Sail On This Summer
More summer tunes on this Music Monday
Long car trips in the summer were a staple of my growing-up years. Various journeys included seeing relatives or attending family reunions, but most memorable of all was the decade we spent caravanning with a group of other Catholic families and young adults to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. These shared vacations included morning prayer, daily Mass, and evening prayer meetings (it was hard to dissuade charismatics from praying together in those days: it seemed we couldn’t help ourselves!) plus lots of beach time, fishing, boating, and hanging out. The memories made were worth the ten-hour trips back and forth, and the drive was made easier by fun music.
During those endless hours, there were a few albums that became classic going-to-the-beach tunes in our family, and today’s Monday Music offering one of those, also from the Imperials, their 1976 album Sail On. Again, in line with the Imperials’ mandate to entertain, the album isn’t serious at all: just a fun recreational listen, and if you’re traveling in the car with kids, the widely different styles of the various songs on this album are fun and engaging.
With the acquisition of Dave Wills and Russ Taff, the Imperials reinvented their sound and began to unify each albums around a theme. This 1976 album is short—only 32 minutes long—but it gets it punch from the theme of water and its role in the life of the believer. In the Bible, water is a symbol for chaos, trials, and even death. But for the believer, what brings death by drowning can also bring life through Christ.
What strikes me most about these individual songs is their masterful matching of words and music with meaning. “Water Grave” is a serious song with a metal beat, “Satisfaction Guaranteed” is serenely melodic, and “Gotta Watch” has a jumpy, erratic beat like someone who’s on the alert—and so on. Most of the songs showcase the talents of their new lead, Russ Taff. Although Taff was only 23 years old, about ten years younger than Will and Murray, and nearly 20 years younger than Morales, his voice was raspy and mature, giving an ageless sound to the group harmonics. And despite the wide variety of sounds, the theme of water unifies the compositions.
I’ll post links to individual tracks as before, but here’s the album as one YouTube file:
I personally have always loved this dramatic rock song, which introduces the twin talents of Dave Wills and Russ Taff to the Imperial’s audience. Wills takes the verses in his husky country voice, while the fiery Taff takes the chorus. Post Roe vs. Wade, the pro-life movement had grown to include fighting euthanasia, or mercy killing. So for a Christian album to begin with this line was provocative, to stay the least.
Now in my house,
there's been a mercy killing.
The man I used to be’s been crucified.
And the death of this man
Was the final way of revealing
In the spiritual way to live, I had to die.
The deliberately confusing, even disturbing words, can be untangled through Scripture. Galatians 5:24 states that “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” The singer has discovered that his seeking to follow Christ must include death to self.
Now if I let that dead man linger in me,
I might get a little idle in my ways,
So, I'm going down to the celebration river—
I'm gonna take this dead man
Down to a water grave.
He has also recognized that following Christ must include the complete death to self in baptism. Most Pentecostals are baptized as adults, and this song communicates that experience of becoming newly born forcefully. The awareness and repugnance of sin, the need to escape its corruption, and the force of determination is expressed in an explosion of shrieking electric guitar and hard drumming as Russ Taff belts out the chorus over a shimmer of tambourines, reminiscent of gospel music at its best:
I'm goin' down to the river, my Lord,
I'm gonna be buried alive!
I want to show my Heavenly Father
The man I used to be has finally died!
As the guitar solo dials down into a throbbing riff, the group breaks in with a dissonant harmony on the bridge, with Murray, Morales, and Will creating a sound that’s unusually atonal.
When I think of where I'm goin'
In terms of where I've been,
It makes me glad to know, my Lord,
That I've been born again.
The connection between “Where I’m going” and “where I’ve been” is that the new life of baptism foreshadow the new life of heaven. The song is almost a summary of Romans 6, where St. Paul states: “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin….So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
The noise and dissonance of electric guitar used in this song, its pitch harmonics and growls, are often difficult for some to associate with Christianity, since this kind of music most commonly communicates anger, frustration, even rage. It’s not too surprising men listen to it, since male anger is one of the most destructive forces in history, and good men must exert a lot of energy channeling their anger productively and constructively.
