Gospel Song – I Want To Live The Life I Sing About In My Song
Gospel Song – I Want To Live the Life I Sing About In My Song.
This is another popular gospel song written by Thomas Dorsey, the “Father of Gospel Music.” He lived from 1899-1993, mostly in Chicago, and composed over 1,000 gospel songs. Dorsey was a genius in combining his jazz background with the secular blues and old spirituals and developing the whole gospel genre. We don’t know the date this song was composed by Mr. Dorsey, or when he first performed it in his church. We do know that his friend Mahalia Jackson first recorded it in 1956. For more on the life of Thomas Dorsey, refer to the blog post “Come, let us go back to God.” For more on Mahalia Jackson, refer to “Soon will be done.”
LYRICS – I Want To Live the Life I Sing About In My Song.
I’m gonna live the life I sing about in my song. I’m gonna stand for right and always shun the wrong.
If I’m in the crowd, if I’m alone, on the street or in my home,
I’m gonna live the life I sing about in my song.
Everyday, everywhere, on a busy thoroughfare, folks may watch me, some may spot me,
Say I’m foolish, but I don’t care.
I can’t sing one thing and live another, be a saint by day and a devil undercover,
I’ve got to live the life I sing about in my song.
If at day, if at night, I must always walk in the light. Some mistake me, underrate me, because I want to do all right.
I can’t go to church and shout all day Sunday, go out and get drunk and raise sand all day Monday.
I’ve got to live the life I sing about in my song.
Not for gold nor for fame, but for the love of Jesus’ name, I was always up the straight street and narrow way.
Jesus told me in the day, He will wash all my sins away.
Gonna live the life I sing about in my song.
Thomas Dorsey was a genuine believer in Christ his whole life. His gospel lyrics focused on Scripture, lifted up Jesus, and discussed authentic Christian discipleship. Mr. Dorsey was wise enough to realize that he had to live up to his lyrics. He knew it was vital to his Christian walk that he was consistent with what his songs professed. Hypocrisy was unthinkable in his faith. He didn’t want to be a play-actor… one kind of person composing gospel songs and performing them in church, and another kind of person off-stage.
Jesus didn’t mince words when it came to hypocrisy… He hated it. His harshest words were reserved for the religious elite and temple leaders, pinpointing their hypocrisy. He said they were like play-actors playing a part on stage before the people while in religious costume, performers in a religious play. They were not authentic with people or with God. The Lord had no patience with the Pharisees… “Hypocrites! Self-righteous snakes! White-washed tombs! You like laying down the details of the Law on others, but then you ignore the most important parts! You lay burdens on the others, but you don’t help them carry those burdens! You heap guilt on the people, but you don’t accept words of correction yourselves! You play at being humble, but you’re actually full of pride!”
On the other hand, there is a little bit of Pharisee in all of us. None of us are perfectly consistent. None of us flawlessly walk our talk. Are we self-aware enough to intend a genuine walk with Jesus? Are we having fewer and fewer weak moments of hypocrisy as we become more self-aware? Are we growing in our consistency between action and profession? Does our lifestyle reflect our commitment to God and His Kingdom? Are we more demanding of others than we are of ourselves? Are we able to honestly confront ourselves when we catch ourselves at being hypocritical? Are we more concerned with how we look, how we “perform” in front of others, while forgetting about the status of our heart? May we all grow in our ability to starve the snake of hypocrisy coiling in our hearts.