Tuned out
I don’t come from a very musical family. I can’t recall a single time I have ever heard or seen my Mother sing. My sister played the clarinet and my brother played the saxophone in high school for a little while, but I don’t recall them being real pleasant experiences, at least from where I was sitting.
Our family was good friends with the choir director of the church we attended. They had a son and a daughter who were very close to the same ages as my sister and me. One day this choir director was offered the job of being the choir director/pastor of a very small church. My Dad and my Mom decided our family should go to that church and see if we could help him with his efforts. One evening service he wasn’t there for some reason. When it came time to do the first hymn there was no one there to lead or start things off. My Father, never one to shun the spotlight, decided he would get things going. The first syllable came out fine, but he developed a frog in his throat after that and choked up on the next few. The small congregation laughed for a few moments and then everyone got back to the singing.
Many of our Presidents have been gifted musically. Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton have all received Grammy Awards. Granted, they were for Best Spoken Word Albums, but they are Grammies no less. Harry Truman and Richard Nixon played the piano. John Tyler and Woodrow Wilson played the violin. Bill Clinton played the saxophone. John Quincy Adams played the flute. Some say FDR might have played the organ and Chester Arthur might have played the banjo.
A few Presidents were multitalented with musical instruments. Andrew Jackson could play the banjo and guitar (and possibly the flute). Thomas Jefferson could play the violin, cello and clavichord. Probably the most musically talented of the Presidents was Warren G. Harding. It is said that Harding once bragged that he could play any instrument other than the slide trombone and the E-flat cornet. He was once even part of a small band that made enough money from playing to at least buy themselves uniforms.
How about Presidents that sang? Bill Clinton was in his high school chorus. Woodrow Wilson was in the Virginia Glee Club when he was younger. Richard Nixon composed a song which was performed on the Jack Parr Show.
Let’s not forget the dancers. At least two of the Presidents were very good dancers. Both enjoyed dancing with the ladies. The two dancing Presidents were George Washington and Lyndon Johnson.
Sometimes it’s hard to read the Bible all the way through. You eventually come to those chapters with a lot of names. There might be a list of so and so was the son of so and so who was the son of so and so, and on and on it goes. Sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the midst of all those names and fail to realize that these were very real people. These list are a composition of individuals who transferred one generation to the next. There are also those who formed groups that helped make sure the worship experience was perfect whether it was through their craft, their prophecy, or just making sure things were set up right.
There are also lists of different musicians throughout the Bible. Saul was soothed by David’s harp. The walls of Jericho fell at the trumpets blast. We hear, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”
I have never been much of a singer. I’m not just saying that, I have had people tell me that. I will rarely sing because I don’t want to disturb other people’s worship experience or environment.
I once went out to New Mexico to see my Grandmother. She wanted to go to church, so that is what we did. As we came to the part of the service where you sing, she grabbed the hymnal. It was the first time I ever heard her sing. She had one of those voices that people turn around and stare at you and I don’t mean that in a good way. I watched her and she was so totally focused on her singing. Not a thought or a glance would veer in any direction but that page and His eyes. She taught me that day what it really meant to make a joyful noise.
He might have been the least musical of all the Presidents. He was in Baltimore at the Peabody Institute for a concert. My guess is that the conversation turn toward music. Ulysses S. Grant turned toward Mr. Robert C. Winthrop and said, “Well, Mr. Winthrop, I only know two songs. One is Yankee Doodle Dandy and the other isn’t” That is one of my favorite Presidential quotes.
In I Chronicles 15 David is so excited about the Ark. He is assigning jobs left and right to make sure everything goes right. You see name after name and the task they are assigned. But David really seems to perk up as he starts listing the musicians. He wants God to know his joy and he could think of no better way to express it than through music.
I guess God would be really happy if we all jumped on the band wagon and made a joyful noise. Does anyone know all the words to Yankee Doodle Dandy?
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Thank You for people like my Grandmother and David who were more excited about making a joyful noise than they were about what other people thought. Amen.
