> > > > > Well I for one really like Bruce Cockburn's music > > > > > and never would even have known about it had not > > > > > turq posted some of it so I'm grateful to him for > > > > > that. > > > > > > > > > Bruce Cockburn is a great song writer and player but > > > > it's another case of cognitive dissonance that Barry > > > > likes his music, since everyone knows Cockburn is a > > > > devout Catholic. Many of Cockburn's songs refer to > > > > his Christian beliefs. Go figure. > > > > > > > Willy, if you're going to be a troll, at least > > > be an accurate one. Bruce is Christian (Church > > > of England), > > > > > Oh, that's make a BIG difference. LoL! > > > > So, we agree about the cognitive dissonance. > > > > Avowed atheists like you and Curtis take the soul out > > of soul music - almost all of your music heroes were > > and are devout believers in the soul of man. > > Ann: > Interesting point. > An atheist soul-singer. Yeah, that makes sense. LoL!
"Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s, combining elements of African American gospel music and rhythm and blues." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_music > > Here is something else: > "Most scholars of the blues believe it was born in the Mississippi Delta > shortly before 1900. The blues had its roots in other forms of black music > that included African rhythms, field hollers, jump-ups, spirituals, and > church music, but it became a distinct form by the turn of the century. It > grew out of the hard lives of poor black workers and sharecroppers. J. C. > Handy, who would popularize the blues, > > pointed out, "The blues did not come from books. Suffering and hard luck were > the midwives that birthed these songs. The blues were conceived in aching > hearts." Many bluesmen found their songs by working on prison road crews and > work gangs. Sidney Bechet, one of the great jazz musicians, first heard the > blues sung by a prisoner > in a jailhouse. "The way he sang it was more than just a man. He was like > every man that's been done wrong. Inside of him he's got the memory of all > the wrong that's been done to all my people. When the blues is good that kind > of memory grow up inside it." > > Bechet considered the blues to be the secular side of black music. "The > blues, like spirituals, were prayers. One was praying to God and the other > was praying to man. They were both the same thing in a way; they were both my > people's way of praying to be themselves, praying to be let alone so they > could be human." People sang the blues at work and at home, on chain gangs > and in dance halls, walking along a road, riding a mule or a train. The > lyrics were about sex and lust, love found and love lost, going away and > coming home, driving mules and riding horses, working on the farm and on the > levee. By the time of the First World War, the blues had become part of > America's music, made popular by men and women like W.C. Handy and Bessie > Smith. During the 1930s and'40s, the blues spread northward with the > migration of many blacks from the South and entered into the repertoire of > big-band jazz. In the later 1940s and early '50s, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, > John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, and B.B. King continued the > tradition. In the early 1960s, the bluesmen were "discovered" by young white > American and European musicians from The Rolling Stones to Eric Clapton and > Bob Dylan." > -- Richard Wormser > > > > > > Go figure. > > > > "Raised as an agnostic, early in his career he became a > > devout Christian. Many of his albums from the 1970s > > refer to his Christian belief, which in turn informs the > > concerns for human rights and environmentalism expressed > > on his 1980s albums. His references to Christianity in > > his music include the Grail imagery of 20th-century > > Christian poet Charles Williams and the ideas of > > theologian Harvey Cox...." > > > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Cockburn > > > > > but not terribly active any more. > > > > > > He was never devout, and to his credit only a > > > couple of his songs are overtly Christian, > > > although his spiritual beliefs certainly "leak > > > through" into his music. So, in the past, has > > > his interest in Taoism and Zen, so I guess > > > you'd have to call him an ecumenical songwriter. :-) > > > > > > Here's one of the Zen songs: > > > > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35YMW_hpp6Y > > > > > > And here's what he thinks of *some* of his > > > fellow Christians, and the things they do, say, > > > and believe: > > > > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GUiGz_6Y7g > > > > > >
