Goddess for creation
Shout it to the Gods above	Take them both in combination
That that's not Wicca, don't ya see	And you have the true T'ai Ch'i!
Oh they say its knife and chalice
But we know its quim and phallus
In the woods or in the Palace
And that's good enough for me"
ZARATHUSTRIAN
We will pray to Zarathustra	It could be that you're a Parsi
And we'll pray just like we usta	It could be that you're a Parsi
I'm a Zarathustra boosta!	Don't need a ticket; you get in free
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
I pray to Ahura-Mazda	I can't rhyme Ahura Mazda,
He's one god who sure won't pause ta	I'll praise the man who tries ta
Pound some heads when given cause ta	Then I'll wait for Barak Raz ta
Which is good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
UNCLASSIFIABLE VERSES AND UNKNOWN GODS
Let us watch Ka-ka-pa-ull	Where's the gong gone? I can't find it
Frolic in her swimming pool	I think Northwoods is behind it!
Subjecting chaos to her rule	For they've always been cymbal-minded
And that's all right with me!	And they're good enough for me!
They revered ancient ENIAC	Some folks pray to the Orishas
And sacrificed to UNIVAC	Tho their humor can be vishas
Now we sing our chants on VAX pack	When they grant your stupid wishas
And that's good enough for me!	But they're good enough for me!
When you worship Rusto	There are those who worship science
Treat your friends with lust-o	And some would send 'em to the lions
Pursue your faith with gusto!	Without 'em we'd have no appliance
And that's good enough for me!	So they're good enough for me
We will all bow down to Gozer	John, Paul, George and Ringo
Priestess did it with that Joser	We will worship playing Bingo
Cross the streams, and there she goes Sir	We will listen to them sing-o
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Drink to FUFLUNS he's just fine	I have got a strange religion
The Etruscan god of wine	I will worship Walter Pidgeon
This verse doesn't really rhyme	Is he sacred? Just a smidgen!
But it's good enough for me!	But it's good enough for me!
We'll do a film on Caligula	Let's have one verse that's Carl Sagan's
The perverted Roman rula	He's seen Earthmen, Martians, Vegans
It will make a lot of moolah	But he's yet to meet us Pagans
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me
We will sing to Ronnie Ghu un-	We will have no mullets voided
-til they ask us what we're doin'	Within annulets conjoin-ed
Cause it's good enough for you an'	If it's good enough for Ioseph
Babe, it's good enough for me!	Then it's good enough for me!
I like old Hewlett-Packard,	Sing a chorus of "Hosannah!"
Whose old software can be hackered	Sing a chorus of "Hosannah!"
And their printers' been all lacquered	Hit the Top Ten in Nirvana
And they're good enough for me!	And it's good enough for me!
Sigmund Freud, now he's another	We thought Lashtal Lodge was snooty
Kill your father, screw your mother	So we founded Camp Tehuti
Feeling guilty's such a bother	We will make off with the booty
No, the shrinks are not for me!	And that's good enough for me!
If I come a fatal cropper	It was good for Jimmy Carter
Then a rebirth would be proper	He just wanted to be a martyr
I'll meet up with Cosmo Topper	He coulda been if he'd been smarter
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
Doctor Bob and ol' Bill W.	We will go down to the temple
Clean from alcohol will scrub you	Sit on mats woven of hemp-le
'Cause your Higher Power loves you	Try to set a good "exemple"
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We will praise the goddess Gorgo	There's a goddess known as K'rta
For a skill we would not forego	She, from whom all life doth s'prta
Makes the bull and ram and boar go	And She won't let us get h'rta
(M: And it also works on me!)	And She's good enough for me!
(F: And it brings my men to me!)
We shall drink throughout the day	When Alphito gave us beer
And to junk food not say nay	We all raised a ringing cheer
Thru the night to Ralph we'll pray	We will surely hold it dear
In the toilet bowl, you see!	As we drink up, merrily!
We'll all follow Tanna Hanna	We give thanks to Gregor Mendel
Celebrate Solistice in her manna	Pea plant's alleles he did bend-el
Let her be our menu planna	Now we breed men just like Grendel
That's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
We all like to go skinny dippin'	It was good for Boojum-Under-the-Rock
After which, we're often drippin'	He keeps money in his sock
And some of us are trippin'	Has big ears and a great big nose
And hey there! Wait for me!	And that's good enough for me
Well, gather me in a basket	Let us all go squeeze the Charmin
And then find me a lead-lined casket	Send Mister Whipple back to farmin'
Three Mile Island blew a gasket	He will find our pranks alarmin'
And that's all that's left of me!	And it's good enough for me!
Down in Jonestown they were boozin	There's a woman I've heard tell on
And there might have been more enthusin'	Thinks a gay is just a felon!
Had us Pagans been there loosin'	Throw her into Mt. St. Helen!
But that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
It was good for Mother Shipton	We will all go be nice SCAdians
It was good for Mother Shipton	And get nice and truly laid - ian
And her herb teas sure beat Lipton	Not a lot of them are maid-i-ens
And that's good enough for me!	And that's good enough for me!
With the old traditions cracking	The wacky ol' inventor
Modern Amazons are packing	With his brain a bit off-centre
What they used to be a-lacking	Whomped up A-bombs for adventure
And they sure look good to me!	And that's good enough for me
When Erzulie takes the floor-o	Kuan Yin, she of Potalaka,
Her seductiveness scores Four-Oh	Of sharp words is not a lacker
If she'll fool around some more-o	Best that you not be a slacker
Then that's better still for me!	To be good enough for Her!
THE OBLIGATORY LAST VERSE
If you think these verses floor us	It's the opera written for us!
Then go write another chorus	We will all join in the chorus!
Just as long as you don't bore us	It's the opera about Boris,
Then it's good enough for me!	Which is Godunov for me!
THE FINAL WORD
We will bow down to John Boardman	Joe Bethancourt's a swordsman
Tho he's not a master swordsman	And he also is a Hordesman
Verses of this song he hoards, man	And he'll sing 'til he gets bored, man
And he's good enough for me!	And he's good enough for me!
Give a rest to old religion,	If you want a new edition
If only just a smidgen.	Let its writing be -your- mission!
It's really not my pidgin,	As for me, I'm goin' fishin'!
Though it's good enough for you!	Or I'll go and watch TV!

