BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Atheist Random Thoughts

Going way back is a song that can be construed as being highly agnostic/"without knowledge" that I was exposed to by my stage play loving parents and provides a good dictum to live by- "it ain't necessarily so!"

Like when my wife, Maria, says definitively without knowing exactly why that she "knows" that she saw a peregrine falcoln I will say "it ain't necessarily so."

"It Ain't necessarily So" by George Gershwin

It ain't necessarily so
It ain't necessarily so
The t'ings dat yo' li'ble
To read in de Bible,
It ain't necessarily so.

Li'l David was small, but oh my !
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
He fought Big Goliath
Who lay down an' dieth !
Li'l David was small, but oh my !

Wadoo, zim bam boddle-oo,
Hoodle ah da wa da,
Scatty wah !
Oh yeah !...

Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale,
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale,
Fo' he made his home in
Dat fish's abdomen.
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale.

Li'l Moses was found in a stream.
Li'l Moses was found in a stream.
He floated on water
Till Ol' Pharaoh's daughter,
She fished him, she said, from dat stream.

Wadoo ...

Well, it ain't necessarily so
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Dey tells all you chillun
De debble's a villun,
But it ain't necessarily so !

To get into Hebben
Don' snap for a sebben !
Live clean ! Don' have no fault !
Oh, I takes dat gospel
Whenever it's pos'ble,
But wid a grain of salt.

Methus'lah lived nine hundred years,
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years,
But who calls dat livin'
When no gal will give in
To no man what's nine hundred years ?

I'm preachin' dis sermon to show,
It ain't nece-ain't nece
Ain't nece-ain't nece
Ain't necessarily ... so !

Les, that's an interesting song. Maybe I am in the right forum part then, kind of. I was raised catholic but at 16 I refused to confirm because I don't make promises I don't mean to keep. I tried christianity in TN, but I didn't want to judge others so that didn't work either. My friend got me into wicca, but there was so much superstition, it made me unsure. Now I believe in the spirit of Nature and Mother Earth and the Great Spirit. It works for me.

Now that is a ringer!

I am of the same belief system as great_grandaughter. I love to listen to gospel songs, but my church is in Nature - as I have said before: my stained-glass windows are rainbows.

Great_Grandaughter, Phyllis, and all,

As discussed previously, this forum welcomes freethinkers from all belief systems as the focus is on the "process" that one uses in the development of their belief system and not in the "conclusion" itself.

Obviously, both of you were not "born into" what you now believe and the path that you took or continue to take involved a lot of exploration and introspection. Bienvenidos!

Also dating back to my high school years in terms of belief system influence (big time!)is:

"Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan

How many roads must a man walk down,
before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove fly,
before she sleeps in the sand?
And how many times must a cannon ball fly,
before they're forever banned?

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,
the answer is blowing in the wind.

How many years can a mountain exist,
before it is washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist,
before they're allowed to be free?
And how many times can a man turn his head,
and pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,
the answer is blowing in the wind.

How many times must a man look up,
before he sees the sky?
And how many ears must one man have,
before he can hear people cry ?
And how many deaths will it take till we know,
that too many people have died?

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,
the answer is blowing in the wind.

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,
the answer is blowing in the wind.

Bob Dylan was 70 years old this week! I never did like his music!

Linda said: Bob Dylan was 70 years old this week! I never did like his music!

Then by unpopular demand (lol), this song is really open to interpretation but there are some phrases (mostly in reverse) in it that have lived with me for a very long time and will continue to do so.

"Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I�m not sleepy and there is no place I�m going to
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I�ll come followin� you

Though I know that evenin�s empire has returned into sand
Vanished from my hand
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping
My weariness amazes me, I�m branded on my feet
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street�s too dead for dreaming

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I�m not sleepy and there is no place I�m going to
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I�ll come followin� you

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin� ship
My senses have been stripped, my hands can�t feel to grip
My toes too numb to step
Wait only for my boot heels to be wanderin�
I�m ready to go anywhere, I�m ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way
I promise to go under it

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I�m not sleepy and there is no place I�m going to
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I�ll come followin� you

Though you might hear laughin�, spinnin�, swingin� madly across the sun
It�s not aimed at anyone, it�s just escapin� on the run
And but for the sky there are no fences facin�
And if you hear vague traces of skippin� reels of rhyme
To your tambourine in time, it�s just a ragged clown behind
I wouldn�t pay it any mind
It�s just a shadow you�re seein� that he�s chasing

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I�m not sleepy and there is no place I�m going to
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I�ll come followin� you

Then take me disappearin� through the smoke rings of my mind
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I�m not sleepy and there is no place I�m going to
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I�ll come followin� you

lol Les I take it you are a fan! This was one of my most disliked song lol, thanks for posting the words!

[i]Linda said: lol Les I take it you are a fan! This was one of my most disliked song lol, thanks for posting the words!

My pleasure Linda. I guess for some "the times they" aren't "a changin.'" (lol)

LOL! Bob Dylan wrote some great stuff but he should have sold it to somebody who could actually sing. He sounds like a sheep being butchered with a dull hack saw. It's worst than nails on chalkboard, so painful to listen to him.