Not all of these songs are “atheist” per se. Some are just critical of religion, and others simply express a humanist awe at our universe. But I feel I can justify every song’s inclusion. There are a LOT more atheist songs than those listed below, of course. What songs should I add to the list?
Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumours (Hat-tip to Ryan for the song)
Arcade Fire – Intervention
Wizo – Raum der Zeit (English subtitles provided by yours truly)
Roy Zimmerman – Creation Science 101
John Lennon – Imagine
Tim Minchin – White Wine in the Sun
Cake – Comfort Eagle
Randy Newman – God’s Song
REM – Losing My Religion
Johnny Cash – Personal Jesus
Oingo Boingo – Insanity
Bright Eyes – Four Winds
The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize??
XTC – Dear God
Oh, Jon. I can’t stay mad at you.
Is “Personal Jesus” an atheistic song? I’m no expert on Depeche Mode (though I was listening to them before many of you were born!), but the song is not obviously atheistic. I always took it to be a song that used the Christian image to talk about forgiveness, caring, and hope. In some ways it is a very Christian message, a message of embodied love. (What you do for the least of these you do for me, so be a Jesus to your neighbor).
Johnny Cash is certainly no atheist, that man really loves the Lord. On a list of atheist songs it just looks weird to see Johnny Cash. And the whole American recordings series are profoundly spiritual and in many places overtly Christian. Cash is a tortured Christian, and some of this album is quite dark and honest about suffering, but it is not atheistic.
It looks like Jon went back and changed the original post, so my comment here now looks a little out of place. You really hang posters out to dry when you do that, Jon!
Cash is certainly no atheist, agreed. And as I said, these songs aren’t all “atheist” per se. The song “Personal Jesus” is originally from Depeche Mode, as you know, and I don’t think their intent was for it to be a Christian song. But it’s apparently open to interpretation, I guess—as evidenced by the fact that both Johnny Cash and Marilyn Manson have covered the song lol.
It’s my understanding that this song came out when the Catholic Church began doing confessions by telephone. The sick and dying who couldn’t reach confession halls were allowed to “pick up the receiver” and confess over the phone.
Kleiner, what did I change in the original post? I didn’t mean to hang you out to dry, but I don’t remember editing this post recently.
I am skeptical of the phone confession interpretation of the song. Confessions done in any way other than in person are not valid. I’ve never heard of phone confessions, and they would not be valid (I guess it is possible that some wayward priests have offered such things, but they shouldn’t have). The Church takes her sacraments much too seriously for that. For those who, for whatever reason, cannot make it to Confession, the Catechism says that a perfect act of contrition suffices (see Catechism 1452).
Some Vatican bureaucrat (the “Pontifical Council for Social Communications”) even put something out on this regarding the internet, but the same principle would hold for telephone sacraments:
“Virtual reality is no substitute for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the sacramental reality of the other sacraments [that would include Confession], and shared worship in a flesh-and-blood human community.”
No big deal, I thought the post (when I first read it) simply called all the songs “atheist” and did not have the more nuanced (not all are, some are humanist, I can justify the inclusion of all of them) bit that it says now. Maybe my eyes just read what they wanted to read — I’m in the midst of a pile of literally hundreds of papers to grade so my eyes might be failing me.
But I am glad to send off the SHAFT blog on finals week with some references to the Catholic Catechism – end my year with the atheists with a bang!
John Lennon’s God; Graham Parker’s Don’t Ask Me No Questions; Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska (inspired by Heidegger-translator and philosophy grad-turned film-maker Terrence Malick’s “Badlands” [1973]). Two songs for atheists to check the ever-present temptations towards snark: Dylan’s acoustic demo version of Every Grain of Sand and Springsteen’s Reason to Believe.
Even if the ebbs of Dylan’s relationship with Christianity, I rarely hear him as an atheist. I hear him wrestling with God, not denying Him. There is a big difference, of course. The same can be said of Johnny Cash.
Also, the Velvet Underground’s Jesus, another snark-chastening listen for atheists.
By the way – congratulations to all SHAFTers who are graduating this week. Here, I’ll do my best at an atheistic graduation speech:
Congratulations on completing college. Now go out into the indifferent universe and strive to make a difference in a world that doesn’t care!!!
