#312. Talk Singing
If I could play the guitar, I would probably do this. If my theory that guitar ownership equals guitar proficiency had paid off, you could hear me do this the next time I speak somewhere. But alas guitar, much like painting and woodworking before it, only confirmed that I should stick with writing. So I can’t do this.
The this in question is “talk singing,” that beautiful collision of lyrics and speech that often comes about when a worship leader gets brave and decides to ad lib a little. It’s not singing exactly, although they often try to make it melodious. It’s not talking exactly, although it’s not an official lyric either. It’s this weird hybrid. There is a chance you have never experienced this, to which I say, “for shame good sir, for shame.” If not, here are the most common uses of talk singing:
1. The surprise song
Sometimes a worship leader will kind of pretend she’s not about to sing a song. As if she’s having a normal conversation with you, she’ll say, “Me and my husband we’re talking this weekend. We were sharing a coffee to discuss some issues we’re facing and we realized … everyone needs compassion, love that’s never failing, let mercy fall on me.” And before you know it, you moved from hearing about weekend coffee to being a verse deep into the song “Mighty to Save.”
2. The middle riddle
Different worship leaders express praise differently. Some make the worship leader face and finish the song. Some however, us any pause in a song to do a little talk singing. And when they add it to the middle of the song, they often make it in the form of a question or because I want to rhyme today, a riddle. It can look like this: “How great is our God, sing with me, how great is our God, and all will see … Will they see it in your life this week? At work? At home? Thank you Jesus. Will they see it on the highway as you commute? Will they know how great is our God?”
3. The prayer breakdown
Did you ever ghost ride a bike when you were a kid? This is when you would just jump off while you were riding and let the bike continue for a few seconds without you until it crashed. Sometimes, just ending a song can feel like a ghost ride. You’re singing along, there’s lots of momentum and then it just ends. To prevent a worship song ghost ride, many worship leaders will try to help you reenter the atmosphere by slowing things down gently with a prayer. It can go like this, “My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name, your name Lord, we just lift up your name. We just lift it up in song and in life, in our hearts and our home. Blessed be your name Lord. This day, this week, this forever. Amen.”
I have a fear that eventually, I am going to write so many worship leader focused posts that they are going to rise up against me and throw me in a dumpster. But I’m not afraid. If they ever surround me, I’ll throw a graphic t-shirt, with a design that kind of looks like a tattoo, on the ground. While they fight over that, I will flee. (I kid. I kid.)
