Writing a hit for the 18th century

Sunday's service set us a bit of a challenge. The lectionary gave us Exodus 20 as a reading but we couldn't find any decent hymns on the giving of the Ten Commandments. In googling, my wife Libby noticed that couplets from Isaac Watts' setting of the commandments for children fit the meter of the tune Old 100th. More googling revealed that an English translation of Luther's hymn  Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot (These are the holy ten commands) was in a similar meter.

Figuring out the meter of tunes and lyrics is an old skill that enables the matching of words to a myriad of different tunes--hymn books have indexes of tunes by meter in the back. Since working with Red Team, we have had lots of fun trying out well known hymns to different tunes. Paying attention to meter also means you can introduce a completely new hymn (the words) with comparative ease if you pair it with a well known tune.
So late into the night on Wednesday (music has to be in on Thursday morning) we struggled to combine a verse from Watts with a few lines from Luther. We filled in the gaps (see below)  
We ended up with a Frankenstein's monster of a hymn that would, I am sure, have been a big hit in the eighteenth century!

Ten Commandments
Tune: OLD 100, Words:  Watts, Luther, Slade

These are the holy ten commands
For Israel’s children from God’s hands
“I am the Lord, your only God,
who brought you out of servitude.

You shall have no more gods but Me
Before no idol bow your knee
Take not the name of God in vain:
Nor dare the Sabbath day profane.

To both your parents honor give
So in the land you long may live
No murder, no adultery
These are my laws, pay heed to me

No stealing. No dishonesty,
shun slander and duplicity
Do not desire your neighbors’ goods,
their spouses, homes, or livelihoods.

This law fulfilled in Christ, we’re free
To serve each other joyfully
LORD, grant us strength to follow You,
And give You praise in all we do.

--

A Hymn Singing Tradition

There are very few places where people get together and sing anymore. Church is perhaps the only place left in America where this still happens consistently.
When I first came to the States, I was struck by the silence at sporting events. In the UK, crowds sing and chant together--often unrepeatable versions of popular songs--but over here, there are cheerleaders who do most of the cheering on behalf of the crowd. Even during the national anthem most folk stand silently clutching their ball caps.  When did Americans stop singing their own national anthem at public events? Is it a misplaced mark of respect? Is it because it has become a performance by the diva on the field rather than a community coming together in song?
All I know is it wouldn't happen in Wales!
In Wales they sing their national anthem. Here is a fine example of congregational singing outside of a church context:

A Welsh Apostolic Pentecostal Missionary once complained to me that if you get a welshman drunk, he starts singing hymns but you'll never get him to go to chapel. They will sing hymns when led by Tom Jones:

They will also break into CWM RHONDDA spontaneously when they get excited:

U2, Glastonbury and Congregational Singing

Last night I watched the BBC broadcast of U2 at Glastonbury festival. Towards the end of their set there was an extraordinary moment. Bono led the tens of thousands of festival goers in singing Coldplay's "Yellow."

It would be fairly safe to say that the vast majority of the audience singing at the top of their lungs in the dark and the rain at Glastonbury do not sing hymns in church. Rock concerts and football/rugby matches probably  serve as the last remaining place British 20-somethings experience the power of congregational singing. 

I think there are more similarities between this singing and congregational singing than simply a bunch of people singing at the same time.

This struck me a couple of years ago listening to Coldplay's free live album. U2's music is famous for its spiritual leanings and anthemic sing-a-long songs (Pride, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Where the Streets Have No Name, One etc.). I think of Coldplay as a kind of U2-light. They are clearly influenced by the seminal Irish group both in sound -- anthemic songs replacing Edge's sonic pallet with Chris Martin's piano-- and in lyrical content (a little more deeply meaningless perhaps).

Now at Glastonbury 2011, Bono leads his congregation in singing a song from this new hymnody they helped create. Interestingly enough the crowd is able to join in because they are all familiar with the song.  To enable congregational singing you need a common musical vocabulary. Also  interesting is that as U2 and countless other rock bands know, if you want to move people from being a passive audience to one that sings loudly together with you then in addition to singable choruses, the band has to drop its volume so that people can hear themselves. It is this group/congregational singing that creates the community whether at a U2 concert or in church.