Secular Hymns

Big Star, Supergrass, Leonard Cohen, Neutral Milk Hotel + More

“While nonreligious in nature or intent, the secular hymn is a pop song that allows the listener to experience the numinous by creating an affective state that parallels a spiritual or religious state of mind.” —Journal of Media and Religion (via University of Chicago)

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My father insisted that all three of his sons were confirmed Lutherans, even though my family wasn’t overtly religious.

As the youngest child by many years, my experience attending weekly services, Sunday school, and confirmation classes mostly consisted of being dropped off and picked up by myself. I think my father was just trying to instill some sort of moral compass in me and I’m honestly thankful to him for that. It has come in handy over the years.

I was an outgoing kid, so I looked forward to those social experiences in the same way I enjoyed little league and Cub Scouts. The small community church I attended was super laid back in a post-hippie, late ‘70s/early ’80s Southern California way. The people were really nice and I made many friends I likely wouldn’t have met otherwise.

The genius thing about my father’s approach was that I wasn’t required to keep attending after my confirmation.

That transformed the experience from a familial requirement to an early exercise in free choice. Heady stuff for a naive tween with feathered hair and a lightning bolt necklace dangling from his neck. I think that on some level the lessons learned back then still inform the way I interact with the world, interpret life, and make choices.

My father stood at the back of the room beaming as I gave my confirmation speech (one of the few times he got out of the car to join me). I kept going for a few months afterward, but forever drifted away from the church by the start of my teens.

It all combined to create a complicated relationship with religion that I have often grappled with over the years.

Punk rock arrived in my life a little later, injecting some well-earned skepticism.

From there I gravitated to literature as a means of expanding my mind, a realm where I learned to approach all religions as intellectual thought experiments. That continued through college with classes like “The Bible As Literature” where I began to understand many religious figures as highly idealized character archetypes.

That’s still pretty much where I am today, although my understanding and acceptance of spirituality deepened greatly after getting sober—mostly unlocked by these words: “You don’t have to believe in God; you just have to believe that you aren’t God.” (Ironically, many 12-step meetings I attended took place at neighborhood churches.)

Whether you believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, a deified historical figure, or a societal construct designed to help humans make better choices (I’m not saying any of those beliefs are wrong or right—that’s up to each individual to decide), it’s hard to deny the incredible power and cultural impact of those teachings.

“Love thy neighbor” is often easier said than done, but wouldn’t the world be a better place if more people took that approach? The amazing thing is that you don’t have to be religious to embrace that philosophy. On some level, it’s just solid advice.

As with most things in my life, I often turn to music as a means of exploring my relationship with religion.

I’ve always been strangely drawn to secular* songs that namecheck Jesus. Perhaps it’s because I sense in the lyrics a familiar exploration of conflicted feelings. Or maybe it’s just tickling that literary itch that grabbed hold of my brain during high school and college. (*Note: I’m assuming these are secular songs, but I don’t know for sure if the songwriters ever specifically described them as “religious.”)

Many tracks have been released in this vein over the decades, but the one I most often come back to is Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne.” Originally written as a poem, and first recorded by Judy Collins in 1966, Cohen’s somber version appeared on his debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen in 1967.

“There was a Suzanne who was associated with the song, the wife of a friend of mine …She allowed me to locate the song and make it about something. It was in some more abstract realm, the song, and she gave it a location and a form and I was very grateful,” Cohen told the CBC in 2006.

“Suzanne” may be about Cohen’s platonic relationship with a friend’s spouse, but I’ve always been drawn to the stunning religious imagery in the second verse:

And Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching from his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain only drowning men could see him
He said all men will be sailors then until the sea shall free them
But he himself was broken, long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone

Cohen was raised in Judaism and later became an ordained Zen monk. He also wrote the ‘secular hymn’ “Hallelujah” and was asked by interviewers about the religious themes in his songs many times over the years. This might be my favorite response from him: “I am religious in that I know the difference between grace and guilt.”

These days I’m more curious about Western conceptions of Buddhism, but I remain intrigued by the iconography of Jesus Christ and the towering influence of the gospels.

It’s a lifelong fascination that naturally peaks during the holiday season when rampant consumerism and Christianity dominate culture for the last month of every year. My family loves listening to holiday music together, but I’m often struck by the incongruous intertwining of vapid pop tracks like “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” “Santa Baby,” and “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas” with more religious songs like “Silent Night,” “O Holy Night,” and “Joy to the World.” (Like a Grinch inflatable next to a nativity scene on a neighborhood lawn, etc.)

When I’m alone in the car or at the gym, I’ll often turn to “Suzanne” (and the other tracks embedded throughout this post) to see if I’m any closer to understanding what those songwriters were getting at. It’s mostly an exercise in futility since my evolving relationship with a particular track obviously has more to do with my personal experiences and thoughts than whatever the artists intended.

This year I’ve spent some extra time with Neutral Milk Hotel’s “The King of Carrots, Pts. 2 & 3” (“Jesus Christ, I love you / Yes, I do”). Here’s a quote about the track from a 1997 Pitchfork interview with songwriter Jeff Mangum:

“The thing about me singing about Christ; I’m not saying, ‘I love you, Christianity.’ I’m not saying, ‘I love all the fucked-up terrible shit that people have done in the name of God.’ And I’m not preaching belief in Christ. It’s just expression. I’m just expressing something I might not even understand. It’s a song of confusion, it’s a song of hope, it’s a song that says this whole world is a big dream—and who knows what’s gonna happen.”

“Confusion,” “hope,” and “dreaming”? I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Whatever your relationship with Jesus Christ or Christianity, it’s interesting to consider the many ways those teachings continue to shape Western thought and, in this case, music. Whether you consider yourself religious or not, these are all great songs that, in my opinion, are worth a closer listen at this time of year.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. Happy holidays to all.

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A Few More Secular Songs That Mention Jesus…

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