Bless the Lord

Note: This is an old blog that was originally posted on the now-defunct spiritandsong.com back in the mid-2000s. I am reposting it here on my personal blog site because people still ask me about this song. 

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It all started innocently enough. We were having a rockin’ jam session at St. Monica Church in Moraga, California. Yes, a flat out alternative rock blow-out right in the church, in the choir area near the sanctuary! By “we” I mean our newly formed Youth Mass Band: Marc Cavallero on electric guitar, Kevin Roth on keyboard, Dan Brennan on drums, and me on bass, plus Rich Reggio as cantor. We had just concluded our 5:00pm liturgy and now were just hanging out after Mass, the band and several other teens.  Our pastor was cool and he allowed us to jam after the church had emptied.

This was back in 1994, I think – way before Spirit & Song. There we were every Sunday night, jamming, getting tighter as a band, and basically forging lifelong friendships. One night the guys were grooving on the classic I-IV-V rock/blues progression on the G, C and D chords. “It’s an Offspring song," they claimed. They didn’t know the words so nobody sang. In earlier decades this progression was the basis for such songs as “Hound Dog,” “Louie, Louie,” “Hang On, Sloopy,” “Twist and Shout,” and “La Bamba.” But because this was the Nineties, the guys played it with an edgy alternative feel: Dan gave the drums a thwacking back beat. Marc threw in staccato power chords while I anchored him with a driving eighth note bass line. Meanwhile, Kevin filled out the sound with airy chords on his keyboard. I think we might have jammed on this progression for almost ten minutes, having the time of our lives.

It was in the middle of this jam that I started hearing the words “Bless the Lord, O my soul” in my head. I suddenly realized that we had an original liturgical song! So after we stopped I told the guys, “Hey! Do you realize that we just created an original liturgical song?”

I don’t recall any particular kind of reaction from them except maybe “Yeah, right.” I do remember that we launched right away into a Pearl Jam song – probably “Not for You,” a favorite of ours. But I kept that phrase and our approach to that chord progression in my memory and took it home with me.

I remember going to my piano and just playing with the chords, trying to find a new melody that would add spice to an admittedly tired old chord progression. As per my custom, I opened my yellowed and dog-eared composing Bible and found Psalm 103:

         Bless the Lord, O my soul;

         And all my being, bless his holy name . . .

Psalm 103 has a lot of ideas in its 22 verses. I knew I had to narrow it down. I thought about our youth group as I prayed through verses 1-6:

         . . . forget not all his benefits . . .

         . . . he heals all your ills . . .

         . . . he crowns you with kindness and compassion . . .

I especially loved verse 6:

         He fills your lifetime with good; your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

I realized this would be the perfect psalm for my youth group in the way it expressed what our youth ministry was all about. I eventually came up with the following verses:

Remember the kindness of our God,

 who showers us with blessing all our days.

Remember the justice of our God,

 who stands with those forgotten and confused.

Remember the healing love of God,

 who calls us to be whole and to be free.

So I put it all in notation and brought it to the next Sunday night jam. I showed it to the guys and said, “See, we made an original liturgical song!”

“What? You’re kidding!” The guys were jazzed to see their names listed on the sheet as songwriters. So we started jamming on the progression in our inimitable grunge way. I taught Rich the melody and he sang along. Two weeks later, we introduced it as one of the songs for our Youth Mass. The reaction was immediate and appreciative.

“Where did you find that song?”

“All right! Music that I can relate to!”

“I love that verse about being whole and free!”

The song needed one more thing. There was a lot of space between the lines of the verses and Dan used to joke that the empty riff sounded a bit like that song from the musical Grease. Hey, I-IV-V progression! Well, we couldn’t very well have that connotation during liturgy. That’s where that distinctive clapping lick came from, to fill in those measures. It eventually became the hook of the song.

