On his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town, between the determined, poetic intensity of a song called "Badlands" and a haunting ballad called "Something in the Night," Bruce Springsteen's distinctive voice thunders:

In the midst of an effort to produce an artistic expression of the pain and disappointment that often characterize human existence, Springsteen needed an image that was up to the task. He found one from the fourth chapter of Genesis. He was certainly not the first artist to find a necessary resource in the stories of the Bible's first family. Seventeen years later, with the release of his critically acclaimed compact disc The Ghost of Tom Joad, Springsteen and the world seemed prepared for the full realization that he had become rock-and-roll's Steinbeck, and while he derived the title of the record from The Grapes of Wrath, the songs resonate just as fully with East of Eden. He is one of many popular songwriters and performers fed by the biblical tradition, among other resources.

What separates "high culture" from "popular culture"? It is difficult to imagine an answer to this question that would not seem biased and elitist. The line between the two must be blurry. We expect a number of things from good art. We expect it to grab us emotionally and to make us think. We expect it to reveal the truth, whether in great beauty or ugliness. We expect it to bring us either pleasure or pain, or both. We expect art to help us make sense of life, to connect its disjointed aspects, to provide us with "aha!" moments. It is because of these great expectations that no consensus can be reached on what constitutes good art. The lyrics of popular music do not always rise to the level of great poetry, but it would be a mistake to think great poetry does not reside in this aspect of modern culture. Popular music operates at a variety of levels, from the depth and complexity of songwriters like Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Natalie Merchant to the shallow, nonsense lyrics of many songs that populate the Top 40 list.

One of the factors that sometimes provides art with a richer sense of texture is its ability to draw an allusion to the classic expressions of human culture, thought, and experience. As a student of the Old Testament, I am as interested in the reception of the biblical text as I am in its production and transmission. One of the ways the biblical text is received is through its incorporation into works of art, whether they be the plays of Shakespeare, the paintings of Rembrandt, the novels of Flannery O'Connor, the films of Martin Scorsese, or the sculptures of Michelangelo. I became interested some years ago in the use of the Bible in popular music and began to notice when quotations, names, and images from the Bible were incorporated into musical lyrics, so I started developing a list of such songs. I began assigning students in my classes to write an essay about a popular song that makes use of a specific biblical text.1 This has allowed me to enlarge my list of songs that use Old Testament references, so that it now tops 100.

When I decided to try to develop a resource dealing specifically with the subject of Old Testament references in popular music, I first thought of simply producing a catalogue of examples along with brief discussions and evaluations. As I looked at the examples I had compiled, however, it struck me that they were not evenly distributed. Certain parts of the Old Testament seem to have captured the attention and imagination of modern songwriters more than others. Therefore, these uses of the Bible in song lyrics are clustered around certain sets of texts. This observation led to the idea of looking at these songs as clusters. Along with a discussion of the ways songwriters make use of biblical references, I hope also to raise questions about why they have found these particular areas of the Bible to be such a fertile resource for their artistic expression.

Numerous songs refer to texts in the early part of Genesis. Allusions to the creation and flood narratives are particularly common. Songs referring to texts in this part of the Bible will be discussed in chapter 1, "The First Family," and chapter 2, "Surviving the Storm." There are also a large number of songs that refer to texts within the patriarchal narratives. Songs in this group will be treated in chapter 3, "Family Matters." Chapter 4, "Let Me Out," will explore the cluster of songs that refer to aspects of the exodus story. It is surely no surprise that references to the legal material in popular music are difficult to find. The next identifiable cluster of songs are those that make use of heroic and villainous figures in the books of Joshua through Kings, such as Joshua, Samson, David, and Jezebel. These will be the subject of chapter 5, "The High and Mighty." The Old Testament contains its own musical lyrics within the poetry that fills many of its pages. The poetic material found in Psalms, Wisdom Literature, and Song of Songs also inspires modern poets. References to such texts will be in chapter 6, "The Poet's Poets."2 Finally, modern songwriters sometimes place references to the prophetic literature in their songs. These will be examined in chapter 7, "Shouting in the Wind."

