Religious Rock. 30 of the Best Religious Rock Songs, plus 1

I make a regular pilgrimage on my bike to the local Totnes gym in Devon, UK. I take with me my MP3 player.

For seven years, I have been a paid up member of the Church of Gymism, where I bow down to the barbell and lift some modest weights up to Heaven.

A few days ago, I looked at my Most Played List on the MP3. Lots of songs had lyrics with a certain religious/spiritual flavour.

The word ‘religious’ here makes no reference to a religion or religions. A religious/spiritual flavour carries a deep intimation, a sense of the transcendent, beyond the song and its lyrics. We can find such intimations in all the religions. We can experience spiritual sensitivities in music.

Music offers reminders and revelations of the profound nature of human experience and our capacity to respond to reality.

Let’s dance to that. Let’s move to that.

Rock on….

My most played song is God Shuffled his Feet by Crash Test Dummies.

The song asks: “Do you get your hair cut in heaven?” A profound question.

If you say “Yes,” then this is ordinary mind.

If you say “No”, this is ordinary mind.

If you say “I don’t know,” this is also ordinary mind.

Do you get your haircut in heaven? Meditate on it.

My second most played song was Heaven by Emeli Sande.

Emeli sings: “I wait with good intentions. But the day it always lasts too long. Then I’m gone.”

Why does the day last too long? Gone? Gone where? To sleep? Meditate on it.

Sugar Man by Rodriguez took third spot. Rogriguez sings: “Sugar Man. You’re the answer that makes my questions disappear.”

The Sugar Man answers the questions. Sugar disappears and so do the questions. Disappear into what? Meditate on it.

You can find some precious and poetic one liners in these songs. Some songs offer fusion of the romantic and religious.

Listen with the lyrics in front of you.

You can probably find most of the artists singing their song on Youtube or equivalent.

Here are 30 Religious Rock songs plus 1

In Alphabetical order:

1. All You Need is Love. The Beatles.

2. Another Brick in the Wall. Pink Floyd

3. (I’m only) Human. Rag n’ Bone Man

4. I can’t get no) Satisfaction. Rolling Stones

5. Candy. Paolo Nutini

6. Don’t Panic. Coldplay

7. Gates of Eden. Bob Dylan

8. Get Up, Stand Up for Your Rights. Bob Marley

9. God Shuffled His Feet. Crash Test Dummies

10. Hallelujah. Leonard Cohen

11. Heaven. Emeli Sande

12. Imagine. John Lennon

13. Life in Slow Motion. David Gray

14. Losing My Religion. REM

15. Moving on Up. M People

16. My Sweet Lord. George Harrison

17. Oh Lord. Johnny Cash

18. Raoui. Souad Massi

19. Rolling in the Deep. Adele

20. Sailing. Rod Stewart

21. Search for the Hero Inside Yourself. M People

22. Slow Down. Imany

23. Sugar Man. Rodriguez

24. Tears in Heaven. Eric Clapton

25. Tilted. Christine and the Queens

26. Times they are a Changing. Bob Dylan

27. The Rose. Janis Joplin

28. Things Go Up. Seasick Steve

29. Why does my heart feels so bad? Moby

30. Wonderwall. Oasis

31. Space Oddity. David Bowie