As a woman, I’ve come to understand how this type of music often soundtracks a man’s process of channeling his explosive emotional frustration into a battle against self, opponents, or just stuck bolts and shorting electrical circuits, one reason why men play this kind of music when they are working hard in the heat and noise in places like garages or gyms. All things considered, it’s not the worst anger management choice in the world, particularly if the lyrics are edifying.
So I’ve found it interesting to notice when and how singers outside of the metal genre choose to use this sort of instrumentation. Here, the screams of the music communicate self-anger at the sin, and the battle to take “the dead man down to a water grave.” Submitting to Christ is no small struggle—in some ways, it is the most pivotal battle in the universe, fought in the heart of each man and woman. This opening song is both a battle cry and a victory song.
Track 2: Satisfaction Guaranteed
Jim Murray takes the lead on the verses, but I’m fairly certain that Dave Will does the chorus. This is another metaphorical song, referencing the usual manufacture’s promises that the product is under warranty. But the singer has found a more lasting guarantee: a life given over to Christ will never be regretted.
Satisfaction guaranteed:
That is what He promised me
If I simply let Him be
The one place I depend on…
Satisfaction guaranteed:
He can make you truly free
From the world's insanity
Wе live in everyday—
There's no need for money back—
He has everything I lack
If I open up my life to Him in every way!
I have always been particularly struck by the chorus’s frank acknowledgement:
I was bought with a price,
Paid in full with one sacrifice,
And along with it there came a warranty
Only He could make:There's a chance that if we wait,
We might find out that it's too late,
And that's one chance I never want to takе…
My takeaway: Never refuse a deeper conversion. Never refuse the Lord’s invitation to come closer and go deeper. Indeed, putting it off is a chance we don’t want to take.
Track 3: We Gotta Watch, We Gotta Pray
A strong contrast to the previous ballad is this jumping electric beat, with Taff on lead vocal:
We gotta watch, we gotta pray—
We gotta keep on looking
For that very special day!
We gotta work
for it won't be long
'Til we join our friends and loved ones
All around the throne.
The day that Jesus left here,
He said that He'd return again
And to everyone who looked for Him,
He said that He'd return for them.
And if it happened any moment now
Are you watching and prepared?
For the day that Jesus calls us home
And we'll meet Him in the air!
Some Pentecostal theology surfaces here: clearly the chorus of this song references to the Rapture, an American heresy that Christians will be swept away by Our Lord before any serious persecution of believers could happen. However, this Catholic listener has always chosen to interpret these words according to Catholic truth: Christ could indeed return any moment: to end the world or take my soul. Either way, we need to stay alert and ready for that “special day.”
And if death and our particular judgement takes us before that time, so much the better. As Catholics, we know that we should be living in such a way that we are morally prepared to leave this earth at any time, and it shouldn’t be a moment of fear, but of joy. Our present preoccupation should be continuing the daily work He has called us to do until He taps us on the shoulder and says, “It’s quitting time.”
With that framing in mind, I particularly enjoy the last verse of this song.
Jesus said, "Keep trusting Me
Work until I come,
For in an hour that you think not,
The Son of Man will come.”
And it could happen any moment now,
And I know that it won't be long!
One of these days you'll look for me,
And praise God, I'll be gone!
This is another love song to God, which echoes their previous song “More,” but it’s more articulate. Russ Taff was to take the Imperials’ love songs to Christ and make them classics. It’s worth paying attention to the exceptional background harmonics on this song.
I’ve tried to pay attention to how male and female singers sing about love, both secular and sacred, and in Christian songs, I’m intrigued by how men tend to emphasize the story of their conversion—from dark to light, surrendering control to freedom: these strong contrasts are evident in this heartfelt tune:
Darkness was the rule of my life
Until You came along and brought the light—
Lonely was the story I told
Until You came along and took control—
Oh, I had no other place to go
Until You found me, Lord!