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 23 May 00 - 10:27 AM

Thank you, thank you, these are SUPERB! Must copy, transcribe, and post in my office at home forthwith!
I am also reminded of a bumber sticker: Cthulhu For President! Why vote for the lesser of two evils?

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 23 May 00 - 08:20 PM

I hereby claim the prize for the greatest number of verses submitted for a single song in the DT. Mrr, glad you enjoyed them. Regards, John

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 24 May 00 - 01:31 PM

Joe or any other officials, any counter-offer on the greatest number of verses? I go with John in Brisbane too! And I'll get the whole thing cleaned up and resubmitted in Digitrad format. At some point. In my copious free time...(says a single parent of preschool twins whose firm is undergoing yet another merger)

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 24 May 00 - 01:44 PM

It was good enough for George Fox,


for me.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 24 May 00 - 01:46 PM

Perhaps this works better.

It was good enough for George Fox,
----------------------------------
----------------------------------
-------------------------for me.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 24 May 00 - 11:51 PM

Mrrzy, I had to do a lot of work to get it into HTML table format. If you want to save yourelf a lot of duplication I'll send you the original .csv or similar file. Regards, John

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 25 May 00 - 11:03 AM

Sure, John, I've only gotten it into text so far...My email is on the bbc site if you want to do it that way.

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST
Date: 25 May 00 - 01:30 PM

Hi, all!

I just read a couple of these threads on a whim, hoping for, well, I don't know what. I never expected such a fascinating and intellectual discussion- thanks you all for your intelligence and tolerance! I go to school in Virginia, and the campus is overwhelmingly Christian. I'm agnostic; the attitudes of most of the people I know towards that can get very wearing. A lot of people I know (including a roommate...grr!) don't seem to be able to accept that I'm actually happy with such a belief system, and really don't secretly yearn to be converted. It's wonderful to have found a group of folks who don't consider agnosticism/atheism to make one a sort of misguided moral misfit!

As to the original question of this thread, I'd like to suggest a very old Celtic song, written by a poet named, I believe (though I can't vouch for the spelling), Amergin Glungel. The version I have is called "Wind on Sea", and it's recorded by Anuna on their CD "Invocation". The lyrics are in English, translated from the original poem and then set to music. It's not really a song celebrating atheism, but it does celebrate the self in an almost religious way.

The chorus reads: "Who but I can cast light upon the meeting of the mountains? Who but I will cry aloud the changes of the moon? Who but I can find the place where hides away the Sun?"

And one last comment, concerning the Carmina Burana. A little bit of history- these songs were written, for the most part, by men known as Goliards or clerici vagantes (wandering clerics). During, I believe, the 9th through 13th centuries, these men generally drifted around Europe seeking learning and writing poetry. And yes, some of it is pretty racy. The Goliard songs were generally written about women, drinking, the corruption of the church, and the joys of the wandering lifestyle. One of my favorites is the Archpoet's "Goliardic Confession".

