I find with me that it's not a matter of will, it's a matter of chemistry. I am physically unable to sing songs I cannot "stand behind" (this is different from "believing in", but I'm not sure how). This physical reaction has been with me since age 11 or 12. I left the high church choir at that age after going the regular route of Christian - Deist - deist - atheist, and they threw me out of the scouts at about the same time for refusing to salute their flag. I have never been able to sing the British national anthem and when I emigrated to Canada, found I couldn't sing that one either. These physical restraints are linked to what I "think", in that I don't disagree with my body on any of these or other songs. My singing tends these days to be didactic or lecturelike, so I can sing a really vile song if I can explain to my audience why I think it's vile. The songs I can't stand behind are the ones that are to my mind dishonest in one way or another. This would include "Will the Circle be Unbroken" or all of Stan Rogers' oevre, for example.

I wouldn't recommend this position to anyone else, and I can't say that the prevailing tendency in this thread - that singing is akin to acting - is wrong. All I can say is that I can't do it!

Jon Bartlett