Jazzing it up

During the workshop I was co-leading on Friday and Saturday, someone asked if I knew guitar chords to play along with “Spirit of Life,” the Carolyn McDade song that so many Unitarian Universalists are in love with. After ranting about how much I dislike that song because of its boring harmonic structure and banal melody, I finally admitted that I did not know of any good chords to play along with the song.

But that question kept bothering the back of my mind, and so tonight I went up to the church to borrow a piano and see if I could come up with pleasing chords. I looked at the piano arrangement in the current Unitarian Universalist hymnal, but it’s the kind of arrangement that begets a dirge-like tempo and breathy-voiced singing. So I looked just at the melody, which consists of three eight-measure sections, and I decided each eight-measure section could take the same basic chord progression: C Dm G7 Am C Dm G7 C (or I IIm V7 VIm I IIm V7 I) — a pleasantly folk-y but still boring harmonic structure.

But then I got to thinking: Maybe if you jazzed up those chords a little, you could create a little more movement in the song. Like this —
C9 Dm7 G7 CM7 Am7 Dm9 Gm9 FM7
C7 Dm7 G7 C7b9 Am7 Dm9 Gm9 FM7
C9 Dm7 G7 C7b9 A7 Dm7 Gm7 CM7
— played with a Charleston rhythm (1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &) [progression modified slightly 4/17].

Well, it’s better, but I haven’t got it quite right (although it does fall nicely on the guitar fingerboard). Maybe someone who is a much better musician than I can come up with a chord progression that makes this song sound good. Or maybe it’s a fatally flawed song that can will always sound dreary. Your comments and ideas, as always, are appreciated.

5 thoughts on “Jazzing it up

  1. will shetterly

    That song doesn’t make me afraid to return to a UU congregation–not quite. But, yes, fatally flawed and dreary! That “come unto me” bit sounds like someone right on the edge of suicide.

    A blogger could have fun asking for suggestions for the UU hymnal for the rest of us. (I’m sure it’s been done, but I need to get back to my evil taxes now instead of googling it.)

  2. James Field

    There is a musician in my congregation who plays a nice almost reggae arrangement that sounds great. I will have to ask what chords he plays.

  3. Sally

    I always view this song as a prayer when we sign it. We actually wrote another verse at Star Island when we were chairs, since part of why I don’t like it, is that it ends too soon

  4. Dan

    James @ 2 — I’d love to see those chords.

    Sally @ 3 — Would you be willing to share that verse here?

  5. dwight

    Yes, ol’ #123 is a getting a bit ..umm.. tedious. I’ve given up messing with the harmonies and instead have gone after the text: (this is probably not good for use as a “second verse”)

    Spare ribs, fried rice, warm pot of tea,
    moo goo gai pan, crispy noodles dipped in duck sauce.

    Hoisin chicken, wings – hot, sticky,
    Chopsticks in hand, giving fingers tiny splinters.

    Shoots of bamboo, fortune cookie,
    Spare ribs, fried rice, pot of tea, pot of tea.

    …i’ve written a bunch of mangled hymn texts….”What a friend we have in Ralphie” (emerson)… “Stand Up! Stand Up for Jesus …And Zeus and Buddah, Too!”

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