Don and Emily Saliers on the religious power of song

Musical lives
bij Anil/ Plantinga Pautc

( hold.s the M•'illiant R. Cannon l)is- urdill/ night" and "Sillitl(lll Inornill" nut.sic. and rchat th('.se
tinguished Chair in and IVor.s•llipconnection.s
at inapl!!
Entoril (!nicersitl/ and di the ,ila.ster of Sa- tlu." shaping of(.'hrislian u.•oysltip.
Afusic Progrant. lle is tlu' founder and di-
rector of the When I consider vour Iwo difTerent kinds of accom-
Clunnber Plaqer.s•. and since 1975 has cice in as the plishmcnts in music, I wondcr how vou think about
organist and choirntasler for the .sunday ser-(.'annon the difference between "secular" and "sacred" music
Chapel. A United Alethodi.st Inin- and about how the two are related?
ister. l)on is u.•idell/ knozcn in eeunaenical circle.s for hi.s lec- Emily: The tern»; have little ti leal')ing fkn• I
that is (leellled secular is one thal has nothing to (10 \vith
gy. His
incl.ude or (loesn't corne
As Theologv: Fore-
taste of Glorv Divine. NVor- to
ship ('„'()ine to Its Senses,
The Soul in Paraph or
and The
of the Chris-
Don: I
Enlilll Saliers. daughter of Ennilv and I Illiglit use those
l)on and Jane .Saliers. is co- tertns. but
founder, tcith .Anuj Ray, of the n Ild (Illick
Indigo Girls•, a Grana nul
sinuer-.s•on t'-
tcriter duo. Their
Illorllill(' h ave III uch 111
recordings and to (10 xvith each Other than is
concert tours exhibit tll"ir oftcn realized. TI lat•.s a trnth
conuniln¿ent to social jilstice certainlv reco=rnized in tra-
and hunaanita rian concern.s.
(litional African -A n le rican
In Ihe back of Iheir Cl).' arc

re.sou rees III usie '.voul(l (lig •

sharinu in their
into li[ki as sonl(h of the lilil.sic
litoratoriuna
that E lililv adnli res. as xvell as
auain.st Ihe death penalti]. for
an cnd to nuclear u•eapons.
righls. Natice n IV oxvn career as a liturgieal
or chu rch III nsician.I
r' ) n naen tal see
canses. conneet ions III ade
recording is You. Emily Saliers. one of the Indigo Gir18, is the daughter
1'11c t teo son ('s lilentioned in of Don Salier8. tclao teache8 worship and theology. church 'II ns•ic and the long-
this intert:ieu.• a rc front their

are acailal)le at wu.•u•. indigogirls•.ctnn. »ctline.s.

F..pnil!l and l)on collaborated on a chapter callea' "Mak-
in
to Live: A Book on (',11 risliall Practices The music that people encounter Saturday night can
Teell.s (edited be much morc unflinching about life?
Upper Roonl Books, l)orotlll/ C'. Bass and l)on C'. Richter: Don: Yes. thinking. Ihe In(ligo
 and (117' currentll/ l.criling an-
Other book togethen I spok(' to tll('lll in .Atlant(1 (11'0111 lunc
Plantinga Patuc teachcrs• theolt at Pres-
cialll/ interested in 111" conne.ctions• "Sat- . l)'llcrian 'l'heoloeical Senzinart/.

21
( ;irls• song "T his Train Revised.• song "'Illi.s "I'raill Is lililllit\ continues to enrich n IV lilki, and I need and love
Bou nd Ibr ( ;lorv. that
But I grev,' III) in a verv open, t

The song is about a railroad car full of people— st ruqrgle. xvitll the churcll'.s stanee 011 l-
"gvpsies, queers and david's star"—bound for a Nazi alitv. l,se
death caanp. So a gospel song about the assurance of I 've gav. and ['ve seen so Inanv people snffü•r.
future salvation becomes a condemnation of our their are in toril lent. becal l.se thev up
present inhumanity. lives beillg told tl Kit thev're to hell. All(l
Don: Rigl'it. ()ll the Other hand. I think sorne secular
I lili.sie can be quite dest ruel ive and ene:yating. And vni.sou- =rreate.st evil is the that people avist the n le.ssaue.s of
vilist. ()ften in secular III nsic the lesos. or
is (Ion linallt. prophets. and II lak-e thertl hateful and ill(lg-
xvllic•ll Inakes it (liffert'llt the the church causes even• dav.
Inusie
that is conteinplati\e. or
hell) VOII
on t
this stvle 01' II n Isic is carried
r into xvorshil), there are lo.sses. I

(lon•t want to be s•e« as The Robert Bruce Mullin

songs of praise is di Iliarent Iront eon- Puritan Foreword by

ten ll)lative lilil.sic in tllis respect.

