Nomination Four
Ziggy Marley - Love is my religion
Not sure what to make of Ziggy, in interviews he is clearly comfortable with the mysticism of roots reggae, and yet, some of his work gives us a very clear rejection of religion. Take the lyrics to "in the name of god":
"all religion should be wiped out
so that people may just live
what divides us is an illusion
made up by men in their confusion
in the name of god you kill in the name of your god
in the name of god you conquered in the name of your god
in the name of god you hate in the name of your god
in the name of god you boast in the name of your god"
No fence sitting there from Mr Marley Jr. But we're going to nominate another song "love is my religion". As Ziggy signs in this one "bring all the lovers to the fold, cause no one is gonna lose their soul" bang on! It's a great humanistic message of sharing common humanity and rejecting the idea we should divided up into narrow religions and their desire to regulate our emotional lives. Take it away Ziggy in this video where he appears to resist invitations to repent and what looks like a rather fearsome tarot card reader:
Nomination Five:
The Hoodoo Gurus - Middle of the land
It is with the greatest of pleasure that the Labour Humanist can nominate a song by Australia's Hoodoo Gurus. The gurus were big in Australia in the 80s and 90s and had wide cult following in Europe and America. In the all their power pop and rock stomp glory this song takes aim at the poison and lies of the TV evangelists. The original recording from the blow your cool album is great. I've found a live version of the song on youtube (below) and here a taste of the lyrics:
"Someday someone will try to confuse you.
They'll say things you want to hear and they'll use you.
I thought we'd live and learn
But some folks seem to yearn
For values unsophisticated.
Those days are dead and gone
I won't wish them back upon
A world that's much more complicated."
First Nominations Here
Disclaimer!!! These songs are suggested for their content on a one-off basis. I know it is highly likely that in the hundreds and hundreds of other songs composed by the artists in this list there may be some songs which slightly, or even fully contradict the freethinking sentiments in the song chosen for the list. We also have to accept that the publicly stated beliefs of any single group member or singer may have changed before, during or after the song's publication. This is the nature of life, it changes nothing as each song is chosen on its own merits.
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