a view from under the pew: when amos met harry
Editor's note: In light of the upcoming Clovis Music Festival, Amos, our churchmouse poet, recalled his first meeting with a relic of the late 1960s and early 1970s, a wolfhound named Harry. Wolfhound Harry served as an underworld disc jockey for Bugtussle's major top 40 radio station. For at least a couple of decades, he had the bees buzzing, the hummingbirds humming and the fireflies dancing. In fact, some bug music historians claim that it was Wolfhound Harry who put the jitter in the jitterbugs. Some of his best-known early discoveries went on to become historical music-makers in their own right, such as the long-antennaed Beetles and a small combo of Crickets who joined with bespectacled crooner Buggy Holly. After reminiscing about the golden days of music, Amos broached the subject of church. At first, he began to think he made a mistake.
when amos met harry
i couldn t believe it boss
a legend of bug music right
in my own midst why musical
history just sort of oozed out
of his gray wolfhound hair
it was a blast for a bug-rocker
like me
so it was only natural
for me to ask him if he
would be performing any
music in our church
i m sure pastor leroy beetle
wouldn t mind at all if you
would come and play us a
tune about jesus says i
i gave that up a long
time ago says he
why says i
churches have lost it he
moaned they re not with
it man church services are
about as exciting as sand
but how and why
did you arrive at so astute
an observation says i
i used to go to church —
and even sang in the choir —
but that was eons ago says he
then i got tired
tired of sad meetings that
inspired me for five minutes
before i would go home to bed
i got fed up with
the grape juice and crackers
of meaningless communions
the more i looked the more
the old broken-down church
in the far corner seemed to
suddenly age and grow stiff
and cold rigid and brittle —
inflexible to the times
and to me says he
but that s not true and even
if it was why not try to
make it better hey jude
oh i did try cried he
the spirit of the crusader raged
within me you see i even
set up my own
personal size ivory
soap box and began
dragging out my salvation
army trumpet — we brought
in drums and guitars we had
those bugs dancing in the
streets to the holy ghost
hop it was the hit of the
teen bug scene man
we were communicatin
know what i mean gene
sounds good says i
so why did it die
one day the white hairs
and the traditionalists
rose up in one accord
and said there ll be no more
tangerines in church —
but ithink they meant tambourines —
and they threw my personal
size ivory soap box and
our little combo band
all in a heap out on the street
and told us never to come
back again because guitars
and god don t mix
and i have taken their word
for it ever since says he
but sometimes i just wish
i could play some jesus songs
for everyone in peace said he
rather wistfully cause he s the one
who gave the gift to me
in the first place
sometimes boss the spirit of
the crusader — no matter
which side you re on —
speaks louder than his spears
and often returns to haunt him
somehow we have to temper our
crusading and clanging cymbals
with a dose of jesus love
amos