Emilv: But , as Allen C. Guelzo
Yankee
est patll to Cod sornetitnes is to xvalk
A Life of 2

tnaking a ve rv 1) rilnal.
Horace Bushnell
nection to their •,vhat
I I

Dad's tal king abolit xvitll the *Yàpkee

band. blit I (Ion 'l think get

'1'11c
hlcñie' Bushnell
so eaught III) ill onr
i.ssue is lat Inoves
exclusivitv: Jesus is Ilie onlv ',vav to
Ileaven. And a lot of tililes the I sage Yet vou feel alienalcd from the church.
is silill)li.stie and individualistie Emilv:
alienate(l a lot 01'
e to (10 is put in Jesns• lliill(ls. I

NI v cl 111 rell ('Olli-

So your problcln with a lot of
Christian music is reallv theolog-
ical. 1-Iow does vour experience
in the church affect vour own
music?
Emily: I «rrevv• III)
to the
bil)lical text evt Silli(lav in chill•ch.
t al Ihe (linner table.
and
I laving discussions it. I fü•lt
Ihe text xvitll

«'lúes the Bil)le continue to sti:n-

Illate lile as a son«nvriter.
"The definitive biography of Horace
Bushnell for this generation....
In Robert Bruce Mullin's fresh
study readers Will encounter a
surpris-ing Bushnell, one who
is more great preacher dian
great theologian and one who
is as conservative — and even
proto-Pentecostalist — as he
is liberal. This volume Will
rank among the very best in
what is unatguably the
st:rongest religious biography
series on the market."
—
HA
RR
Y S.
ST
OU
T
"Mullin's intellectual biography
of Horace Bushnell ranks as one
of the finest in the entire field of
American religious studies.
Drawing on an encyclopedic
reading of the sources, Mullin
shows that Bushnell was both a
great imaginer of new things and
a great conserver ofold things.
This volume represents a
superior achievement in the
clarity of its prose, the breadth
ofits scholarship, and the force
ofits argumente"
—
GR
AN
T
WA
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ISBN 0-8028-4252-6 •
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Alid I (101 ft think the cl Ilirc•h is reallv in touch xvith the suf-
abont how to nnar1Y Inus•ic• and social Change or social ius-
Don: ()ftell . has a resnlt of tnanv, tnanv Inenlors. And I Still
R•el like a ki(l in Mv song
nicate deep •ligious Illatters, and part rlv ( *'II ristiilll leal'lling to use Inv hands so that "even Inv sweat
111 at te rs in the r rent cultil ral context. bec«nne a kind of thelne sorig sonl()
letv t llilll ( fblk-s at 1-Ial)itat fk)r I luunanitv. I didn't see the connection

relllill(l VOII that litanx people in the ehnreli .

and often tell lile the

I llev llave blit itls
a poxverfnl one over
I a re I

enconra=red bv tllt• Ihe

the p rophet'\ of vol.n• I
•ars. Keeping Ill(l.sic and justice together so that thev
eaeh Other is XVI lat
work is all about.
Eve n Ilitered III anv
XVI H) sav. "That song has aet nallv Ilt•lped l)on, this fits with vour concern for thc connection
II le th rough the between liturgy and life.
lligllt. That song lias Don: It•s a crucial connection. and it
• 111) in lilanv
part of the p (liffk•rent ( 1'11 ristian traditions, often in u Illikelv places.
ing a balance. or re«raillinu sorne sel )eess of regain- ( )akhurst Baptist Church here ill lór exaunple, is a
Emilv: song like " . Its 111"lllhers• ',vor.sllil) lifü• is
of be-
but it is also al happens in sacrifice lór love a cause their Illissional lilt• is (leep.
lat the col I ling toget her of people can n lean in vour lifüi. Thi rtv-five •ars or so whcn I fi rst started as a teach-
Blit no Illatter XVI lat IIIV sonu.s are I
er of xvor.sllil), Vat iean II had jn.st happened, ,

