Today’s Scripture Reading (August 21, 2019): 2 Samuel 22
Dire Straits released “Money for Nothing” in 1985. The single was
taken off of the bands “Brothers in Arms” album and was written by Dire Straits
frontman Mark Knopfler with a little help from Sting, who appears to sing the
song with Knopfler, lending his signature high falsetto voice to the
composition. (Sting argues that the only thing that he had to do with the
song’s writing was to add the words “I want my MTV” at the beginning of the
song. The phrase follows the melody line from Sting’s “Don’t Stand so Close to
Me.”)
There is no doubt that the song, which won awards for performance
and video production in 1985 and 1986, was controversial from the very
beginning. Dire Straits replaced the word “faggot” with “queenie” in the lyrics
of the second verse during public performances almost from the very inception
of the song. But the change does not improve the acceptability of the song’s
lyrics by much. Knopfler argues that the song is speaking of an ignorant part
of our society and that it is that ignorance that is shown in the words of the
song. Dire Straits dissolved in 1995. In 2011, the Canadian Broadcast Standards
Council banned the song from airplay. K-97 in Edmonton and Q104 in Halifax both
responded to the ban by playing the song for an hour straight, without
interruption. But it is an open question as to whether the song could even be
written and released in today’s environment. It is not that the attitudes
reflected in the song are not present in contemporary society, but rather that
our sensitivities have changed. The song demonstrates a red-neck tendency that
is present, but not accepted, by the majority of our culture.
The Psalm that is recorded in 2 Samuel 22 is not a new Psalm of
David. It is an old one. With minor changes, the Psalm that we have here is a
repetition of Psalm 18. Unlike Dire Straits “Money for Nothing,” Psalm 18 aged
well. It was likely written when David was young, but the truth of the song was
something that David could still say held true at the close of his life. David
is not embarrassed by the words of his youth. It seems likely that it is a
Psalm that David repeatedly sang throughout the length of his life. The odd
word might have changed, but the sentiment remained true. The Psalm reflected
the convictions of his youth, and they became the testimony of his later years.
It reflected the confidence of his heart and the assurance that he found in his
God. With every breath of his life, David could say, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer” (2 Samuel 22:2, Psalm 18:2).
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 23
No comments:
Post a Comment