Singing "Holly Holy"

I LOVE SINGING, alone,in the shower, at the computer, anywhere. I, like my sister, always have a tune in my head, which coms, by necessity, out of my mouth. We both sing well, so we are told. I love singing in the gospel group at the senior center,and I like singing at the church, although the hymnal at church, (Presbyterian) is utterly foreign to me, my having attended for only about six months. In the gospel group, I have long become familiar with the hymnal, which is of the Baptist breed if I aint mistaken, and since we sing essentially the same songs every Monday morning, I know them quite well, although I despise most of them. I despise most gospel songs because I consider religion in general to be nonsensical, and the Christian religion in particular nonsensical, primitive, barbaric, cruel, and bloody. Washing away my sins in the blood of Jesus, or anyone else, I find repulsive. For me, soap and water'll do. What I love are a few of the messages attributed to the probably fictional character Jesus Christ, aka Yeshua ben Joseph, the ones aboutlove, forgiveness, redemption, rendering unto, giving unto, casting not stones. That's all it takes to get me to church, to hear and celebrate the sublime messages with a few good folks. In a previous essay I detailed how I had approached the piano playin' lady at the senior center, had told her the there exists a gospel song I love even more than "How Great Thou Art", and that that gospel song to which I refer was written and sung by the great singer song writer Neil Diamond. The name of the song is "Holly Holy", and I challenge anyone to name or sing a gospel song that'll get you up on your feet and screaming the lyrics with pure joy any quicker. Google it, listen to it, rejoice. Neil Diamond, now eighty four, came out with this masterpiece in 1969, as he was several years into the height of his iconic decades long career, with more than a hundred fifty million Long Play vynal records sold. Neil Diamond was "born and raised' in the Jewish faith, as his name might vaguely imply, but, like millions of other people, his non Christian faith does not prevent him from loving Jesus, and singing about him. The Christian faith has no monopoly on either God or Jesus, and if any conservative evanlgelical Christian tries to tell you that it does, he or she is full of it, and it is your right to tell him or her so, politely, if possible. Since most of these types support Trump, we know damned well that they are full of it Politemess thus becomes optional.God ahd Jesus, I proclaim, are much larger and greater than any single primitive barbaric religious tradition. Well, now I've taken it a step further. Not only did I mention my love of Neil's iconic song to the most important person, the elderly lady piano player; I have begun mentioning it to other people, my sister included, and including other members of the gospel group. Stealthy as a wrathy painter (panther), as my hero David (Davy) Crockett might say, I am embarked on a mission to inculcate, to insinuate, my favorite gospel song of all time into the gospel group song canon. It might be a tough sell, especially among the three or four Pentecostal singers, and the piano lady, who is, of course, by virtue of her piano, of paramount importance. But, like David mighta said: "I'll stand up to my rack, fodder or no fodder, all holler, come hell or high water, and may the devil take the hindmost". Sooner, rather than later, we'll be singin' "Holl Holy", when the sheet music comes in.