to use Inostlv interested in the refbr:n of the lites and the texts
for a greater and the inusic.
to trv to be part of if
ask lile about the
of
xvorshil). I
be
interested in xvhat'.s happening
01 Itsi(le xvorsl lil). I
Ild look Ibr Inissional engacren•lent.s.
But vour music isn•t just a dclivery system for the
causes vou care about. have experienced sonate solidaritv 'Afith the poor. or
Emilv: No. The tNV() are (N en so tiglltlv ill solidari tv with snflk•ring. Thev llave
lifkb that to prav with

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20-1 26
as well as for. Even very traditional liturgies Will
alive if thev're connected to people's jov and
You (Ion 't have to go tinkering all the tinie with the
litur-gy' as such.
Emily: At the salile titile. sinnply• getting
a style"
i.s not neces.sañly going to deepen worship.
Don: It Inav not lead to anything conternpor¿uv at all.
In fhct it coul(l lead to sentilnentalis:n. I've been .struck bv
Indigo Girls: Faith, love, politics
ITH Become You, the Indigo Girls' first stu-dio
album in five years, the duo has returned to
its acoustic roots. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers
share songwriting and singing duties
evenly. While dealing overtly with social i.s.sues, the pair
is haunted by an awareness of a God who may or not be
there. Their faith was most overt in the 1994 album Stoanp
Ophe.lia, where Saliers sings, "No way construc-tion of
this tlicky plan / was built by Other than a greater
hand / with a love that passes all
our understanding / watching
closely over the journey" ("The
Wood Song").
Even Saliers's love songs echo
with biblical and theological
themes. In "Deconstruction," loss
oflove is intensified by its relation
INDICO
to a loss of faith. "As for the tn-lth GIRLS
it seems like we just pick a theory
/ The one that justifies our daily
lives." She concludes, however, with an affirmation: "We're
just one speck of sand / And back to the hourglass we're
going / Back to the smallness of our decon-
struction of love / We thought it was changing, but it
never was. " Although we disbelieve, love remains a
con-stant.
Ray is known for angrier songs about human
rights, racism and 'vvar. On this album she tones
(lown her approach somewhat, but her activism Still
ap-pears. The title track takes on the duo's Georgia
her-itage. Their homosexuality and left-wing politics
have always put them at odds with their roots. "Our
southern blood, my heresy, damn that 01' confedera-
cy.... All your daddies fought in vain, leave you with
the mark of Cain." Though violent in her denuncia-
tion, Ray is more rnournful than angry. The acoustic
setting and Saliers's soothing harmonies moderate
the harshness of the lyrics, and the song is less a vili-
fication of the South than a personal declaration of
independence.
Ray and Saliers have experimented with various Inu-
97
how sonle fblks, when push comes to shove, are just
doing a wanned-over frontier religion, but with
technological so-phistication.
Frontier religion with PowerPoint.
Don: Yeah— (loing the Old thing. but using new elec-
tricitv. Church :nu.sic has to take us to the full range of
hunnan e.xperience and ennotion. That's why ultrabright
sical Styles in the past, including Native American
chanting on "Shaming of the Sun" (1997). Become You
experiments more subtly and adeptly. On "You've Cot to
Show," Saliers is backed up by a blues saxophone. The
song has a jazz ambiance and could well be crooned by a
lounge Singer in a smoky bar. "Bitterroot," on the Other
hand, written and sung by Ray, could have been written a
half-century ago in the heart of the Ap-palachians.
Accompanied by harmonica and hand-
slapped percussion, Ray twangs
as well as any bluegrass
musician. And on the final song,
"Nuevas Senoritas," the two
experiment with a Latin sound as
a Spanish guitar strums gently in
the back-ground.
The Indigo Girls have pro-
duced albums that focus single-
mindedly on their favorite topics
offaith, love and politics. Become
You is a mellow and well-round-ed
combination of the three themes.
It achieves its greatest poignancy
when it unifies the three concerns
in a song that is
neither political rant nor a bitter tale of love Iost. In
Salier.s's "Our Deliverance," the narrator seeks
deliver-ance from the pain that arises from both Iost
love and the evil ofwar. "We may be looking for our
deliverance but it has already been sent/lt's in the
nightfall when the light falls/And what you've seen isn't
there any-morc/lt's in our blind trust that love Will find
us." The salvation she's seeking from pain and death
has already been sent, and is found in faith.
If examined closely, this faith may break down into
a nebulous mysticism; and there may be something
too simple in her call to the nations to "lay down your
weapons and love your neighbor as yourself," Still,
she encourages hope and love in the face of injustice,
and her "blind trust" nyav be salvific.
Recietved by Melissa Jenks, afree-lance tcriter in Oak Park,
Illinois.
( : II R I S 'Cl A N C NT II RY Noven)ber 3.
( ristianitv final Iv fails. becanse it (loes" 't taste • bv senti tnentalitv and fortal)le