Regina Spektor’s song “Laughing with” isn’t atheistic, but could be considered as pro-skeptic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pxRXP3w-sQ
“But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke,
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious”
“Believers can have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion.” Catechism 2125
Dear God by XTC
Dear god, hope you get the letter and…
I pray you can make it better down here
I don’t mean a big reduction in the price of beer
But all the people that you made in your image
See them starving in the street
‘Cause they don’t get enough to eat from god
I can’t believe in you
Dear god, sorry to disturb you but…
I feel that I should be heard loud and clear
We all need a big reduction in amount of tears
And all the people that you made in your image
See them fighting in the street
‘Cause they can’t make opinions meet about god
I can’t believe in you
Did you make disease and the diamond blue?
Did you make mankind after we made you?
And the devil too!
Dear god don’t know if you noticed but…
Your name is on a lot of quotes in this book
And us crazy humans wrote it, you should take a look
And all the people that you made in your image
still believing that junk is true
Well I know it ain’t, and so do you
Dear god
I can’t believe in
I don’t believe
I won’t believe in heaven or hell
No saints, no sinners, no devil as well
No pearly gates, no thorny crown
You’re always letting us humans down
The wars you bring, the babes you drown
Those lost at sea and never found
And it’s the same the whole world ’round
The hurt I see helps to compound
That father, son and holy ghost
Is just somebody’s unholy hoax
And if you’re up there you’ll perceive
That my heart’s here upon my sleeve
If there’s one thing I don’t believe in
It’s you
Dear god
No Tim Minchin pope song?
I’m an old-timer. Joni Mitchell is one of my favorite song writers. On her ‘Mingus’ album is a Mingus-like Jazz piece that fits your request for the atheist song-type. However, it is definitely ‘Mingus-like’ and not a song for everybody. Mingus, a jazz bassist, was collaborating with Ms. Mitchell on the album, but died before it’s completion. She wrote this song two days after his death. (From her liner notes.)
God must be a boogie Man
words and music by Joni Mitchell
He is three
One’s in the middle unmoved
Waiting
To show what he sees
To the other two
To the one attacking–so afraid
And the one that keeps trying to love and trust
And getting himself betrayed
In the plan–oh
The divine plan
God must be a boogie man!
One’s so sweet
So overly loving and gentle
He lets people in
To his innermost sacred temple
Blind faith to care
Blind rage to kill
Why’d he let them talk him down
To cheap work and cheap thrills
In the plan–oh
The insulting plan
God must be a boogie man!
Which would it be
Mingus one or two or three
Which one do you think he’d want the world to see
Well, world opinion’s not a lot of help
When a man’s only trying to find out
How to feel about himself!
In the plan-oh
The cock-eyed plan
God must be a boogie man!
Here is my current favorite song from Joni Mitchell. There are two versions and I prefer the one on Indigo Blue, but I cannot find it on the Web. The song is “The Sire of Sad Sorrow (Job’s Song)”. It is epic. I encapsulates the Biblical book of Job, a poetic play about Job as he questions G-d about tragedy upon tragedy. The song has a chorus that represents Job’s friends who accuse Job of sin and G-d is punishing Job. Joni Mitchell leaves Job’s life unresolved rather than giving Job a good ending like the play.
Here is one version:
The Sire of Sorrow
words and music by Joni Mitchell
[Job:] Let me speak, let me spit out my bitterness-
Born of grief and nights without sleep and festering flesh
Do you have eyes?
Can you see like mankind sees?
Why have you soured and curdled me?
Oh you tireless watcher! What have I done to you?
That you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true?
[Job:] Once I was blessed; I was awaited like the rain
Like eyes for the blind, like feet for the lame
Kings heard my words, and they sought out my company
But now the janitors of Shadowland flick their brooms at me
Oh you tireless watcher! What have I done to you?
that you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true?
([Antagonists:] Man is the sire of sorrow)
[Job:] I’ve lost all taste for life
I’m all complaints
Tell me why do you starve the faithful?
Why do you crucify the saints?
And you let the wicked prosper
You let their children frisk like deer
And my loves are dead or dying, or they don’t come near
([Antagonists:] We don’t despise your chastening God is correcting you)
[Job:] Oh and look who comes to counsel my deep distress
Oh, these pompous physicians
What carelessness!
