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Sunday, September 02, 2007

Song of the Week: Lang, Stone and Hancock Sing "When Love Comes to Town"

I ran across Jonny Lang's music a year ago. Think Stevie Wonder meets Stevie Ray Vaughn. I immediately thought, "Someone ought to pair this guy up with Joss Stone."

Someone did.

Herbie Hancock invited them into his "Possibilities" project to join him on, "When Love Comes to Town," originally sung by Bono and B.B. King on U2's 1988 project, "Rattle and Hum."

Pay attention to the words of this song. Bono makes himself one of the men responsible for nailing Christ to the cross. It's remarkable how many artists have confessed the same thing. I mention this in Chapter 18 of my book, The Anchor Course:


Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, opens with a prophecy from the Hebrew Bible:

He was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
by His wounds we are healed.

Like a flower unfurls from a tight bud to reveal the full bloom, the entire film unfurls from those first words the viewer sees. What’s more, the director actually inserted himself into the film at a critical point. The viewer never sees the celebrity’s famous face, but as Jesus is being nailed to the cross its Gibson’s own hand that holds the first nail driven into Christ. He’s not the first artist to include himself in scenes depicting Christ’s suffering. In Rembrandt’s 1633 painting, The Raising of the Cross, a man in a blue painter's beret is part of the crowd raising Christ upon the cross. That man is Rembrandt himself. Another believer, Bono of the band, U2, confessed his role in Christ's death in his song, "When Love Comes to Town"--

I was there when they crucified my Lord
I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword
I threw the dice when they pierced his side
But I've seen love conquer the great divide.

Gibson, Rembrandt, and Bono all knew that their own sins required the cross. We, too, have to get to the point where we see that it was our own sins that Christ carried.
By the way, we're starting another 8-week Anchor Course at Hillcrest. If you live in the Austin area, come to our "Get Anchored" Dinner Wednesday, Sept. 12, 6:15 to 8:00pm. There's no cost for the dinner and no obligation to register for the Course. Just come and enjoy a great meal, meet some new friends, and get introduced to the Anchor Course. Those who register for the Course that night will be given a copy of the textbook, The Anchor Course: Exploring Christianity Together.

Here's Herbie Hancock, Joss Stone, and Jonny Lang:


I was a sailor, I was lost at sea
I was under the waves
Before love rescued me
I was a fighter, I could turn on a thread
Now I stand accused of the things I've said

When Love comes to town I'm gonna jump on that train
When Love comes to town I'm gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before Love came to town

I used to make love under a red sunset
I was making promises I would soon forget
She was pale as the lace of her wedding gown
But I left her standing before Love came to town

I ran into a juke joint when I heard a guitar scream
The notes were turning blue, I was dazing in a dream
As the music played I saw my life turn around
That was the day before Love came to town

When Love comes to town I'm gonna jump on that train
When Love comes to town I'm gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before Love came to town

When Love comes to town I'm gonna jump on that train
When Love comes to town I'm gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before Love came to town

I was there when they crucified my Lord
I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword
I threw the dice when they pierced his side
But I've seen Love conquer the great divide

When Love comes to town I'm gonna catch that train
When Love comes to town I'm gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before Love came to town
______________________________________________________
The player for the featured "Song of the Week" can be found on the upper right corner of the weblog for one week.

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