A few days ago I found myself humming the Pirates of the Caribbean ride theme song. You know which one I mean?
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We pillage plunder, we rifle and loot.
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho.
We kidnap and ravage and don’t give a hoot.
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho.
What struck me was how I manage to morph so many songs into this one. Can’t quite remember that praise song from church? Somehow I turn it into the Pirate’s song. Those Eagle’s lyrics from the late 70’s just not coming up quickly? Somehow I insert Yo Ho Yo Ho….
I know, weird.
But then it struck me. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I remember my Dad doing the same thing when we attended church. Didn’t matter what the song was — Amazing Grace or That Old Rugged Cross — he always turned it into “Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play…”
Seriously, he did! As a kid I remember sitting next to him in church and stifling laughter. He did it in part to make me laugh of course, or to annoy my Mom. But he also just loved the song, knew the lyrics, and loved the melody.
So the worship director might ask us to turn to All Hail the Power of Jesus Name, and shortly my Dad would be singing, “…where never is heard a discouraging word and the sky is not cloudy all day….” Which sorta made sense since the rest of us were trying to figure out what was meant by the line, “…let angels prostrate fall; bring forth the royal diadem…”
Anyway, fair warning. If you’re sitting next to me in church don’t be too concerned if you hear little snippets like, “We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack. Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho…”