Over the years the song has become very popular and I get a kick out of hearing other youth groups singing it.  I still stay in touch with Dan, Marc and Kevin – all grown up now and into their careers.  But “Bless the Lord” will always be our gift to the young church. 

Bless our awesome God, ever ancient yet always young! 

 

St. Monica Youth Choir, circa 1998.

DEADLINE

Good old Merriam-Webster! This is the iconic dictionary’s first definition for deadline:

1. A line drawn within or around a prison that a prisoner passes at the risk of being shot.

The second definition, in two parts, is just like it:

2a. A date or time before which something must be done.

2b. The time after which copy is not accepted for a particular issue of a publication.

That first definition resonated with me when I finally received a deadline today for my book, From Mountains High. I felt like I was at risk of being shot! Here is a gist of the conversation I had with Glenn, Worship Publications Manager at OCP (my publisher).

“OCP is really interested in releasing From Mountains High at NPM 2018 in Baltimore,” said Glenn, referring to the annual convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. “In order to meet this goal, would you be able to finish the book and submit it on November 1?”

Like a fool, I said, “Yes!” What have I done??

I think back to a great quote from Star Trek: The Next Generation, in the episode on the holodeck where Professor Moriarty (Yes, from Sherlock Holmes. Don’t ask.) gave the noble crew an ultimatum. If they didn’t complete a task by a specified time, it meant certain doom for the fabled starship.

“A deadline has a wonderful way of concentrating the mind,” said Moriarty with a slight devilish smile.

I’m also thinking of “Seasons of Love,” the signature song from the amazing Broadway musical, Rent.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes.
How do you measure, measure a year?*

Well, I don’t have five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. I only have 85 days! Eighty. Five. Days.

This blog is going to be very short. Pardon me while I get to work!

* "Seasons of Love" from Rent by Jonathon Larson 

Only Way to Write Is to Write

Like anything else in life, writing takes commitment. A pianist or guitarist practices scales every day, ideally in all twelve keys. A professional baseball player goes through an elaborate stretching routine before embarking on infield drills, batting practice, and playing catch before a game’s first pitch is tossed.

Writers do not have such warm-up exercises, and just typing “the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs” doesn’t count. The only way to write is simply to start writing.

Ever hear of a fellow named Bob Lefsetz? He’s a music industry insider who writes a daily blog that is must reading for record label executives, producers and studio engineers, band managers, rock musicians, fans, and anyone who loves music. Lefsetz faithfully posts an 800-plus word essay every night on a wide range of topics: what record labels doing are wrong; what today’s artists are doing right; heartfelt appreciations of artists and musicians who have passed away; the foolishness in Washington; and so much more.

Bob apparently just writes off the top of his head, often commenting on current events as they happen. He has no footnotes and he cites no sources but his extensive experience as a band manager, a record label exec, and a music industry lawyer — among other hats he has worn — uniquely qualify him to pontificate with the voice of someone who obviously knows what he’s talking about. And he holds nothing back, saying exactly what he thinks and feels, often with caustic honesty. When Bob Lefsetz writes, people listen. 

Did I mention that Bob blogs every day? Wow. He inspires me. Here’s an article about Bob from the LA Times:

How I Made It - Bob Lefsetz went from failed music manager to one of the most influential voices in the industry

Bob commitment to writing is something I aspire to, especially if I’m serious about finishing From Mountains High. Writing a book is daunting and intimidating, as I may have mentioned before. The only way to get it done is to break it up in smaller, manageable pieces. It also requires a willingness to write randomly and not in sequential order.

For example, I have been working on my 1978 chapter on the Year of Three Popes since last winter. It requires much research into Popes Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II. When I get tired of working on that topic, I switch back to writing on the St. Louis Jesuits in 1975. When I reach an impasse there, I shift gears to the changes in the Sacrament of Penance in 1974. And so on. It’s like TV channel surfing, I guess. That kind of scattered approach might drive some people crazy but it works for me and helps keep my writing fresh.