Getting good earworms


Earworms are those bits of a song you hear that get stuck in your head and won't leave. I shan't mention any, lest they do their worst to you.

If you're going to get something caught between your ears, why not make it something that will do your soul good? I love how Sandra McCracken puts pieces of truth together in such a way that they stay with you. I've had a line from the title track of her album God’s Highway in my head for weeks, sometimes as I go to sleep, sometimes when I wake up:
Fear not
Keep on
Watch and pray
Walk in the light of God's highway
I'm happy that's in my head, I need to hear that.

Following the principle of her previous album, Psalms, the lyrics of God’s Highway are closely tied to Scripture, and thus serve as an aid to meditating on God’s Word, which Christians are encouraged to do (Joshua 1:8 and elsewhere).

Arrangements are kept simple, with little more than an acoustic band to accompany the vocal-led production. It's unlikely there's an unexpected note in the whole thing, and I mean this as no disrespect. The closest McCracken comes to innovation is on Trinity Song, which suggests something of the mystery of its Subject by overlaying several harmonious voices.

The songs here are more than memorable, they give clarity:
My feet are strong
My eyes are clear
I cannot see the way from here.
As a description of baffled faithfulness this is so helpful. Likewise, the coda of Rachel’s Song is a stirring summary of the final event of this world as we know it, an event that matters far more than the attention most of us give to it suggests: “until the trumpet sounds, until our Home comes down.” This is typical of the album: there is no triumphalism here but something better, a faith that has endured suffering and continues.

Can we sing about difficulties without being consumed by them, can we consider our relationship with God without focusing on ourselves? With help from songs like those on God’s Highway, we can.