Darren Wright, a youth worker in the Riverina, New South Wales, is collating a series of resources on the spirituality of the songs penned by the Australian musician, poet, storyteller, prophet and muse Paul Kelly. The project, to be hosted on Darren’s Alternative Hymnal blog, is designed to reflect upon the music of Paul Kelly and to use his music, poetry and prose to search for and reflect on an authentic Australian theology, or for those of us who hate the word “theology” an authentic Australian spirituality. Darren aims to release the reflections over the month of June 2010, with a different song being the focus of every day.
Reflections need to be submitted to Darren by May 15, 2010, with a minimum of 250 words (without the lyrics). Reflections can be connected to scripture (Christian or otherwise), or to Australian spirituality or on how the person connects to the music spiritually, or even as to why they believe this song is a spiritual one or not. they can be deep, comedic, simple, honest, or fun. Songs are to be penned and/or sung by Paul Kelly, so that leaves open songs that he may have written for others and songs that may have been penned by someone for him or in collaboration with him. See Darren’s full explanation here.
‘Surely God Was A Lover’, the name of Darren’s project, is the John Shaw Neilson (1872-1942) poem Paul Kelly adapted for Jimmy Little‘s album Resonate.
Surely God was a lover
When He bade the day begin
Soft as a woman’s eyelid
Fine as a woman’s skin
Surely God was a lover
All burning with desire
When He called the night to come down
And set the day on fire
Surely God is a lover
Surely God is a lover
Surely God was a lover
When He made the driving rain
A woman must have left Him
Weeping in a waste of shame
Surely God was a lover
With the madness love will bring
He wrought while His love was singing
And put her soul in the spring
Surely God was a lover
When He made the trees so fair
In every leaf a glory
Caught from a woman’s hair
Surely God was a lover
You can see it in the flowers He grows
His love’s eyes in the violet
Her sweetness in the rose
Surely God was a lover