When we were discussing the scavenger hunt activity in class, Dr. McGrath asked if we came across any songs that we thought had biblical references but weren’t completely sure. A number of us raised our hand, and I think this speaks a lot to how removed certain phrases have become from their original religious context. The most obvious example I can think of is “Oh my God.” Almost everyone I know has said this at some point, but without the deliberate intention of referencing God or the bible. To some people, this phrase is taking the lord’s name in vain – something that is specifically banned in the 10 Commandments. However, for most of us this phrase is something we say in surprise or awe. We also talked about water – there are a lot of references to water in the bible, but does that mean that any song talking about water is referencing the bible?
One such song is “What The Water Gave Me” by Florence + The Machine.
This song revolves around water, but (in my opinion) it is not referencing the bible or Christianity. While water is used as a symbol of purity in the bible and the lyrics of this song talk about getting something from water, I don’t think she’s referencing purity.
1 response so far ↓
Anonymous // Apr 11th 2017 at 3:02 pm
I have come across my search that I have found many references to God (or something related to God) in music. Those references can sometimes just me included in there for the lyrics to make sense, but not for any other meaning. I would like to know the reason that artists include a reference if they are not going to directly relate it to anything to the Bible.
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