. il Illav also llax e settled Ibr sncll a do-

vnes•ticated little I hat it lias 110 ecstasv either. Both of you have havc thought about how vnaking
Inusic decpcns our lives with God and our lives Wilh
in t he each other. It's easv to sec how that's true for
n•st ei reu Instanees. leenagers and for children—they're initnersed in
rike music. Adults, on the other hand, often secm reluc-
Paill and Terror Chance. tant lo Inake anusic. Flow do we address that?
e.stv the Id t Elnilv: It•s a
(Illestion. ()ne of(he tllin=r.s thal sl rikes
lis an that - e
t

r )lleerts is
III uch
sing together. 1c to
in a sense thev «ret
to
n•shil) in that •,vav. It•s not- (lir« 'Ct-

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there is n I letlling spilitual that hap-
has tol(l tllelll
pens people sing touetl '(ir. I
t hev (lon•t llave a
I naking lilil.sic cal I he inti n lidatiljg Ibr voiee.
arrai(l to adll)il thev are taking lessons. E lililv is light: lulls (
Don: Faveli teenagers are ( • inti

Emily: of Iheir voiees. at least ill elassical

tl
no •al cellenee. then
tunitv fór thenl to get together al •re•s tl le
sing. ill- of adlllts XVI 10
n Ild never Irave a think that sinering toerether is kind of
friends s
vou•re ( :hlistians. If von•re in a Chris-
tian
1N
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Don: Yes. I 'near a t Another Unique Programfrom.•
1 xvas a kid I use to skip INTERNATIONALSEMINARS
905 S. E. 8th Street
and sing songs. and sinu ill the rr. LA
but Fia 33316
['honr 954/523-0515
r becal l.se are
below theun. Tllat•.s just stilffine.ss. Pl'llilt's inst Plain 01' irt le and listening to scnneone else sing or play, is
•st i.ss. sucll a It shoxvs ns '.vhat Nve•re
Blit I 've seen transfl nnnations people I relationshil).
have beetl. in spite of tll('lll.selves. cangllt III) in.
ple. •gational songs. or a Palill Silil(lav proces•sion. And despite this problem of being intimidatcd bv
liad that experience music, worship is about the onlY' place where
Inake the Inusic. manv adults Inake music at all.
Cannon (
Don: II 's a paradox. ()ur culture is saturated
with it•s nsed to sell thing.s. and voil hear it in elevators.
in tl one place
Inanv regularlv pa rticipate in
t hev sing inst a little bit of a five-note refrain. people llave
lilils•ic-lllaking is ill cliltrcli. That Illa.v be a
treasure Ibr 011 r ('Illture.
n l',lkes to tl l('ir spi riti tal )rshil).
So
!Zot to
sol
this •a thal Illi-
P LORING
less volfre trained in Illilsic• vou
arc
EVANGELICALISM
B reatlling. svalking,

Ir head all
or just nod(ling

:ne, all that is Illii.sieal.

Emilv: '1'1 iat•s XVI IV it•s a to se(•• so

tnanv people sincrin«r and (laneing at
our concerts. NI usic releases scnne-
thing in people that nothing else (loes.
Evangelical Landscapes
at vour concerts alid even in clitn•cli.
Pl'he act of singintr together. or
instruinent.s together, or Debate
in
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and cngag-
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