Hymns & Lyrics

Ace86 · #1 Oct 8, '06, 4:57 pm

Gather Us In by Marty Haugen. My comments are in italics.

Verse 1:
Here in this place, new light is streaming
Now is the darkness vanished away
See in this space our fears and our dreamings
Brought here to you in the light of this day

Alright. I'm assuming the song is talking about church. "Place must mean church". But I don't necessarily bring my fears to church. I try to pray to God during Mass. I don't see how dreamings are brought by light.

Refrain
Gather us in the lost and forsaken
Gather us in the blind and the lame
Call to us now and we shall awaken
We shall arise at the sound of our name

Okay, those who are lost, forsaken, blind, and lame are certain welcome at Mass. But what is this really talking about: "we shall awaken"? So we went to Mass asleep?

Verse 2
We are the young our lives are a mystery
We are the old who yearn for you face
We have been sung throughout all of history
Called to be light to the whole human race

So we're young and old. "We have been sung". Why can't we sing about....oh, I don't know....God? ....instead of ourselves.....

Refrain 2
Gather us in the rich and the haughty
Gather us in the proud and the strong
Give us a heart so meek and so lowly
Give us the courage to enter the song

The "Give us" parts are actually prayerful. If the tune weren't so insipid, those parts might actually be nice to sing.

Verse 3
Here we all take the wine and the water
Here we will take the bread of new birth
Here you shall call your sons and your daughters
Call us anew to be salt for the earth

Okay, it's nice that we've alluded to the Eucharist.

Refrain 3
Give us to drink the wine of compassion
Give us to eat the bread that is you
Nourish us well, and teach us to fashion
Lives that are holy and hearts that are true

More Eucharist! This is probably the best verse.

Verse 4
Not in the dark of buildings confining
Not in some heaven, light-years away
here in this place the new light is shining
Now is the Kingdom, now is the day

Some heaven?!? ....

Refrain 4
Gather us in and hold us forever
Gather us in and make us your own
Gather us in all peoples together
Fire of love in our peoples together

The words: Eucharist, God, Jesus, Virgin Mary, Trinity, Divinity all were not mentioned once. The word ... us can be found sixteen times. Comments, anyone?

mommyof4 · #2 Oct 8, '06, 5:01 pm

Ok, they can gather me in, then. I like that song.

steve green 2 · #3 Oct 8, '06, 5:06 pm

Beats the heck out of that great Catholic hymn "I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden" It was a sorry country hit that was forced down our throats in sixth grade for us to sing at mass.

KUM BA YAHY (sic) is another one. Makes me want to shave my head and sell flowers at the airport.

mommyof4 · #4 Oct 8, '06, 5:08 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve green 2

Beats the heck out of that great Catholic hymn "I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden" It was a sorry country hit that was forced down our throats in sixth grade for us to sing at mass.

KUM BA YAHY (sic) is another one. Makes me want to shave my head and sell flowers at the airport.

wjp984 · #5 Oct 8, '06, 5:09 pm

stop complaing. I like that song and it just sounds really neat. But then again, for the same reason I like a lot of inappriopiate songs that sound cool, I am defending this song solely on the basis that I like the melody and chords. I never realy care about lyrics in music.

Rach620 · #6 Oct 8, '06, 5:10 pm

Have you heard about the Society for the Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas? They have a website somewhere... but many, many, MANY people have noticed the lame-ness of their music for awhile now. The sad thing is that Gather Us In isn't the worst of their creations...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ace86

Why can't we sing about....oh, I don't know....God? ....instead of ourselves.....

Touche. This is a problem in the Church today that's everywhere--we've taken the focus off of the Eucharist and Christ Himself who is present there, and instead have decided that "Oh! God is everywhere! So the Eucharist really ain't that special... let's sing about how God is in people!"

Quote:

...Give us the courage to enter the song

The "Give us" parts are actually prayerful. If the tune weren't so insipid, those parts might actually be nice to sing.

The "Give us" parts might be okay if they actually made sense. But... "Enter the song"?? What does that mean exactly? Are we talking about participating with "full heart and voice"? Living a life of faith? Praying sincerely?

Quote:

Okay, it's nice that we've alluded to the Eucharist.

haha, *alluded*. I believe that either Haugen or Haas is actually Lutheran... that could explain the mere allusion.

Quote:

Verse 4
Not in the dark of buildings confining
Not in some heaven, light-years away
here in this place the new light is shining
Now is the Kingdom, now is the day

Some heaven?!? ....

I'm almost positive that this concept is theologically incorrect. The Kingdom of God is NOT now; it is in that "light-years away" heaven they speak of. The Church's mission on earth is to prepare the world for the coming of Christ's Kingdom, but the belief is not that the Church on Earth, today, IS the Kingdom. What's heaven for, then? ...wait, Haugen seems confused here himself!

seek1st · #7 Oct 8, '06, 5:14 pm

I, too, wonder why so many songs speak of "us" rather than the Almighty. There are very few praise songs in our parish's
repertoire. I understand the focus on full and active participation by the faithful but there needs to be a balance.

While I'm at it, I'm not comfortable singing for God in the first person "I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry" -- I can listen to someone else sing it but I don't care to sing those songs myself.

**LilyM** · #8 Oct 8, '06, 5:19 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ace86

Gather Us In by Marty Haugen. My comments are in italics.

Verse 1:
Here in this place, new light is streaming
Now is the darkness vanished away
See in this space our fears and our dreamings
Brought here to you in the light of this day

Alright. I'm assuming the song is talking about church. "Place must mean church". But I don't necessarily bring my fears to church. I try to pray to God during Mass. I don't see how dreamings are brought by light.

