Jesus Take the Wheel

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

I wasn't sure whether to put this in the regular forum or here, but since I wouldn't think the music itself has much to comment on, I thought this the better place, as it raises for me more political than musicological questions.

I heard this tune on the radio the other morning for the first time - on CBC of all places, which really made me listen. That in itself was a bit of a head-scratcher, until the host followed it up by saying that it had just won a Grammy. Feather in the cap of a Canadian, I guess, was their point in playing it.

Gordie, Take a Bow (Halifax Chronicle Herald)

IT’S A SONG about divine providence, salvation and repentance – not exactly the kind of theme that puts you on the road to commercial success. And yet Jesus, Take the Wheel has melted the hearts of millions with its touching storyline about a young mother with a baby in the backseat who surrenders her broken life to God, in a split second, as she loses control of her car on a slippery highway.

Many events conspired to make Jesus, Take the Wheel a runaway hit over the past year – not the least of which was Carrie Underwood’s inspired rendition of it. The song topped the Billboard charts for six weeks and racked up accolades, but not just because it found an ideal interpreter in country music’s hottest new artist. It hit home because it’s true to life. And that’s because it is based on a true story.

As its Nova Scotian co-author, Gordie Sampson, told The Chronicle Herald, the roots of the song lie in a car accident that took the life of an acquaintance. He drove by the site of that crash one day and it triggered a memory of another accident involving his aunt. She recounted taking her hands off the wheel and praying as she lost control.

Mr. Sampson, his songwriting partners Hillary Lindsey and Brett James, as well as Ms. Underwood were honoured Sunday night for their efforts, winning the most prestigious trophy in the music business. The writers won Grammy Awards for penning the year’s best country song, while Ms. Underwood took the Grammys for best country vocal performance and best new artist. A Bluenose winning a Grammy happens once in a blue moon: Sarah McLachlan in 1999 and Anne Murray in 1983 were the last to step on that pedestal.

Mr. Sampson’s inclusion in that pantheon is a tribute to his considerable talent. But it’s also a testament to the most basic advice for aspiring authors everywhere: Write what you know – and who knows how far you’ll go? Jesus Take the Wheel took Gordie Sampson all the way from Big Pond to the big leagues.

So Gordie, take a bow.

And the lyrics:

She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati

On a snow white Christmas Eve

Going home to see her Mama and her Daddy with the baby in the backseat

Fifty miles to go and she was running low on faith and gasoline

It'd been a long hard year

She had a lot on her mind and she didn't pay attention

she was going way too fast

Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass

She saw both their lives flash before her eyes

She didn't even have time to cry

She was sooo scared

She threw her hands up in the air

Jesus take the wheel

Take it from my hands

Cause I can't do this on my own

I'm letting go

So give me one more chance

To save me from this road I'm on

Jesus take the wheel

It was still getting colder when she made it to the shoulder

And the car came to a stop

She cried when she saw that baby in the backseat sleeping like a rock

And for the first time in a long time

She bowed her head to pray

She said I'm sorry for the way

I've been living my life

I know I've got to change

So from now on tonight

Jesus take the wheel

Take it from my hands

Cause I can't do this on my own

I'm letting go

So give me one more chance

To save me from this road I'm on

Oh, Jesus take the wheel

Oh, I'm letting go

So give me one more chance

Save me from this road I'm on

From this road I'm on

Jesus take the wheel

Oh, take it, take it from me

Oh, why, oh

It's been bugging me. The more I think about it, I find the popularity of the tune kind of remarkable in a couple of ways -

a) it shows something about the demographic influence of evangelicals in the US (which is always troubling on a variety of levels);

it suggests something about the mindset of our culture generally: calibrated for mindless control that only gets shocked into self-reflection when something goes terribly wrong, and so that's been, imo, expressed through this quasi-metaphor (by that, I mean that I don't think it's self-consciously expressed as just metaphor, but as a literal rendering of (meta)physical reality);

c) it says something about how easily that recognition of a power higher than ourselves - which I do think is necessary, though I'm not crazy about the word "power" - gets co-opted by institutions (like those based in Colorado Springs, etc.) who then steer it to their own purposes (waging war on the "gay/feminist/etc. agenda", non-Christian cultures, etc.).

