RE Coursework- Religion as Expressed in Music. a) (I) Phoenix With A Heartache- Kids In The Way

"And there you were, standing there, Like an answer to a dream I never had."

(ii) Jesus Walks- Kanye West

In this particular song, Kanye West is trying to put a message across to the public that if Jesus was alive, none of crime, violence and poverty that go on in the world would not be happenings. He also explains how everyone ignores all the bad things that is happening in everyday life and everyone eventually turns to God in the end.

He sings about how even if you have done bad things in your life to make you evil, that Jesus still walks with you and God will forgive everyone and he will not punish you if you make things right.

"To the hustlas, killers, murderers, drug dealers even the strippers; Jesus walks with them"

In this song he sings about how everyone needs Jesus. He believes that Jesus is a very important person in everyone's lives and everyone should respect him. He asks God to show him the way because the devil is trying to break him down.

"God show me the way because the devil trying to break me down. The only thing that that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now"

This shows that he wants God to help him be good and how to lead his life, so that that he will have a good after life.

"I want to talk to God but I'm afraid because we ain't spoke in so long"

This lyric he has written indicates that he is scared to pray to God in case he won't listen, as he hasn't prayed in such a long time. And will not get an answer to his prayer.

I think religious people can learn from this song a lot, by knowing that if they sin, they can make it better again and can have God's forgiveness.

I really like this song a lot, because it has really taught me not to take everything for granted and to help the people that need it the most.

The writer of this song has a very strong opinion toward religion. And it is a very big part of his life

(iii) Not Alone- McFly

I am going to explain how a religious issue is dealt with in a song called 'Not Alone' by a band called McFly. This was written by one of the band members because when he was in his early teen years, as he was being bullied at school because he was different that all the other children and he felt the only person he could turn to, was God. He feels he is getting bullied because he wears different clothes and like different music to the other people at his school. So he expresses his feelings through this song and turns to God for help.

Writing this song helped him to deal with this issue because he expressed his feelings into a song. He also explains in this song, how he knows he is not alone, because God will always be with him.

"Cos I'm not alone..."

This shows that he has belief in himself and he can move on with his life with God's help. From this, he has decided to become a Christian as he has realised that God can help him deal with his problems.

I think people will be able to relate to this song, because a lot of people go through this and it might help them see that God might really be able to help if they tried.

The reason why I picked this song, is because I felt that even though I don't believe in God, that there is someone or something to help me. That's why I like this song.

(B)