"Made of the light stuff of the elements, I am like a leaf, with which the winds play."

Beautiful Latin; the beginning celebrates the many pleasures of not being tied down to anything- both local and moral.

Sorry this is so long and rambling! If my info's wrong, let me know- I'm a Latin fan, but I'm a little too lazy (and busy!) to give it the time I should.

Valete! Prezmyra

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 25 May 00 - 01:38 PM

Hi, Guest, glad you like this thread, can you post anything else on Wind on Sea? Sounds beautiful, just what I wanted...

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 25 May 00 - 07:36 PM

There have been quite a few mentions of 'Carmina Burana' and although I've had the pleasure of singing Carmina Burana (or at least the O Fortuna component in Latin), I just realised that some readers here may not be totally familiar with it.

Orff's copyright is very vigilantly protected by his estate/attorneys to the extent that even the method of presentation must be sanctioned, eg if he wrote the piece for French Horn and two pianos, then permission for performance may not be granted for some other form of accompaniment. For this reason the MIDIs for his works are not present on many of the larger Classical MIDI sites. I'll find a site with Carmina/O Fortuna and post the URL. It's a fantastic hummable tune a la Chariots of Fire or Conquest of Paradise and one that's probably been flogged to death in corporate TV ads around your part of the world.

Maybe someone could help me find a good English translation on the Web. I know that there's at least one out there, but I won't have a chance to go looking for a while.

Regards, John

Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Prezmyra
Date: 26 May 00 - 12:08 AM

Here're the complete lyrics to "Wind on Sea" (the Anuna translation):

"I am the wind that breathes on the sea I am the wave, wave on the ocean I am the ray, the eye of the Sun I am the tomb, cold in the darkness I am a star, the tear of the Sun, I am a wonder, a wonder in flower. I am the spear as it cries out for blood the word of great power. I am the depths of a great pool I am the song of the blackbird.

Who but I can cast light upon the meeting of the mountains? Who but I will cry aloud the changes of the moon? Who but I can find the place where hides away the Sun?

Ailiu iath nErenn.

From the breeze on the mountain to the lake of deep blue; from the waterfall down to the sea Never changing or ending on the voice of the wind Sing the dark song of Erenn to me."

Again, that's from the Anuna CD "Invocation"- lovely recording; there's a beautiful version of Siuil a Ruin on it, too.

Valete, Prezmyra

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,MMB
Date: 10 Apr 11 - 10:18 AM

CBS Sunday Morning just ran a feature on the "war horses" that preceded the introduction of tanks into warfare, and the carnage, both human and equine, that followed. The piece focused on a stage production originally mounted in London that is now moving to the US, where the horses are presented by larger-than-life puppets.

I wouldn't have paid it much attention if "Only Remembered" hadn't played in the background throughout much of the piece, which is what led me to Mudcat to refresh my memory of the lyrics, which was enriched by seeing the variety of versions I'd never heard before. Thanks to all who contributed!

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Charles Biada
Date: 10 Apr 11 - 12:17 PM

110 Mount Vernon in the Sacred Harp is rather areligious for a hymn:

What solemn sound the ear invades,
What wraps the land in sorrow's shade?
From heav'n the awful mandate flies,
The father of his country dies.
Where shall our nation turn its eye,
What help remains beneath the sky?
Our friend, protector, strength and trust,
Lies low and mould'ring in the dust.

So is 67 Columbus, if you ignore the last verse.

And of course there is always Leon Rosselson's magnificent "Stand Up For Judas."

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 10 Apr 11 - 12:21 PM

Another Atheist Hymns thread, which pretty much chronologically brackets this one.

~ Becky in Long Beach

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Stringsinger
Date: 10 Apr 11 - 01:01 PM

My last post didn't make it. Condensed it said hymns can be beautiful, my faves are African-American but they are irrelevant to any marriage ceremony depending on the wishes of the couple. Plenty of secular songs about love, social beneficence and humanity.

I essentially agree with Joe's cogent observation about atheists. The word "anti-theist"
might suggest an antipathy to those who are religious but most of the secular folks I know don't go there. Again, Separation of Church and State from the warnings of Madison and Jefferson are implied in the Constitution regardless of what Christine O'Donnel says.

Adams pointed it out very well in the treaty to the Mohammedan Nation, to whit,
"We are not a Christian nation".

He is still right.

