Incorporating U2 into praise/worship...

[Se7en]

I posted this in Even Better Than The Real Thing but since that place is usually dead, I figured I'd post over here as well...since this forum brings most of the religious folks together anyway....

Back home I play w/ a praise/worship type of group. Most often we find our selves playing to churches in the area but there are occassions where we do play out. I'm trying to shake things up a bit and break the mold of the standard sing-a-long praise and worship music. Hopefully allowing us to offer people something that other praise bands don't. So...I've decided to try and put a few U2 tunes together as part of this. I've even thought about Joy from Mick Jagger's CD. Initial U2 songs I've considered are Gloria, 40, Where The Streets Have No Name, and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. For the most part we would be playing some sort of an acoustic arrangement for the songs. I was just curious if anyone had any thoughts on the songs I've picked or suggestion about others.

------------------
Rock 'N Roll is the sound of revenge.

 

[80sU2isBest]

Walk On would be great!

 

[follower]

I would try One, and maybe Wake Up Dead Man (instrumental, maybe the lyrics are too heavy)

 

[Se7en]

Originally posted by follower:
I would try One, and maybe Wake Up Dead Man (instrumental, maybe the lyrics are too heavy)

The song is beautiful...but the idea of praise/worship is to uplift people in some way...not make them want to blow their heads off.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'd like to hear from madelyniris, anyone know how to get him in here?

------------------
Rock 'N Roll is the sound of revenge.

 

[sulawesigirl4]

i'll hunt through my old emails for his addy and give him a heads-up.

 

[MadelynIris]

Yes, my wife and I do play in a pretty intense p/w band at our church.

40 works pretty good. I know many big churches that have done it. You can't go wrong with 40.

But most other U2 songs aren't exactly p/w songs. For it to really work as a congregational p/w they need to be -

1) easy to sing
2) short on words
3) catchy melody (easy to remember - not too complicated)
4) short (relatively speaking)

So where does that leave us?

What we have done though, and it seems to work out really well, is including bits of U2 songs inside of well known p/w songs. Something Bono does well too. For the people that catch on, it's really a great experience. We like to do that with Drowning Man a lot.

P/W really is a totally different genre. Everyone's doing it now a days (CCM recording artists) which is starting to make me a bit supsicious. I find that records like October are more pure, even though the don't fit the modern p/w scheme. Delirous' first records are like that too. It was pure.

I've played around with 'adapting' U2 songs into a p/w type of setting, and I think that this can work - but it requires some editing and arranging, but I was really amazed at the outcome.

Sounds like a good, full blown project. Now we just have to get U2's permission.

Mark
http://www.mp3.com/madelyniris

 

[Se7en]

Perhaps I was slightly off base w/ my original topic. We are mostly a p/w type of band, but we also play a number of "performance" pieces...i.e. songs that aren't intended to be sing along. This aspect of our group is where I thought the U2 songs would fit the best. I realize that most people are not going to be able to catch onto the melody of Gloria or some of the other songs, but they don't necessarily have to. Am I making sense?

------------------
Rock 'N Roll is the sound of revenge.

 

[foray]

My church did a sorta rock concert with mainstream Christian music as an evangelical rally. They had songs like "Lovesong For A Saviour" from Jars Of Clay "My Friend"/"Time" from DC Talk.

I think U2's "With Or Without You" would be nice.

foray

 

[Se7en]

Originally posted by foray:
My church did a sorta rock concert with mainstream Christian music as an evangelical rally. They had songs like "Lovesong For A Saviour" from Jars Of Clay "My Friend"/"Time" from DC Talk.

I think U2's "With Or Without You" would be nice.

foray

We do a version of "Flood" by Jars of Clay as a matter of fact...

The only problem I see with WOWY is that too many people would mistake it for a silly love song. I don't think too many people would make the connection that she=God/Holy Spirit or whatever your personal take is. I know that pretty much every casual U2 fan I know thinks that it's a love song.

But thank you both very much for your suggestions...Walk On could work. Keep 'em coming!

------------------
Rock 'N Roll is the sound of revenge.



[This message has been edited by Se7en (edited 03-18-2002).]

 

[sulawesigirl4]

ooh, someone get Mark (madelyniris) in here quick. I know for a fact that he does worship/praise stuff and that he manages to use U2 for it sometimes.

My suggestions...
-Rejoice
-Surrender
-A Sort of Homecoming
-Mysterious Ways (assuming your audience is open-minded enough. lol)
-The First Time (would work great just as an acoustic piece even)
-WILATW
-Walk On

 

[foray]

What about The First Time? That would be beautiful. I'm not sure about "and I threw away the key", though.

foray

 

[mebythesea]

In addition to the others suggested, how about All I Want Is You?

 

[Bri2k]

Third Day does this song called Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus medley, and right in the middle of the song it breaks into....And you give yourself away, And you give yourself away, and you give, and you give, and you give yourself away.

It also has can't help falling in love and turn your eyes upon jesus, but it is cool that is has wowy

Brian

 

[Discoteque]

what about a couple from the MDH ST?

Never let me Go
Falling at your Feet
The first Time

maybe even Stateless...

I'd LOVE it if any U2 song was played at my church...I'd prolly bawl my eyes out!

 

[The Blunt Edge]

Mysterious Ways has been mentioned and I think that would be a good "performance" piece. Hopefully the audience will realize that the song is about the Holy Spirit.

Grace would be another suggestion, though it's not as well known.

