Huffington Post
Johnny Depp has found himself in a holy mess.
The Oscar-nominee, who moonlights as a guitarist and singer, pitched in work for British group Babybird's new song, "Jesus Stag Night Club." The act, spearheaded by Depp's friend Stephen Jones, wrote the song about a bunch of guys who go on a stag night -- or, bachelor party -- and get a party-happy Jesus doppelgänger to get them hooked up with all the finer things that a night of madness requires.
The night, predictably, becomes engulfed in madness, with drunken shenanigans leading to forgotten hours. A sampling of the tongue-in-cheek lyrics:
Saw a man in the street lying on the floor beaten up/ He had a fish finger sandwich and a yellow M coffee cup/ I bent down drunk and tried to pick him up/ But when I turned around I could see...it was Jesus.../ I can't remember where I was last night/ Think I was hanging on a church spire/ Tied by my ankles to a weathervane
Christian groups, no doubt big fans of Depp's previous wholesome catalog, especially his various work as late friend Hunter S. Thompson, were outraged at the song, with Lee Douglas of the Christian Coalition going so far as to condemn him to an eternity of pain and suffering for his participation.
"I'm sure he thinks he's being very funny but he's simply a disgrace," he said in a statement. "One day johnny Depp and his cronies will face the judgment of our Lord and they will burn in hell for this filth."
Depp has worked with said cronies before; just last year, he pitched in on the song "Unloveable" andeven directed the music video.
Take a listen to the song and let us know what you think: tongue-in-cheek fun, or an unforgivable sin for which he will burn forever?
It actually sends a very vivid message in those lyrics. As a society, we have eschewed God and thereby repudiated his Son. After all the chicanery of the night before, the man attempts to pick up a person and until he rolled him over, he had no idea who it was. Sort of like us all, I think. We are so caught up in our day to day party, we forget, until maybe its too late.
ReplyDeleteBTW, taken from this context, Born Agains shouldn't be condemning anybody for eternity. Its against the basic tenants of Christianity and of the lessons Yeshua ben Joseph taught. Think about it.
ReplyDeleteExcellent points!
ReplyDeleteOnce again, Rock and Roll is being used as a target for the Christian Right, probably because the song reminds them of some of their own escapades. Just like in the old days, hell awaits he who creates art that someone else finds offensive. I’m still trying to find something in the lyric that would cause such a ruckus.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who does a bit of research would see that Stephen Jones, the front man and writer that is Babybird, (a published novelist) has always been controversial and this is not the fist time he has touched on this subject. He even has an old song called Jesus is My Girlfriend. So what?
Mr. Jones was a recent finalist in a photo contest. His image was a newspaper lying on the sidewalk, reading "CHRIST". Does this mean Babybird is spreading the news of the Messiahs' return? Anyone see it that way?
Once there is a connection or association to someone famous or powerful, especially forward thinking, honest and talented folks like Mr. Depp, people think they have the “Right” to attack someone’s values.
The point is that nobody should be damning people to hell for their art. If you don’t like it, don’t listen. It seems to be more about bringing attention to themselves on the coattails of a movie star.