carolyn is going back to seminary: a song

My friend Carolyn is going back to seminary for her phd. We've been talking and thinking about it, and it was her birthday recently, so I wrote a song about it. The chorus is inspired by a capoeira event that my friend BJ was in. May there be more theology like that.

Here it is, and maybe I'll post a singing version should I record it. It has a lot of Carolyn-specific stuff in it, but a lot of it is true for all of us. So there.

"Carolyn R. is going back to seminary"

C Am C G/
Am F C G

It's kind of like fighting
It's kind of like dancing
and when the Spirit starts to move you
you'll find it so entrancing

we don't need more dead white guys
or more bad ideas
we need all our bodies
and better shmideas*
This path won't be easy
and not always fun
but Jesus fights with you
until you are done

It's kind of like fighting
it's kind of like dancing
and when the Spirit starts to move you
you'll find it so entrancing

if you're not enough mighty
or not enough bold
then just be enough clever
just be enough bold
This work is for trouble
this work is for joy
this work is for playing
with a new set of toys

It's kind of like fighting
it's kind of like dancing
And when the Spirit starts to move you
She'll find it so entrancing

The women are hungry
the children need fed
so return to the tower-
and come back with bread
In writing and teaching
you'll nurture deep roots
show up with eyes open
and teach us some truths

It's kind of like fighting
It's kind of like dancing
And when the Spirit starts to move you
They'll find it so entrancing

And when you are ninety
and backwards you look
you won't just have children
you won't just have books
These are your blessings-
these are your glories-
so go make some room for
some yet-unheard stories


For Laurel and Leanne
for Mike and for me
for yourself and for Hazel
for mountains and trees

It's kind of like fighting
it's kind of like dancing
And when the Spirit moves you
we'll find it so entrancing

it's kind of like fighting
it's kind of like dancing
And when the Spirit moves you
you'll find it so entrancing

-dw





*long story

HOWNOTTO: Name Your Band

Corrigan and I have been getting up before dawn for Morning Activity. While our significant others engage in gainful employment, we do some sort of... activity. Recently, we tried our best to come up with bad band names: the opposite version of one of my favorite activities.

So, we then did some analysis of the final list, of about fifty names, and found some general principles that one should avoid in naming one's band.

Here goes:

HOWTO: Name your band.

AVOID:
a) Incompleteness, superfluous suffixes. Example: "Distinctiveness."
b) Terrible puns. Example: "The Tree Tenors."
c) Narcissism. Example: "Welcome to My Mind."
d) Un-clever Imperative Verbs. Example: "Question Authority."
e) Trying too hard, over-exaggerated silliness. Example: "Day-Glo Waffle Monkeys."
f) Using more than one gimmick/ clever play per name. Example: "Budget Rent a Kar."
g) No. Just, no. Example: "I have AIDS, Please Hug Me."
h) "Songs R Us." Example: "Songs R Us."

There are a lot more bad band names where this came from. Many are on a piece of paper in my bedroom. The rest are on myspace.com.

PS- We also came up with some bad band names for Christian rock bands specific. The following two fit both in this category, and in the category of really good names for Christian rock bands made up entirely of gay men: "All Out for Jesus." "Fishers of Men."