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 12:26 PM

^^^^^^^ ""Lost in a Song", 1966, " =1996

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Observer
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 02:11 PM

The Rev. Horatius Bonar's Only Remembered would fit the "Godless Hymn" part of the equation. His original words are as follows:

Only Remembered (Horatius Bonar 1870)

Fading away like the stars of the morning,
Losing their light in the glorious sun—
Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling,
Only remembered by what we have done.

Refrain

Only remembered, only remembered,
Only remembered by what we have done;
Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling,
Only remembered by what we have done.

Shall we be missed though by others succeeded,
Reaping the fields we in springtime have sown?
No, for the sowers may pass from their labors,
Only remembered by what they have done.

Refrain

Only the truth that in life we have spoken,
Only the seed that on earth we have sown;
These shall pass onward when we are forgotten,
Fruits of the harvest and what we have done.

Refrain

No mention of God, or of religion.

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Observer
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 02:11 PM

The Rev. Horatius Bonar's Only Remembered would fit the "Godless Hymn" part of the equation. His original words are as follows:

Only Remembered (Horatius Bonar 1870)

Fading away like the stars of the morning,
Losing their light in the glorious sun—
Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling,
Only remembered by what we have done.

Refrain

Only remembered, only remembered,
Only remembered by what we have done;
Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling,
Only remembered by what we have done.

Shall we be missed though by others succeeded,
Reaping the fields we in springtime have sown?
No, for the sowers may pass from their labors,
Only remembered by what they have done.

Refrain

Only the truth that in life we have spoken,
Only the seed that on earth we have sown;
These shall pass onward when we are forgotten,
Fruits of the harvest and what we have done.

Refrain

No mention of God, or of religion.

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 02:13 PM

A propos of very little ...

This weekend saw the annual Cruinniú na mBád festival of traditional workboats here in my adopted home of Kinvara in the West of Ireland. On Sunday morning, as ever, there was an open air sung Mass followed by Blessing of the Boats. That Mass is in the Irish language, includes both solo and choral singing - and is broadcast on either national Irish language radio or, as this year, a local FM station. An avowed agnostic of (very) long standing, I am nonetheless very happy to join that choir and sing my heart out...

Regards

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,John C. Bunnell
Date: 15 Aug 18 - 12:21 AM

I think I can make a recommendation here that actually meets the terms of the original request, way, way upstream, both for an artist and a specific song or two.

The artist is Cat Faber, who's known in the SF/fantasy "filk" community as a first-rate musician and song-crafter, both on her own and previously as part of the duo Echo's Children. One long-running thread in her work is the importance of human action as opposed to dependence on the divine, and there is among her newer works in fact an Atheist's Anthem. A look through her other work, as archived on the linked Web site, may also prove fruitful. I would also suggest looking up the Echo's Children album A Dancing World; there are several songs on that album that may be of interest.

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: BobL
Date: 15 Aug 18 - 02:49 AM

Am I alone in thinking "only remembered by what we have done" to be utterly pointless? How else would we be remembered?
I include such things as being a good friend/relative/spouse (or a bad one, come to that) under the heading of "what we have done" BTW

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Joe_F
Date: 15 Aug 18 - 09:49 PM

The Preacher and the Slave

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 15 Aug 18 - 10:36 PM

Two of Dave Carter's songs would work as other types of hymns. Gentle Soldier of My Soul is a hymn for people of all beliefs. The imagery follows the 23rd Psalm with Native American imagery. Mother I Climbed he said is going beyond belief into acceptance. You can find both songs on youtube.

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Observer
Date: 16 Aug 18 - 06:05 AM

Am I alone in thinking "only remembered by what we have done" to be utterly pointless? Asks BobL. Read the lyrics Bob - all about the inevitability of death, the choices an individual faces in life, the consequences of those choice and the importance of making the right choices. Far from pointless I would say. Plus the fact that it has given John Tams a good song to trot out now and again, that he doesn't have to work on too hard to remove any mention of religion or God.

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 16 Aug 18 - 03:01 PM

Horatius Bonar was a "rationalist" theologian, not an atheist at all. In 1870, many British citizens seemed to be remembered forever by their names and titles, such as 7th Earl of Something; Bonar's point is that this does not really count.

As for naive ideas about afterlife, sitting on a cloud and watching the earth like a TV show, surrounded by 72 virgins - you may be surprised how many theologians of many religions failed to subscribe to that, without calling themselves atheists.

Subject: RE: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Aug 18 - 01:02 AM

Church style, no. However, for a more modern song dealing with religious hypocrisy, Pat Macdonald's "Prey" comes to mind; also, he is at least the partial writer of "Standard White Jesus." Perhaps more anti-theism than non-theism. Perhaps every song that doesn't mention one god or another, is godless. 'Atheism Church Music' might be a contradiction.