I left my church service Sunday frustrated and unhappy.
It wasn’t the sermon—our
minister delivered an engaging and thought-provoking talk on the sin of pride.
And it wasn’t the choir’s performance that bothered me—they were in good voice. It was the congregational
singing that upset me. Let me tell you why.
I’m a Unitarian Universalist, have been for over 50
years. Our denomination has two main hymnals, the grey hymnal, with 415 hymns, and
the blue hymnal, with 75. The grey hymnal is the old standard; the blue hymnal,
introduced in 2005, offers fresh music with contemporary themes and modern rhythms.
In all my varied congregations over the years, there are
some songs that have been used more than others. Some songs have different
words but share melodies. When the blue hymnals came out, we purposely learned the
new music and developed new favorites there. Congregations sang in strong,
confident voices because we knew the songs.
Cut to yesterday, which is only an example of a bigger phenomenon.
The two hymns selected for the congregation were entirely unknown to me. They both
came from the grey hymnal, which I’ve been singing out of for 50+ years, but I
couldn’t remember ever singing either of them. And from the halting, mumbled
voices around me, neither had anyone else in the pews.
People weren’t using hymnals because the words floated above
us on a giant screen over the altar, with no musical notation. The hymnals were
available, of course, but they’re unwieldy and mostly unused. I’m pretty sure
someone picked those hymns to enhance the message of the sermon. They did not
pick them to be sing-able.
I remember loud, vigorous singing in church that could
lift your spirit and engage your heart. That only happens if people know, or
can read, the words and music. If they know the melody, they can make the words
work, the reverse is much harder. Although we do sing familiar hymns at my
church, we don’t do it often enough. I miss vigorous, heartfelt church singing.
In today’s fraught world, I need
vigorous, heartfelt church singing.
I talked with Michael about it on the ride home and mulled
my dissatisfaction for a while. And then I had an epiphany. Why do I expect my
congregation to sing with heart when a whole culture has forgotten how? Group
singing, community singing, used to be a thing in America. And it isn’t any
longer. I don’t just miss raising my voice confidently in song at church; I
miss it everywhere.
Where has all the singing gone? At the beginning of athletic
events, at birthday parties, at church, at concerts for those who can afford the
tickets. That’s about it. But we used to sing together a lot.
Now is where the old lady’s remember-when, in-the-olden-days,
stuff starts. We used to have shows on television with a lot of music. The
Lawrence Welk Show, the Ed Sullivan Show, the Smothers Brothers, Hee Haw, The Andy
Williams Show, The Dean Martin Show, Sonny and Cher, and Donny and Marie, to
name a few.
We had folk singers, hootenannies, and sing-alongs.
Remember Mitch Miller’s Sing Along with Mitch from the 80s? Okay, just the old
people do, but look him up. Americans used to sing together, even if we were in
our own living rooms among family. And at marches and protests for Vietnam and
civil rights, we sang folk standards and old-timey hymns like We Shall Overcome, Blowin’ in the Wind, Kumbaya,
and The Times They Are a-Changin’.
Schools, especially elementary schools, had music classes
where we learned the standards. All
Through the Night, Amazing Grace, America the Beautiful, The Battle Hymn of the
Republic, Blue Tail Fly, Bingo, Buffalo Gals, Camptown Races, Dixie, Down by
the Bay, Farmer in the Dell, Frѐre Jacques, Go Tell Aunt
Rhody, God Bless America, Home on the Range, The Hokey Pokey, I’ve Been Working
on the Railroad… I could literally go on and on.
We knew these songs and we sang them at Girl Scouts and
Boy Scouts, around campfires of all kinds, at gatherings of all kinds. And, of
course, we sang Christmas carols, in public, with other people. And we knew
more words than the first two lines of the songs. We had song sheets or song
books when we needed them.
What happened to singing? What happened to group fun? Why
is everyone sitting in front of a computer or cell phone or TV set watching
other people do things and not doing anything themselves? Where are our friends
besides in text messages?
Sadly, I have no insightful conclusion today, simply a
longing for something missing from life in 2026. If you have any answers, I’d
love to hear them. Wouldn’t it feel great to get together and sing your heart
out with a bunch of other people?
What are you doing next weekend?
Ciao
P.S. Here's a rendition of one of my favorite UU hymns from the blue hymnal. It's not rousing, but it is SO heartfelt. Plus, I know the composer. Come Sing a Song With Me
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