What is it about southern gospel music that elicits such an immediate and powerful response from people? I was in a quartet Sunday evening with Robert Reeder, Larry Riggs and Pastor Darren and we sang an old favorite, "Sweeter as the Days Go By". It has a catchy tune, with lyrics that are nice, but light. But when we sang it, the Sunday night crowd erupted. I know it wasn't just that song; rather it was the type of song that elicited the response.
My guess is that the southern gospel songs represent a time in a generation's life when the Word was new and fresh in their lives. They were young, with career issues, new children, and Cold War fears (later, Vietnam War concerns) on the evening news. Their time at church in the company of dear friends, singing songs of hope in heaven, and listening to good old fashioned gospel preaching was precious. Hearing one of those tunes sweeps them back immediately to a time when all of life's possibilities lay ahead and their trust in God was foundational to their existence.
Today's young families face the same problems in different wrappers. All of life's possibilities lie ahead of them, as do all of life's difficulties. Their new children cause excitement and fear as they realize the responsibilities that come with raising children. Career issues are different because the day of the "company man" is gone, but the need to feed the family is the same. Cold war superpower foes have been exchanged for idealogical terrorists, but the songs written with the chord stylings and rythmns of today touch their hearts just as dearly as the southern gospel style did for the generation before them. I can envision 20 or 30 years from now, the 20 and 30 somethings of today will hear a song from today and be immediately drawn to the powerful tug of the Holy Spirit on their hearts they feel now. They won't be able to comprehend how the young people of that time won't appreciate their songs, but they will appreciate it when someone cares enough to sing one of "their" songs.
1 comment:
I have to admit it - I am a closet Southern Gospel fan. It's not because I identify so well with the music or lyrics themselves, but they bring back memories of getting ready for church with my mom and dad. We always started Sunday mornings with "The Gospel Jubilee." I remember the Happy Goodmans, the Florida Boys and others. I guess Southern Gospel reminds me of home and family. The songs are fun and for lack of a better term give me "warm-fuzzy" kind of memories. Even now when I go home to see Mom and Dad, we have to pop in the latest Gaither Homecoming video (Dad has every one. We've checked the list.) and enjoy it together.
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