Last night, I attended a meeting of Christian artists and one of the discussion topics was the power of media to influence people. Now influence can be a good thing, but it also has a dark side. My medium is primarily the written word, which gets a distribution boost in this day and age from the internet. However, there are other mediums which reach us on a more subconscious level, allowing them to influence in an entirely different way. I was reminded of a previous study on that topic, specifically regarding music, and the poem which grew out of the process. To that end, I offer the following thoughts for your consideration.
Today, a few words about music. I love music, as most people do. However, it can be a dangerous thing because it is such a powerful medium. My own tastes therein are relatively eclectic and I try to keep an open mind, even about those forms of music which I generally don’t care for. As a poet, I also have an affinity for the lyrics of songs and that, perhaps, is the reason why I might pay more attention to what the words actually say. Those lyrics, even in popular and favorite songs, often contain messages which we would openly reject if they were mailed to us in a letter or printed in the newspaper. Countless popular songs, the words of which we usually know by heart, are far from uplifting. Themes that we would never dream of chanting over and over again, we willingly sing along to, over and over again, with no thought as to their content. You may call me paranoid. You may think that words like “brainwashing” are far too strong to apply. I just happen to subscribe to the wisdom of an old computer programming term: GIGO, which stands for “garbage in, garbage out.” In Psalm 1, God exhorts us to meditate on His law day and night. Likewise King David, the man after God’s own heart, closed Psalm 19 with the words, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Perhaps we should be more careful what we are willing to have whispered into our hearts and minds on a repetitive basis. Just as the quality and quantity of food we consume has a measurable impact on our bodies, I propose that the quality and quantity of music we ingest has much the same effect on our hearts and minds. In the end a man becomes his music because those lyrics become the meditations of his heart. The best way to guard our hearts and minds, and therefore direct our lives, is to arm ourselves with pure and noble thoughts. Let us, therefore, carefully consider the content of our music because that music, through repetition, whispers deep into our souls and may have a part in shaping our character.
Song of the Siren
Music soothes the savage beast, or so I've often heard
But the man is wise who takes the time to evaluate each word
For often beat and rhythm, masquerading as our friends
Cover up the true agenda of the music and its ends
How easily the strong are lulled by the siren and her song
Who beckons unsuspecting souls to give in and come along
Unaware of her intentions and, in fact, quite unconcerned
But a man who cannot smell the smoke so easily gets burned
Indeed, there is a deeper issue for the one who would be pure
When he begins to hum along with songs he never should endure
But the barriers are broken down by the pleasant melody
So he accepts what should offend him because he somehow fails to see
The broader picture which surrounds him and his role within the plot
He sees the cheese, but not the trap and, unsuspecting, so is caught
Yet, sadly, even then the victim quickly loses sight
For he has built up a resistance to the message and his plight
We take the little things so lightly, yet life is naught but little things
The sum of which makes up the whole and whatever that may bring
Music stirs the soul to worship, but also stirs the heart to sin
The end result will be the product of the ingredients put in
If this is true, then I propose we measure carefully
The contents of our music, its purpose and its quality
We read the labels on the cereal box and at the grocery store
Because we care about our bodies, don't our hearts deserve much more?
Music soothes the savage beast, if that's what we've become
But the injection can be lethal once the local makes us numb
A song can be the sweetest thing, lifting up our minds and hearts
Or it can drown the voice of God, and tear our souls apart
By Frank Carpenter ©
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Why to the mast did captain lash his frame,
His ears unstop'd so to discern the lay?
No man, tis true, can heedless pass it by,
Lest to some greater force his spirit weigh;
The sea-laced cries on troy's bane drove him mad,
And had he pow'r, darkness would be his fare,
But deaf to orders sailors held the tack,
And song, knows he, no mortal lives to share.
What melodies 'like tears in rain' may be
No more, but that some, rooted, bloom among
The soiled filth and bruised reeds that fall,
And to what seems below do draw a song.
'Seems' for we, who would be at the feast,
Must have the eyes and ears of savage beast.
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