([Antagonists:] Oh all this ranting all this wind Filling our ears with trash)
[Job:] Breathtaking ignorance adding insult to injury!
They come blaming and shaming
([Antagonists:] Evil doer)
[Job:] And shattering me
([Antagonists:] This vain man wishes to seem wise A man born of asses)
[Job:] Oh you tireless watcher! What have I done to you?
That you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true?
([Antagonists:] We don’t despise your chastening)
[Job:] Already on a bed of sighs and screams,
And still you torture me with visions
You give me terrifying dreams!
Better I was carried from the womb straight to the grave.
I see the diggers waiting, they’re leaning on their spades.
([Antagonists:] Man is the sire of sorrow Sure as the sparks ascend)
[Job:] Where is hope while you’re wondering what went wrong?
Why give me light and then this dark without a dawn?
([Antagonists:] Evil is sweet in your mouth Hiding under your tongue)
[Job:] Show your face!
([Antagonists:] What a long fall from grace)
[Job:] Help me understand! What is the reason for your heavy hand?
([Antagonists:] You’re stumbling in shadows You have no name now)
[Job:] Was it the sins of my youth?
What have I done to you?
That you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true?
([Antagonists:] Oh your guilt must weigh so greatly)
[Job:] Everything I dread and everything I fear come true
([Antagonists:] Man is the sire of sorrow)
[Job:] Oh you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true
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Awesome! Can’t wait to listen to these, especially the ones I haven’t heard before. (I found you via Main Street Plaza). I did a blog post on some irreligious songs a little while ago myself if anyone’s interested … http://theresedoucet.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/songs-of-humanism-and-experience/
Where’s REM – Losing My Religion? Yes I realize that “religion” is meant as a metaphor for his “worship”ful feelings towards his true love, presumably a woman, but it works literally too! “That’s me in the corner, that’s me in the spotlight, losing my religion…and I don’t know if I can do it…oh no I’ve said too much, I haven’t said enough…”
Oh! And! A Perfect Circle – Judith “You are such an inspiration for the ways that I will never, ever choose to be, oh so many ways for me to show you how your savior has abandoned you, f*** your god, your lord, your christ, he did this, took all you have and, left you this way, still you pray, never stray, never taste of the fruit, you never thought to question why. It’s not like you killed someone, it’s not like you threw a hateful spear into his side, talk to Jesus Christ as if he knows the reason why, He did it all for you…”
And pretty much everything by Tool, ever, “so eager to identify with someone above the crowd, someone prepared to lead the way, someone who will die for you”
Can’t have a thread taunting God without Jethro Tull’s “My God”, from Aqualung.
I have a new song you might want to add. Listen to Reason by Bryan Steeksma.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQjrlsSGJrs
I felt your grip begin to fade
You kept me tied, blind and afraid
But then I broke you and saw
The look on your face said it all
So could you feel the way I felt
Did you kneel the way I knelt
Did you stand up and yell
Pleading for someone to help
Or listen to reason
Open your eyes
It’s a wonder what you’ll find with an open mind
You may be surprised
Yeah
Gotta get away from this illusion
For the sake of the world, this delusion
It’s gotta, gotta, gotta go-ooh
Yeah-ooh
If the dark is just a thought
Then the light is in your mind
The lies we tell ourselves
Will ruin the world with time
Did you feel the way I felt
Did you kneel the way I knelt
Or did you look up and stare
Waiting for your acts or prayer
Won’t you listen to reason.
Will you open your eyes
It’s a wonder what you’ll find with an open mind
You might be surprised
Yeah
Gotta get away from this illusion
For the sake of the world, this delusion
It’s gotta, gotta, gotta go-ooh
Yeah-ooh
Gotta get away from this illusion
For the sake of the world, this delusion
It’s gotta, gotta, gotta go-ooh
When is it enough
When will we all wake up
So look around
And see what’s right before your eyes
No control beyond these skies
Gotta get away from this illusion
For the sake of the world, this delusion
It’s gotta, gotta, gotta go-ooh
Yeah-ooh
Gotta get away from this illusion
For the sake of the world, this delusion
It’s gotta, gotta, gotta go-ooh
‘Thoughts of a Dying Atheist’, Absolution (2003), Matt Bellamy, Muse