Any thoughts? Am I making more of this bit of schmaltz than I should?

[Blane]

it reminds me of this:

[Kanada Kev]

Is that advocating driving without a seatbelt because JC will save you? Why do 'believers' bother with such safety features?

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

- I like how creeped out the driver seems to look.

On another note, I think I might have to send out for one of these bumper stickers:

[Biggest Fan]

My wife had a 'fortune cookie' this afternoon that said 'the window of opportunity does not open itself'. *I know pretty much the opposite of the song but...

I like your thoughts on . I've always had a hard time wrapping my head around the 'J@sus Saves' (here on earth anyways) people. I once quoted Jim Morrison (while attending a back woods college) "You cannot petition the ....", I think I got a few good christians to scratch their heads with that one.

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

I do like that line, "you cannot petition the Lord with prayer." It's just such a pity we've got whole generations raised on (or continually prompted towards) precisely the opposite idea. It says a lot about our inability to get past infantile grandiosity and narcissism, that there will always be some daddy standing by to bail us out of the trouble we get ourselves into, and so dodge the consequences of our actions or of our inattention.

I suppose the less explicitly religious alternative is that "science" will get us out of any messes we create.

[jonyak]

thats it I give up on life. if jesus wants me to be successful I will be without doing anything. ti will all just happen.

or you could take the wheel and try to steer yourself back onto the road.

sorry.

hmm science. weird subject, being a quasi scientist myself I liek to think that instead of fixing problems science could teach us to not create the problem.

Edited February 17, 2007 by Guest

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

hmm science. weird subject, being a quasi scientist myself I liek to think that instead of fixing problems science could teach us to not create the problem.

Ah, but then who would make any money off of it?

[jonyak]

thereing lies the destruction of our society. nothing will ever get done unless someone will profit.

I think the thing is that the human race would profit.

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

That's dangerous and subversive thinking - sounds like someone here needs a little reprogramming!

"Sir, are you, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?!"

[jonyak]

I wish there was a "real" communist party. unfortunately power corrupts even those that don't want it.

I was a member of the ndp. thats pretty socialist, close enough?

[d_rawk]

Any thoughts? Am I making more of this bit of schmaltz than I should?

No, you're not. And your points are spot on.

Worth stating the obvious, too -- if an interventionist God is going to steer your bloody car for you, what are we to infer about all those people who ... y'know ... get into these predicaments and ... well ... die and stuff?

I s'pose they had it coming.

As far as thoughts -- does a long, defeated sigh count? Probably not, and yet ... there it is.

An aside to Bouche: It's 2007 dude. When the heck are we going to get the ability to embed mp3s? I just thought of a good one.

[faoy]

a) it shows something about the demographic influence of evangelicals in the US (which is always troubling on a variety of levels);

This reminds me of a movie I recently rented called Jesus Camp. It was very disturbing on so many levels. Evangelicals absolutely enrage me and I wish there was something civil i could do to help stop their movement.

[Kanada Kev]

Evangelicals absolutely enrage me and I wish there was something civil i could do to help stop their movement.

If their FAITH is so solid, and they know that the Rapture is coming .... get any that you meet to sign over all their possessions (house, car, boat, cottage, etc.) to you. Why should they say no to this? What could they possibly do with their earthly possessions when they are beamed-up to dance on the clouds with all those things in robes with wings? If they say no, tell 'em they don't have enough faith and that you'll see them in hell (where we'll be partying like it's 1999).

I'll be asking my Dad and his wife for their shit when I go and visit them in a few weeks .

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

- reminds me of that cartoon that d_rawk posted a little while back.

Re. Jesus Camp - I can't wait to see this when it comes around - Jesus Camp (the Movie) . The filmmakers were interviewed on CBC a little while ago and had plenty of interesting stories.

[faoy]

I'd love to see that interview. Maybe I can find it.

[Kanada Kev]

Here are the links on CBC:

http://search.cbc.ca/search?ie=&site=CBC&output=xml_no_dtd&client=CBC&lr=&getfields=description&proxystylesheet=CBC&oe=&searchWeb=cbc&q=jesus+camp

I am downloading this doc right now. I'd be happy to burn it for anyone here.

