From the recording Bold Enough To Say (2014)
The opening strains of "Our Father" pleasingly evoke for me the habitual intro to U2's live performance of "Bad," perhaps my favorite of their many astonishing manifestations, and one of the songs that soulfully awakened me as a young man, a fitting reference. You establish everything here in this initiating salvo: the musical theme that will weave throughout and end the piece, lending formal unity and integration through its many ensuing incarnations to the themes it will likewise extrapolate and unify; the power and scope of your voice, your instrument; the humanistic valence and embracing ecumenism of your thematic exploration, with the evocation of the Greeks, in a Christian context; the visceral medium of its delivery in rock 'n' roll, music that, like Jesus himself, brings godhead into the body of woman and man; a resilient spirit of inquiry; an insistent ethos of egalitarianism in the celebration of archetype; a universality in the personifying of spirit; and a perfect balance of, indeed, the boldness to cry out your questions and celebrations in song, tempered only by a reverence for your subject whose becoming humility is itself, along with the brilliance of your inquiry and the means of its delivery, the perfecting element in what becomes for the listener, and I imagine the viewer, a journey of questioning, broadening of scope, accountability, and ultimately affirmation. - Ethan
Written & Produced by Billy Webster
Lead Guitar by Carl Basler
Recorded at Unfinished Storage Studios
(c) Shampoo Girl Music, 2014
Lyrics
OUR FATHER
Our father, our mother, our sister, our brother
you made us, you shaped us, you named us, and you shamed us
like when a father is the kind of guy who makes a living helping his brother, his sister, his mother
but when your father is the kind of guy you can’t forgive for beating your mother, your sister, your brother
you can’t pray Our Father
Our mother was always the other our sister, they dissed her
the moon was not to be trusted and the blood made them disgusted
they took my Mother Mary Venus Aphrodite and they threw her in the river
when she sank they could forgive her
but there was something missing when I closed my eyes and prayed to God up in heaven
my sixth sense, went seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven
Whoa – ohh – ohh – ohh
Our fathers, with words or with silence can inspire us, or do violence
our mothers, shining with resilience, embrace us, with brilliance
and if I’m bold enough to say the words you gave me then you know I’m gonna take it,
not gonna fake it, gonna make it
‘cause my God is, bigger than the words we use to
describe him, to describe her, to deny him, to deny her
to ignite the fading fire in our souls
Who Art In Heaven
Who art in heaven when the angels are away?
I came across that question just the other day
is it the people who do murder in your name?
and are the rest of us just lost to the flame?
Who art in heaven when there’s still work to be done?
who clings to politics, religion, and the gun?
the God of Abraham is still the three in one
a thousand rays shining from a single sun
And when I die I expect my friends to all be waiting up for me
when I die there is not a single soul I don’t expect to see
heaven knows nothing’s ever gonna be quite like it was before
when the children of God and atheists come knocking at your door
Who art in heaven when there’s still beds to be made?
who picks the mantle up when God and heroes fade?
who has the balls to say this is a big charade?
and embrace the queens and frat boys in the parade?
And when I die I expect my friends to all be waiting up for me
when I die there is not a single soul I don’t expect to see
heaven knows nothing’s ever gonna be quite like it was before
when the children of God and atheists come knocking at your door
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
Hallowed be the name that you were given
hallowed be the name that you earn
hallowed be the name you keep a secret
many guess but few will ever learn
It’s mightier than the pen sharp as the sword
I’m singing out the name of the Lord
Hallowed be the name you give a feeling
that sets you free and teaches you to fly
hallowed be the name angels will whisper
when the time has come for you to die
It’s mightier than the pen sharp as the sword
I’m singing out the name of the Lord
Hallowed be the name, hallowed be the name of the
Hallowed be the name, hallowed be the name of the
Hallowed be the name, hallowed be the name of the
Hallowed be the name, hallowed be the name of the Lord.