We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Religion

from Shaker Chair by Rob Siegel

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

about

Being a lapsed Jew married to a lapsed Irish Catholic and trying to raise moral children in an immoral world, I thought I had an interesting perspective on this topic. I contacted The Boston Globe about writing an article about the holiday implications. "Oh," they dismissed, "that's "The December Dilemma." We run a piece about it every winter." So I wrote a song about it instead. I still play the song at shows, and it still has great resonance with many people. The recording, with just guitar and bass, however, still feels like it lacks something.

lyrics

I was raised Jewish
it was not my choice
I asked the four questions
but it was not my voice
I went to hebrew school
stared at the walls
I was bar mitzvahed
I hated it all

so it’s no surprise
I married my wife
she’s a lapsed Catholic
the church changed her live
a nun with a ruler
her knees black and blue
twelve years of Catholic school
she marries a Jew

oh religion
what are you for
I’m an iconoclast
in a life that’s soon past
a confirmed agnostic
in a world that’s so sure

for our wedding we gathered
before the powers that be
no priest no rabbi
just a justice of the peace
then a short hebrew prayer
a quick Irish toast
and my uncle Herbie
sang my wild Irish rose

now we got kids
and they want the truth
what about santa?
some guys in red suits
but we do christmas and chanukah
with candles and lights
it’s an orgy of presents
I guess that’s all right

oh religion
is there anything more
presents are fine
and I like the red wine
but still I’m agnostic
in a world that’s so sure

so what do we tell them
when the big questions roll
what about god
and faith and a soul
I can’t just dismiss these
like santa’s sad lot
maybe faith
is a present
that I never got

I’m just one parent
I’m not Jesus Christ
but I don’t need religion
to teach wrong from right
you just tolerate difference
respect everyone
if there’s family values
then hate isn’t one
at least not in our house

oh religion
what are you for
I’m an iconoclast
in a life that’s soon past
a confirmed agnostic
in a world that’s so sure

oh religion
best examine your core
because mountains of hate
have been heaped on your plate
Jerusalem Lebanon
Ireland on and on
way too much pain
still gets done in your name
and so I’m agnostic
in a world that’s so sure

what will the kids think
about mom and dad
will they tank us for the Sunday school
they never had
or will they damn us
for raising them so
rootless and barren
and spiritually hollow
I don’t know

I was raised Jewish
It was not my choice
but it’s who I am now
it’s part of my voice
my children can find their way
home through the night
until they find god
I’ll leave on the light

oh religion
I’d crack open your door
but I’m an arrogant ass
with big questions to ask
and so I’m agnostic
in a world that’s so sure
oh religion
what are you for
I’m an iconoclast
in a life that goes fast
a confirmed agnostic
in a world that’s so
sure

credits

from Shaker Chair, released June 1, 1999

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Rob Siegel image

Rob Siegel Boston, Massachusetts

Rob Siegel is well-known in Boston folk music circles as an innovative songwriter who draws from his idyllic yet stressed- out middle-class suburban existence and produces memorable, intelligent, well-crafted songs.

His first new CD in 14 years, "A Landscape of Ghosts," will be out in April, with a CD release show at Club Passim on Monday April 30th. ... more

contact / help

Contact Rob Siegel

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Rob Siegel, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier chats about his new LP and the influence of Pharoah Sanders.
listen now