When I entered the Church, I did so as the husband of a wonderful woman who, among other things, has always loved folk music. I\u2019m wasn\u2019t as big a fan as Jan is, but I do enjoy it and Jan\u2019s love for it made me appreciate it more because it is music that means a lot to the woman I love. As a result, I came to appreciate in particular the handmade nature of folk music. It comes from ordinary people and their experience and is not manufactured by giant corporations. I suspect that\u2019s one of the reasons the Church has long incorporated folk music into its hymnody. Indeed, when you read the Psalms or several passages from Paul\u2013heck, the Magnificat\u2013you are reading folk music.<\/p>\n
When I entered the Church I found some of the folk hymns to be quite moving and others not to my taste. But since I am not one of those personalities for whom aesthetics is a massive obsession, I did not have strong views about hymnody. Because of this, I was somewhat taken aback with the surprisingly bitter contempt heaped on certain songs and, in particular, for the raging hatred so routinely poured out on \u2018Kumbayah\u2019. I\u2019ve always kind of liked it and have been made to feel for 30 years as though sticking my neck out to say that was to invite the disgust of all Right-Thinking Catholics Everywhere.<\/p>\n