The selection of songs for this book has not been systematic. I cannot imagine a systematic way to do it. Readers will no doubt think of their own examples that have not been included. One of the purposes of the book, and one of the related assignments I give to students in my classes, is to raise the level of awareness of biblical references in popular music, so I hope readers will continue to add to the list. I am sure that early on, my list reflected my own preferences in musical styles or genres. As I have filled out the list with songs my students have directed to my attention, it has become more diverse. Rock and roll, country, hip-hop, folk, reggae, and selections from musical stage plays and movies are all included. Of course, these are overlapping styles of music that are classified as much for marketing purposes as for any other reason.3 The songs discussed in this book are ones that have relatively certain references to the Old Testament. It would be possible to move into an entirely different realm based upon varying definitions of "intertextuality." This would allow a discussion of songs that share a common pool of ideas with certain biblical texts but do not necessarily make any recognizable reference to them. In this case, the songwriter need not be aware of the connections. Michael J. Gilmour has moved in this direction in his excellent work on Bob Dylan and the Bible.4 The nature of Raising Cain seemed to require a more definite sense of connection between song and biblical text. Of course, the use of a phrase or the name of a character from the Bible by no means indicates that the songwriter is fully aware of its location in the biblical text or of the biblical tradition surrounding it. Some phrases, such as "forbidden fruit," the "handwriting on the wall," or "an eye for an eye," have found their way into the American vernacular and are frequently used without awareness that they are derived from the Old Testament.

Interpreting literature is notoriously difficult and subjective. Meaning is an elusive prey. Without a direct statement from a songwriter, we cannot be sure what a song is supposed to be about or why a particular biblical reference has been incorporated into it. Recent trends in biblical interpretation have addressed the difficulty of determining the Bible's meaning by shifting the locus of meaning away from the author toward the interaction between text and reader.5 We must acknowledge the role of the hearer in determining the meanings of songs as well. Interpretations of biblical texts and songs will be largely based on our own impressions. Thus, the discussions of biblical texts and songs that follow are intended to raise issues and invite dialogue rather than to provide definitive answers.

As a reader, teacher, and student of the Old Testament, I am generally pleased whenever it becomes the subject of conversation. I will attempt in every case to evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of particular references to the Old Testament without being proprietary. The Bible is the ultimate "public domain" source. It does not belong to anyone, and nobody can place restrictions on its use. Even if particular references to the Bible in songs may bother some people, sometimes one of the genuine purposes of art is to bother us. If a song causes me to think carefully or feel powerfully about something, including a biblical text, then it has played its role as art.

Readers will quickly notice that song lyrics are not provided in the text of this book. Copyright laws make such inclusion impossible. Where necessary in the discussion, brief segments of the lyrics are provided. Full use of this book will require acquisition of the lyrics of the songs. Consider using an Internet search engine, such as "Google." Simply type the title of the song in quotation marks, along with the word lyrics, not in quotation marks, and you will see a list of multiple sites.

One resource to consider is the ever-growing quantity of legal music sites for downloading songs. Services like iTunes.com, rhapsody.com, napster.com and the music services provided by Yahoo and MSN are just a few examples of easy-to-use download sites that will allow you to access many of the songs in this book on a song-by-song basis. Some will allow you to stream songs in their entirety for a low monthly fee while paying extra for the ability to make your own copy to a CD. Others will require you to purchase each track one at a time. All of them will allow you an easy, affordable way to have the songs to use both for your own personal work with the text as well as in small groups.

This book is aimed at a number of audiences. We hope it will be a valuable pedagogical resource in both the academy and the church. Devoted readers of the Bible may find new ways of thinking about this book through an examination of its connections to music. Those who enjoy listening to popular music may find their enjoyment enriched by a greater awareness of some its cultural roots. Using the Study Questions The discussion questions in the book are included in hopes of promoting small group discussion in many different environments. Churches, college and seminary classes, book clubs, or any group that finds itself engaged around the intersection of music and the great themes of the Old Testament should find these questions useful. Each numbered question has multiple questions within it, so if the group wanted, they could center an entire discussion on that broader set of questions rather than trying to tackle the entire chapter at once. Groups that meet for a sustained period could work through the entire chapter's questions if desired.

This provides great freedom in establishing your study as a short-subjects group that only meets for six or eight weeks, or you could set your structure for a longer period of time and still have plenty of questions to discuss. You might also encourage people to suggest other songs that approach a specific Old Testament text or theme in a certain way. Also, do not overlook the value of having your students explore their own creativity in writing poems and lyrics about the themes you examine. You might choose to make this an arts class where participants create using their specific skills and talents. In this scenario, you might use the book and discussion questions as a starting point.

Whatever your format, size, or context, remember that the songs emerge from the same human condition that the biblical text explores. Your group will have great success if you lean into the feelings and thoughts these great stories generate when they are read or heard anew, like in a song. It is in those times that the ink on the page seems to change color, and all of a sudden we relate to the people of the Old Testament in an entirely new way...

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