Welcome to Tuesday and today's Tuesday's Musical Notes! I'm Randy Cross from Searcy, Arkansas and we have a packed-out, 80's filled blog ready to roll for you today! So let's get started by spinning a song that peaked at #5 on Billboard's Hot 100 and was in heavy rotation at MTV upon its release. Here are Annie and Dave, better known as the Eurythmics with "Would I Lie to You?"
Be Yourself Tonight was the 4th of 9 studio albums by the multi-platinum duo of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. Most folks know this British team as the band The Eurythmics.
For the decade 1980-1990, Annie and Dave made some incredible music together. Their debut album, 1981s In the Garden didn't achieve much success but the follow-up, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) dominated the charts. The title track from the 1983 album went all the way to # 1 and made The Eurythmics an overnight success, paving the way for the release of 6 more albums in the next 6 years, each one building upon the achievements of the previous.
The band took the next decade (1990-1999) off to work on solo and other projects after the rigors of touring, writing and producing began to strain Annie and Dave's relationship. The Eurythmics rejoined in 1999 and produced their last studio effort, Peace. After the completion of the tour to support Peace (all proceeds were donated to Greenpeace and Amnesty International) they did a European tour and returned to solo efforts in 2000.
The turn of the century saw continued acclaim for solo efforts by Lennox and Stewart as Annie won the Academy Award for Best Song in 2003 for "Into the West", the closing credits theme from the Peter Jackson film Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and in 2004 Dave would win a Golden Globe for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture his collaboration with Mick Jagger, "Old Habits Die Hard" from the movie Alfie.
Today's featured song promotes a new musical direction for The Eurythmics. They transitioned away from the synth-pop of "Sweet Dreams" and went to a more standard rock and roll/blues feel. The horn section intro immediately let the listener know that this was not the norm that had come to be expected from The Eurythmics. And it worked. Be Yourself Tonight became The Eurythmics best selling studio album. It did so solely on the strength of its songs as no tour came on the heels of its release. There was no tour as Annie Lennox was recovering from vocal fold nodules. This ailment proved so bad that she also missed 1985's Live Aid. No kidding. Would I lie to you?
Lying has been a previous topic here at The Notes. In Tuesday's Musical Notes: "Little Lies" we saw that deceit and disobedience walked hand in hand to see the downfall of mankind in the garden. We also mentioned a few other Biblical accounts that had similar results for those who lied. You can check out that blog by clicking on the link. You can also read many more of Tuesday's Musical Notes by going to our archives.
But today, we want to narrow in on Abram and Sarai. In Genesis 12 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible we come to God's story in relation to mankind through Abram and his wife Sarai. We see that they have a relationship with God. So much so, that when God tells them to pull up stakes from everything they know and go to Cannan, Abram and Sarai step out in faith and head that direction. God makes some pretty specific promises to Abram at this point regarding the land once they arrive. But once they are settled a famine hits. I don't know about you but this would at the very least cause me to have pause with regards to God's instruction. It seems that it, in fact, may have shaken Abram somewhat as well.
Once the famine hit, Abram made the decision to go to Egypt so his family wouldn't starve. The Bible narrative says nothing about God giving Abram this instruction. "Would I lie to you?' This is Abram's first mistake. God had just promised that the land would be Abram's. It seems somewhat strange that Abram left his birthplace, got promised his new digs, and then leaves them. Is Abram on his own here?
He then heads for Egypt. From this time on in the Bible, the land of Egypt is rarely a good place. It is a type or example of the unrighteous world to which mankind is to abstain. Abram decides to go to seek provision for his family and on the way gets a brilliant idea. (yes, that's sarcasm)
The Bible describes Sarai as a "beautiful" woman. Abram's trepidation level was already heightened. He's kind of got that whole "stranger in a strange land" thing going on. The culture of the time treated women as property. Abram was fearful that someone in authority would see Sarai and decide to plunder and kill Abram so they could take Sarai as a wife. Abram instructs Sarai to say that she is his sister to keep everyone alive. Abram's fear seems strange as God had told him earlier "And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” "Would I say something that wasn't true?"
Fear, however, can be a powerful motivator. So much so for Abram that he determined to take matters into his own hands. His lack of trust in God and disobedience to God caused one of his biggest fear to come true. Sarai was taken into Pharoah's house. Because the Egyptians thought Sarai was Abram's sister, Abram was treated like royalty. God, however, did not approve as He had big plans for Sarai as well.
Abram's attempted deception displeased God, caused pain for others, and got Abram and Sarai kicked out of the country.
We read later on that Abram did not relay this lesson to his children as his son Isaac attempts the same disinformation ploy. Genesis 26:1-16 NASB/The Message/KJV
Here are some things to consider from Abram and Sarai's story. We can always trust God. He has a plan. We can determine that plan by listening to His Word. We can never trust our own heart because it is susceptible to fear, pride, disobedience, and contempt. Lying denies God's plan for our lives and attempts to circumvent that plan. Lying always impacts more folks than the primaries which are involved.
So friend, what famine are you facing?
"Would I lie to you? Would I like to you honey? Now would I say something that wasn't true? I'm asking you sugar would I lie..."
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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