[Biggest Fan]

I know this is off the mark of the orginal post but having to do with 'evangelical' christianity I thought I'd throw it out and see if any feedback would come back this way.

One of the things that bothers me about the 'fundamentalists' is their 'fire and brimestone' approach to issues. Lets put homosexuality out there for one. You get the quote from the good christians that in the BIBLE it is stated that it is some type of 'abomination'. What gets me is that my guess is that this quote is probably coming from the Old Testament. I could be wrong but I'm not sure if Jesus was ever quoted on the subject.

My concern is that the New Testamennt (The Basis of CHRISTianity) is more about forgivenss and understaning. The approaches of the New and Old are in direct contrast to each other.

*O.K. my point is that if you call yourself a Christian are you not obliged to live and preach the life set out under the New Testament???

[Kanada Kev]

It's simple pick and choose ... whatever "works" for them they use ...

Take a look at this site for some interesting reading regarding the chapters of the Old Testament that you are referring to (Leviticus, etc.) and read the scary shit that resides beside the "anti homosexual" references:

http://www.evilbible.com/

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

- nice site! Will have to check that out at greater length when I'm not quite so tired out.

Re. tensions or contrasts between the Old Testament and the New Testament - no doubt it really does depend on who you ask (Christian or Jewish, of course). Jesus argues in the NT that he means to be a fulfillment of the Hebrew scriptures, not an abrogation of them, but then whatever gets attributed to Jesus in the NT is proportionately really pretty small, compared to narratives and particularly to the Epistles, the letters, the majority of which come from Paul, who's got positions on some things that, fwiw, I've never been able to quite reconcile with what I see Jesus being put on record with. And then, there's the whole Rabbinic tradition of interpretation within Judaism that deals with the tensions within the older scripture as well - as I understand it, in an empathetic way characteristic of the Pharisaic tradition (as opposed to competing schools of legalistic [viz. conservative] hardliners).

Meh. I'm with Nietzsche on this: most "Christians" are indistinguishable in behaviour and just about everything else from others around them; their faith is just what allows them to feel more comfortable with all that.

Christianity's so weird that way, though, isn't it? - how it's something that presents itself as so revolutionary, and yet ends up pandering so horribly to (and further embittering) the status quo it would challenge, the more the centuries roll by. Kinda like most forms of [edit to add - contemporary] Buddhism, come to think of it.

Edited February 21, 2007 by Guest

[hamilton]

Great web site, Kev.

I liked this page:

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

[faoy]

Great web site, Kev.

I liked this page:

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

Pure Gold. I must remember these.

[d_rawk]

Christianity's so weird that way, though, isn't it? - how it's something that presents itself as so revolutionary, and yet ends up pandering so horribly to (and further embittering) the status quo it would challenge, the more the centuries roll by. Kinda like most forms of [edit to add - contemporary] Buddhism, come to think of it.

Yeah, I don't think it's peculiar to Christianity at all. It was (and could still be) something radical and revolutionary, but like anything that gets co-opted all the jagged edges get smoothed out. You can't be the anti-establishment when you are the establishment.

We see it most in something like Christianity because that is culturally dominant here. Consider what happens with revolutionary leftist politics, too, once those groups come into power.

[d_rawk]

From a couple days ago - this interview was live on 100 Huntley St., and they've made it clear that it will not be re-broadcast.

[Kanada Kev]

Holy shit! Somebody who is actually encouraging people to question their churches in a very frank way. Thank you for posting this.

Host reactions are classic. They are totally tormented on whether to get confrontational or give-up. They can't break those fake smiles and are dumbfounded.

Brilliant ... go to primary sources for info. Promoting discussions rather than just being a passive listener. Those religious types need more men like him.

classic quotes:

"Jesus TV is cheesy .. you got straight guys designing sets!"

"holy hand grenades up their butt and pull the pin"

at end of the show "Norm, what have you got to say about that" ... Norm: "Drew, get a life!" (what a loverly christian thing to say ... asswipe)