On a related note, the main riff in Bad (as well as the chorus) can be played as a lead line to the song "Father of Lights" (if played in A). Try it; the timing and chords are uncannily similar.

 

[spanisheyes]

I think we need to be careful when we talk about incorporating U2 music into worship. For one we need to ask ourselves which songs did Bono write to truly worship God. When we talk about a worship song, there is no vagueness, no need for interpretations, or even contradictions which Bono likes to write in. Worship songs are pure and simple in Who they are written for. Also, I'm not sure about pulling snippets out of songs, almost out of context, and try and conform them to the worship of God. Also, an audience should never have to realize that a certain song is about God or the Holy Spirit, again washed in vagueness. So, to me, very few of U2's song would fit in their entirity into a worship service. The obvious ones mentioned are of course 'Gloria', 'Rejoice', and '40', and possibly snippets of other songs that have been mentioned as well, because they talk about a person in the midst of worship even if through struggle.

Chris

 

[Se7en]

As I said in an earlier post, not all of the music we play is intended to be "worship" music. I think that a portion of U2's catalogue would fit nicely in a religious environment. I personally think that a break from the sometimes monotonous theme of "I Love Jesus" that a lot of p/w songs are victim of is a good thing. Not that there's anything wrong w/ this theme, don't take me the wrong way...but variety is a good thing.

Also, somewhat ambigous songs would be more apt to bring in listeners who may not be from a religious background.

------------------
Rock 'N Roll is the sound of revenge.

[This message has been edited by Se7en (edited 03-20-2002).]

 

[Se7en]

Originally posted by Bri2k:
Third Day does this song called Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus medley, and right in the middle of the song it breaks into....And you give yourself away, And you give yourself away, and you give, and you give, and you give yourself away.

It also has can't help falling in love and turn your eyes upon jesus, but it is cool that is has wowy

Brian

I just downloaded a live version (don't know if that's the one you were referring to)...it was amazing! Definitely going to work on using this one. Thanks a lot for the heads up.



------------------
Rock 'N Roll is the sound of revenge.

 

[Discoteque]

how could I forget to mention one of my favorite early U2 songs: Scarlet. It's short, but the purity of Bono singing "rejoice" over and over is so moving...plus it's easy to sing along to!

 

[Se7en]

Well after going through my U2 cds...here are the songs I've decided to bring to the group and see what they think:

- I Will Follow
- Gloria
- Tomorrow
- October
- Drowning Man
- 40
- 11 O'Clock Tick Tock
- Where The Streets Have No Name
- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- In God's Country***
- The First Time
- Walk On (Hallelujah Mix)

***Anyone ever hear Caedman's Call's cover of In God's Country...it's not too shabby.

I'm also going to have them listen to Third Day's "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." That way we get a little WOWY action!

Thanks for all of the suggestions and comments.

------------------
Rock 'N Roll is the sound of revenge.


[This message has been edited by Se7en (edited 03-22-2002).]

 

[MissZooropa]

A church here in town made a whole mass built on U2 songs instead of psalms. It was a U2 cover band that played the music and the lyrics to choosen songs was written down and handed out to the people who came.

From what I remember now (this was held around easter 98) the songs used were:
Wake up dead man
Love rescue me
Gloria
Pride
I still haven't found

There were like ten more that I can't remember, I'll look it up. Still have the folder with the lyrics somewhere.

This mass was mentioned in the newspaper several weeks after it was held, in favor of how rockmusic actually can fit into the curch. I have never seen so many people attend a mass. The curch was filled and people was standing along the walls and in the back of the church and on the balcony and everywhere possible. It was great spirit and it almost felt like we actually was gonna see U2, that excitement and joy.

 

[truecoloursfly]

Please consider Elevation! It's my all-time favourite praise song -- especially when Bono finishes with... soul nation! rejuvenation! elevation! jubilation! JUBILATION! I just can't sit down when I put that on...

Deb D

------------------
I wanna walk with you along an unapproved road

the greatest frontman in the world - by truecoloursfly: http://www.atu2.com/news/article.src?ID=1575

 

[MissZooropa]

Ok, so here are the songs used in the mass mentioned in my earlier post. The mass was called 'In the name of love - a rockmass about God's love'.

It started out with, for kyrie (don't know if that's the word in english):
Wake up dead man
If God will send his angels

And then at the reading from the bible:
With or without you
Where the streets have no name

The praise:
Gloria
Pride

The credo:
God part II

During the bread and wine:
Love rescue me

And for the blessing at the end:
Mysterious ways
One
I still haven't found

I knew I was gonna get some use for that folder. It has been among my U2 items for four years. LOL

 

[Bri2k]

Se7en,

If you need the tabs for the Third Day song, (it is the live version you dl), you can find it here: http://www.skyboom.com/thirdday/tabs/turn_your_eyes_upon_jesus_medley-tab.txt

Brian

 

[Se7en]

Originally posted by Bri2k:
Se7en,

If you need the tabs for the Third Day song, (it is the live version you dl), you can find it here: http://www.skyboom.com/thirdday/tabs/turn_your_eyes_upon_jesus_medley-tab.txt

Brian

Thanks for the link. I had figured out most of the chords myself and they match up pretty well. There are a few parts where that transcription and mine differ. I'll have to sit down and figure out what's what. Thanks again.



------------------
Rock 'N Roll is the sound of revenge.

 

[PopTart Pamela]

MLK

IGWSHA

ELEVATION, WALK ON

JERUSALEM

GLORIA

40

LOVE RESCUED ME

Pamela