When Boney M hit the charts with this up-tempo number in 1978 (it became one of the top ten all-time best-selling singles in the UK) it’s fair to assume that most people remained blissfully unaware that the lyrics come from one of the Bible’s most famous songs of lament. Their next major hit ‘My Humps ’ was slightly less spiritually focused… The Black Eyed Peas breakthrough hit in 2003 was full of moral advice for the state of the world, and seemed to suggest the solution could be found by turning to God: 'Father, father help us please, need some wisdom from above' and included a reference to Jesus’ famous command to ‘turn the other cheek’. There aren’t quite so many exclamation marks in the biblical version however.īible bit: 'People killin', people dyin', children hurt and you hear them cryin', can you practice what you preach? Or would you turn the other cheek?' The Byrds 1965 hit is based entirely on Chapter 3 of the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament, where King Solomon contemplates the meaning of life, God and eternity. The song opens speaking of King David as a psalmist and elsewhere seems to reference the cutting of Sampson’s hair by Delilah in the book of Judges. Like most Leonard Cohen songs, the poetic lyrics are hard to decipher. Apart from the obviously biblical title, Cohen picks up on some Old Testament imagery during the verses too. The song by Leonard Cohen gained a new legion of fans after being popularised by Jeff Buckley in the 1990s and then the X-Factor in the 2000s. Daniel interprets the phrases which tell the king that his rule has been weighed in the balance and found wanting.īible bit: 'Hallelujah' and 'Well I heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord, but you don't really care for music, do you?' A disembodied hand appears writing words on the wall of the palace. The feckless king has been using the sacred cups, looted from the temple in Jerusalem, to toast pagan idols. In the story, Daniel a faithful Jew in the Babylonian exile is summoned to a feast being held by king Belshazzar. The phrase is so well-known that many people are completely unaware of its biblical origins in Chapter 5 of Daniel in the Old Testament. This well-known phrase that concludes the chorus of Sam Smith’s Bond tune usually refers to some negative outcome that is in the offing if we would only take the trouble to see it. To mark the film’s release we’ve compiled ten songs (including Sam’s) which, knowingly or unknowingly, include a whole lotta Bible in them.īible bit: 'Cause the writing's on the wall' When Sam Smith penned the theme song for Daniel Craig’s latest outing as 007 in Spectre, was he aware that he was drawing inspiration straight from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament? I was abused by a deacon in my church.The ‘hated’ Peter Hitchens on pessimism, divine grace and burning his Bible.Tim Keller (1950-2023): The evangelical statesman was a pastor first.
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