“Fat and Blessed Fellows of Love”

Misunderstood Lyrics

This morning Marty played “Wonderful Peace” for the offering in church. It’s an old, traditional chorus that always makes me smile for more than just its lovely, devotional feel. You see, back in the day when we always sang that as a chorus in church, before there were big screens with lyrics up front, I could never quite understand all the words. Instead of “Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray, in fathomless billows of love,” I heard (and ended up singing), “Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray, and fat and blessed fellows of love.” 

How wrong could I be? Truth be told, I knew those weren’t the right words, but since I didn’t know the right ones, I kept singing them anyway. After all, it was a good deal for the “fat and blessed fellows,” and who uses words like *fathomless* anyway???

Over the years I have encountered many interesting, if not entirely misleading, church song lyrics.

To Bed We Go

As a first-grader, I was excited to participate in church choir. Our church had five youth choirs ranging from first grade through high school, directed by the phenomenal Mrs. Marian Packer. As part of the Carol Choir, first through third grade, we sang, “Three good men lived very long ago: Shadrach, Meshach, and to bed we go.” Not sure why we went to bed after Meshach. We didn’t really get tired until after we had to sing Nebuchadnezzar. We also never got the third hero’s name. “Shadrach,  Meshach… and to bed we go.”

Makin’ Grapes

I seem to have passed this talent on to my children. On one occasion, my daughter (age four) spent the night with a friend, Charla, whose parents were music pastors. Both little girls were in my preschool class. The next morning in class we were opening our day with song, as we always did. I asked if anyone had something they would like to sing. 

My daughter raised her hand and said, “I want to sing the one we sang at Charla’s house last night.”

Me: “What song was it?”

Daughter: “The one about grapes.”

Me: “I don’t know a song about grapes.”

Daughter: “Yes you do; ‘a-makin’ grapes.'”

Charla: “I think she means ‘Amazing Grace.'”

Yep, that’s my girl.

Hidden Meals, and Other Stuff

Not to be outdone by his sister, one afternoon I heard my three-year-old son (who was keenly interested in his food) belting out a tune in the backseat of the car:

“I got beans by the river, I got beans by the river, I got beans by the river in my bowl!”

At three, I suppose beans in your bowl is abundantly more interesting than “peace like a river in my soul.”

A friend of mine admits to wondering as a child why we were singing about “bringing in the cheese” [sheaves].

Another friend remembers her favorite Christmas carol “While Shepherds Washed Their Socks by Night.” I suppose they could have multitasked. Watching flocks at night probably allowed them time for washing socks … maybe …  Wait. Did shepherds have socks?

Still another friend remembers his favorite Christmas chorus, “Lasagna in the Highest,” You may know it as “Hosanna in the Highest.”

Funny, it seems like a lot of young voices are raising a chorus to dinner.

We Are Not Alone

I asked my students about this, and many of them nodded that they had mistaken song lyrics in the past. Most did not want to admit what those mistaken lyrics were. Here are a few of the brave confessions:

“Speak life” became “Speed of Light”; “Overcomer” got political and became “Overtrumper”; and the lyrics “I see her dressed in white, every wrong made right, [I see a rose in bloom],” understandably became “I see a rising groom.”

I defer to K-Love for some further misunderstandings:

“I wanna live with a bandit.” [abandon]

“Open the eyes of my hot dog.” [heart, Lord]

“I don’t want to gain the whole world and lose muscle.’ [my soul]

“Are you washed in the suds?” [in the Blood]

“I am a friend of God, He calls me Fred.” [friend]

Those Fat and Blessed Fellows Are in Good Company

It seems like my “fat and blessed fellows of love” are in good company, don’t you think? Listen for reasons to smile and to laugh. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good like medicine.” Whatever you do today, find a moment to laugh. Oh, and pay attention to those song lyrics. Someone may be listening.

God bless you, and may your heart be merry!