Reread the lyrics ... its 'WE' bringing our fears and dreamings

Quote:

But what is this really talking about: "we shall awaken"? So we went to Mass asleep?

Ever been to a 7am or earlier mass? Wouldn't surprise me if the priests themselves start snoring midway through the homily ...

Quote:

Verse 4
Not in the dark of buildings confining
Not in some heaven, light-years away
here in this place the new light is shining
Now is the Kingdom, now is the day

Some heaven?!? ....

Hey, maybe we're not actually in heaven, but it ain't all that bad, and some poetic license should be allowed ...

I'm more confused about the juxtaposition of 'NOT in the dark of buildings...' with 'HERE IN THIS PLACE' ... Does the lyricist think that all Masses are being held outdoors now our something?

**LilyM** · #9 Oct 8, '06, 5:21 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by seek1st

While I'm at it, I'm not comfortable singing for God in the first person "I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry" -- I can listen to someone else sing it but I don't care to sing those songs myself.

Why not? The OT has plenty of incidences of people quoting God first-person and verbatim ... and this song is obviously based on one or more OT passages.

JKirkLVNV · #10 Oct 8, '06, 5:29 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ace86

Gather Us In by Marty Haugen. My comments are in italics.

Verse 1:
Here in this place, new light is streaming
Now is the darkness vanished away
See in this space our fears and our dreamings
Brought here to you in the light of this day

Alright. I'm assuming the song is talking about church. "Place must mean church". But I don't necessarily bring my fears to church. I try to pray to God during Mass. I don't see how dreamings are brought by light.

Refrain
Gather us in the lost and forsaken
Gather us in the blind and the lame
Call to us now and we shall awaken
We shall arise at the sound of our name

Okay, those who are lost, forsaken, blind, and lame are certain welcome at Mass. But what is this really talking about: "we shall awaken"? So we went to Mass asleep?

Verse 2
We are the young our lives are a mystery
We are the old who yearn for you face
We have been sung throughout all of history
Called to be light to the whole human race

So we're young and old. "We have been sung". Why can't we sing about....oh, I don't know....God? ....instead of ourselves.....

Refrain 2
Gather us in the rich and the haughty
Gather us in the proud and the strong
Give us a heart so meek and so lowly
Give us the courage to enter the song

The "Give us" parts are actually prayerful. If the tune weren't so insipid, those parts might actually be nice to sing.

Verse 3
Here we all take the wine and the water
Here we will take the bread of new birth
Here you shall call your sons and your daughters
Call us anew to be salt for the earth

Okay, it's nice that we've alluded to the Eucharist.

Refrain 3
Give us to drink the wine of compassion
Give us to eat the bread that is you
Nourish us well, and teach us to fashion
Lives that are holy and hearts that are true

More Eucharist! This is probably the best verse.

Verse 4
Not in the dark of buildings confining
Not in some heaven, light-years away
here in this place the new light is shining
Now is the Kingdom, now is the day

Some heaven?!? ....

Refrain 4
Gather us in and hold us forever
Gather us in and make us your own
Gather us in all peoples together
Fire of love in our peoples together

The words: Eucharist, God, Jesus, Virgin Mary, Trinity, Divinity all were not mentioned once. The word ... us can be found sixteen times. Comments, anyone?

Hate it, hate it, hate it (well, I don't mind the line about "we are the old who yearn for your face." I can see that). Can't stand it, wish it would die a painful death, sewn up in a bull skin with a snake, a spider, and mongoose, then pitched into the sea. Wish it wasn't, wish it never had been.

OCP is killing Catholic music. It's all in the interest of getting the congregation to sing. Well, today, out of the music issue, we sang some lame OCP song by (you guessed it) David Haas that had four or five different time signatures. Right, the congregations gonna join right in on that.

I'm with the OP. If you're gathering someone in, include me out.

Dr. Bombay · #11 Oct 8, '06, 5:31 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by seek1st

I, too, wonder why so many songs speak of "us" rather than the Almighty. There are very few praise songs in our parish's
repertoire. I understand the focus on full and active participation by the faithful but there needs to be a balance.

While I'm at it, I'm not comfortable singing for God in the first person "I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry" -- I can listen to someone else sing it but I don't care to sing those songs myself.

**estesbob** · #12 Oct 8, '06, 5:32 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommyof4

Ok, they can gather me in, then. I like that song.

Me too!

rayne89 · #13 Oct 8, '06, 6:54 pm

Gather us in, the rich and the famous,
gather us in, the poor and obscure,
gather us in, the slightly eccentric
and all the late-comers out there by the door.

Gather us in, the hairy and balding,
gather us in, the skinny and fat,
gather us in, the chic and and frumpy
and anyone wearing a big flowered hat.

Gather us in, the handsome and homely,
gather us in, from near and from far,
and don't forget the man in the Buick
who dropped off his wife and is parking the car.

Gather us in, the Packers and Bears fans
gather us in, who do not like sports,
gather us in from every direction
but keep out the flip-flops and tank tops and shorts.

http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=68456
How 'bout this version. (see above link)

EBSSTF4 · #14 Oct 8, '06, 6:59 pm

Sounds ok, wouldn’t make my list. It’s the contemporary coir, accompanied by a "pop rock" band that makes me skip the most convenient mass in my parish. I also have a problem with the music directors using mass to express their creativity.

netmilsmom · #15 Oct 8, '06, 7:00 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayne89

http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=68456
How 'bout this version. (see above link)

How come we never hear "Gather Us In" at 9:30 mass?