I had no love to call my own
Until You found me, Lord!
Now I'm in love with You, Lord—
More each day!
I was lost and lonely
Until You came my way—
You filled my heart with love
One very special day—
And I love You, I love You!
I’ve mentioned how as a Catholic, I see conversion not as a one-off but as an ongoing process. Taff’s songs often reinforce this: he frequently sings about growth in his love for God. His love for God grows “more each day” as he looks back on his life before God and compares it to his freedom now.
Freedom is the song I now sing,
Since You came along and rescued me—
Happy is the way I can be
Since You came along and set me free—
Oh, I need no other place to go
Now that You found me, Lord,
Now that You found me, Lord!
There is no greater love like Yours
Now that You found me, Lord!
Now that I'm in love with You, Lord!
I admit this is a song I turn to frequently to love God with, and I’m puzzled that no other group has ever covered it, that I know of.
Track 5: There Will Never Be Any Peace
Some of the Imperials’ songs are ironic, and this Cold War era jibe, sung in an unbelievably high tenor by Jim Murray, is one of them.
Meetin' and runnin' from land to land
Tryin' to make things all right—
Holdin' meetin' after meetin'—
Constantly reachin'—
For what they may be thinkin' is right.
Everybody has a plan—
Made by just a man.
People, can't you understand?
So we've gotta tell them:
There will never be any peace
Until God is seated
At the conference table.
I’ve always taken this to mean that men who refuse to follow the laws of God will not find peace. While the Church has repeatedly supported efforts to avoid the evils of war, She has always been clear that sin is the cause of war, and without repentance and following the laws of God (putting Him “at the conference table,” as the lyrics say), there won’t be any peace.
Murray is almost sassy in the next verse, reminding those who rush to execute judgement on guilty men are also merely guilty men, and peacekeeping without God is useless:
What when on in the dark
Has come to light—
Tell me, who's to blame
And what's his name?
You can point your finger,
But you gotta remember
What was done
was done by a man—
So we gotta tell them:
There will never be any peace
Until God is seated
At the conference table.
Again, think of it as backtalk to the “Give peace a chance” drumbeat of the 70s. Their response: Know Jesus: know peace. No Jesus, no peace. And I recall Our Lady’s peace plan: pray the rosary for conversion of sinners, and there will be peace.
The whispering rush of ocean waves introduces this next track, gradually growing closer and louder until the calypso beat snaps on with Murray’s sunny tenor in this superbly fun song.
Sail on!
When the water gets high—
Sail on!
When the wind starts to die—
Sail on!
It’s just a matter of minutes
till His ship comes to get us,
and we’ll all get in it.
Calypso steel drums warble in a rush of sea air rhythm as Murray uses the Caribbean living sound to conjure up the unworried life of a Christian whose trust is completely in God. Life is short: Christ is coming closer to us every day, and we need to keep sailing towards it, regardless of the storms of life. The verse introduces the metaphor:
When we're all born, we set out to sea
Looking for answers continuously,
Then when we find out to Him we belong,
We watch for the signs and keep sailing on!
Cast up your sails and let the wind blow—
Jesus will never let your ship lose control!
Just keep your compass set on the Son—
He'll guide you safely to His beautiful home!Sail on!
When the water gets high—
Sail on!
When the wind starts to die—
Sail on!
It’s just a matter of minutes
till His ship comes to get us,
and we’ll all get in it.
Morales weighs in for the call-and-response with his rich dark bass, and it’s amazing to hear how Will, Taff, and Murray, each so distinctive as soloists, blend so effortlessly in chorus. The waves return for the coda.
Again, summer memories crowd in: when we were kids, we loved dancing to this song, especially during the hot days when we longed for the ocean. It’s still a great going-to-the-beach song.
Are you weary in well-doing,
Walkin' on the road to New Jerusalem?
Are you hopin' and a-prayin'
Lookin' any minute for the Lord to come?
