Jungle Music

Listening to Servant's World of Sand tonight and wanted to post the lyrics to this great song. The dialogue at the end is a real catalogue of the early "Jesus rock" days.



4. JUNGLE MUSIC

Lyrics

—
Owen Brock

Music
—
Bruce Wright, Owen Brock, Matt Spransy
Dialog written by Bruce Wright
Spoken by: Stanley
—
Jim Palosaari/Livingston
—
Bruce Wright

Sacrilege safari

—
into jungles of tradition
Will we make it out alive, or die of malnutrition
Skeptics sneer with icy eyes, in de' bushes dey lay hidden
We want to reach the heathen tribes but our methods are...forbidden
Your music is outrageous (Outrageous); simply for the birds (It's for the birds)
God would have to stoop too low (Too low) to understand your words
(To understand your words)

It's like the devil drumming (The devil's drumming)
A satanic symphony (Play it backwards, you'll see)
The beat and all those minor notes (Oh those notes)
Are such a blasphemy (Blasphemy!)

Jungle music
—
Can God really use it
Jungle music
—
Can God really use it

Those high notes are seductive; they give us the blues
In fact we had a baby boom from the last time you came through
So we rolled our rock on down a trail where others feared to tread
We found ourselves surrounded by an hungry heathen bunch
They thought we might be breakfast and therein lies the crunch
The tension quickly mounted ? a desperate situation
Then our music filled the air with a timely syncopation
When they all got saved that day, it really was no shock
No matter what the critics say, God uses righteous rock
Jungle music


—
Can God really use it
Jungle music
—
Can God really use it
Jungle music
—
Can God really use it
Jungle music
—
Can God really use it


S: Dr. Livingston I presume!
L: Why Stanly Ole chap, did you bring those rock and roll tapes that I requested?
S: Yes I did Doctor, I brought some Resurrection Band.
L: Capitol! I was Awaiting Your Reply.
S: However, I lost the Daniel Amos in the river. It was a pity.
L: How Alarming.
S: But I did manage to get some DeGarmo & Key This Time Thru.
L: Splendid! This Ain't Hollywood you know. You can't get any descent rock and roll out here. It's a beastly jungle. I say, how's your old colleague Barnabas?
S: Oh, you know Barnabas. Never Say Die type that. I left him in Egypt studying Petra glyphs.
L: Jolly good. Jolly good.
S: I say, do you fancy Fireworks?
L: Why they're strictly forbidden. It Shatters the Darkness. One shot and the animals go quite crackers. The rockets red glare and all that.
S: Steady on. Steady on old boy. I think what you need is a little bit of Sweet Comfort.
L: Bless you Stanley! Why, I drink it all the time. Hold on Tight. You get the
glasses and I'll be Breaking the Ice!
S: No, no, Doctor. You've got it all wrong. Oh well. Now then, I also brought you some Servant.
L: Oh what a stroke of luck! Why two of my servants ran away last week. Larry and Normanly. They ran into the Shallow Water and the crocks got them. Poor blighters. Well, I suppose they're In Another Land now?

RIP to Bruce Wright as well. Bruce died of cancer in 1993.

I still remember when Servant played this tiny town on the Great American Album Givaway Tour. All my friends and I were roadies (and got a free T-Shirt for our efforts). At the meal for the band, Bruce spent a lot of time talking to me and my best friend, which I thought was the coolest thing that had ever happened in my 15 years of existence.

See...I know people will argue and say that the modern way of writing vague lyrics so we can play in front of larger crowds is the way to reach people. But, back when Christian musicians first started rockin', they were largely rejected by the church. Some of those early bands like Servant, Barnabus, Resurrection Band, Petra, Daniel Band, etc. couldn't play in churches. They played at carnivals, night clubs, street fairs, and just about anyplace someone would ask them to. They took the Gospel of Christ right out to the streets. And, people were saved by their actions! The strong message repelled some, but some were saved!

Good music will draw people. When you're hearing a band for the first time, you don't pay as much attention to the lyrics, but you notice if the band can carry a tune or not. I really believe that the whole Christian scene is doing itself a huge disservice by not going back to its roots. We've got to take the message--not some watered down lyrical trype--to the people where they are.

I think it's ironic that acceptance by the church has been a big determining factor in all of this. The more Christian rock has been brought into the church, the more the message has weakened.

It is rather perplexing and disheartening, TT. But, your assessment seems correct to me.

Tall Tyrion wrote:

I think it's ironic that acceptance by the church has been a big determining factor in all of this. The more Christian rock has been brought into the church, the more the message has weakened.

Seems like almost anything the church condones, gets messed up somehow. Too much politics in religion.

Thanks for posting that TT, some fantastic lyrics. One of the reason I love all those classic Christian bands.