And do you see a lot of pleasant-lookin' places
Where you might lay down to take a rest?
And if you do take a look at all the faces there—
The sadness will tell you that it's best—
To keep on walkin'!
You don't know how far you've come—
Keep on walkin'!
For all you know it may be done,
And the Father
Might be standin' up right now
To give the call—
and end it all!
So keep on walkin'!
Similar to “Gotta Watch,” this song urges listeners to keep faithful to following Christ, no matter how long He tarries or how “weary in well-doing” we might get. We have to remember that as pleasant as some spots on earth might seem, this life in the end amounts to no more than “a bad night in a bad inn,” as Teresa of Avila memorably put it, compared to the life to come. This shapes the overall theme of the album as one of watching but working.
For those who characterize charismatics as being “too focused on feelings,” this song contains an interesting bit of advice: it’s faith, not feelings, that should be central.
Now if you need a feeling
To keep you on the road you started travelin' on,
You're gonna have some troublе
Learnin' that it's faith that keeps you moving on!
And in the Lord you start your walk from sittin’—
But sometimеs you have to take a stand.
And standin's not another word for quittin'—
It's just takin' a tighter hold on His hand.
Here’s another favorite of mine, featuring the amazing versatility of Jim Murray working a mysterious number featuring woodwinds and strings with riffs from a 60s suspense movie soundtrack. When we were kids, we thought this song sounded like tigers sneaking through the jungle.
Everything was dark and gloomy
When You came my way—
Everything that happened to me
Seemed as if to say—
There is more to living
Than just living day to day—
I could never find my way alone.
There were times when I was searchin',
Wonderin' what to do—
Tryin' to find a new direction,
Tryin' to find the truth—
When You picked me up and changed me,
Now I see the light!
I don't have to find my way alone!
And just like clouds parting, the chorus comes out into the open with an upbeat harmony:
Sonlight, open up my eyes!
Sonlight, clear the cloudy skies!
Now He's living in my heart—
I'm so glad I found my way back home!
Another awesome drive song with an upbeat guitar riff and a message for those who, like the elder brother in the parable, are too afraid to ask their Father God for anything, for fear the skies might be silent and their belief will crumble. The singer rebukes those who profess belief but refuse to trust God with anything they truly want.
Well, there are people
never receiving
Anything
from God at all—
Oh, they are shaken from their believin',
When they don't see results, they quickly fall!But don't you waver, keep on living—
In the way God wants you to.
Don't get discouraged, keep on a-giving—
Soon it will come back to you!
The singer recommends a wholehearted, even foolish trust in God, even if results in this life seem unlikely. God responds warmly to those who trust Him with a childlike heart, but is stern with those who expect Him to be stern. “So I am a hard master, am I?” quips the king in the parable to the servant who refused to use his talents. Quoting from Ecclesiastes 11:1, with the ending verse (featuring a deep bass Morales) from Christ’s words in Luke 6:38: “ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
Keep on casting
your bread upon the water,
Soon it's gonna come back home on every wave.
Keep on casting
your bread upon the water,
Soon it's gonna come back home on every wave—
Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over!
Soon it's gonna come back home on every wave!
For those of us who tend to get too solemn about our religion and expect nothing but doom and suffering, this is good advice: Our Heavenly Father loves us and will take care of us, especially when we give generously to others. He will not be outdone in generosity!
Russ Taff ends this album with this acoutic ballad with a simple message. It’s a lowkey way to end an amazing album, but it works.
Don't give up, try again!
This time you can make it.
Don't you see?
All Heaven wants you to win.
Gather all your courage together,
And make a final stand,
And I know that you can make it this time
There is a power
That has come to help you stand
It is the spirit of God sent down to man
If you will just trust His name
Your life He will rearrange,
And He will give you a reason to try again
Thanks for reading and listening to this music Monday post, and here’s hoping your summer vacation traveling ends with you happily at your destination. And here’s hoping that when all our journeys are over, we’ll meet each other on the other shore in Heaven.
Sail on!