After the movie “Meet
the Mormons” came out, Tara provided some focus for us on the song, Glorious, which in in that movie. The Church released a music video and made “Glorious" available as a free download.
The video has received
hundreds of comments on YouTube from viewers expressing their gratitude for the
song’s message such as:
“So strong and
inspirational”
“Motivating song”
“It makes me just want
to help people”
“This is the first time I did not click "skip" on an
ad before viewing a video. The music captivated me. Lovely. I am not a Mormon,
or even a Christian. I am Jewish. But I found the message that we all
"create a symphony" a powerful and hopeful message. Well done.”
"Glorious" was written by Stephanie Mabey, she said that when the
movie producers brought a wide spectrum of songwriters together and said “they
wanted good music that communicates with people, she felt “Glorious” would be
part of “Meet the Mormons” however she was reluctant to share it with them
because it was not written for one group of people to call their own and it was
not religious.
Two days later, movie producer Jeff Roberts found
“Glorious” on his computer even though Stephanie hadn’t sent him the song,
which she originally wrote while her personal world was falling apart in a
divorce.
A BYU English Profession,
Bruce Young wrote in his blog why he thought the song connected with so many
people. Here are some of his comments:
"Glorious"
is a good song--a dang good song. It's beautifully constructed, engaging,
deeply felt, with intelligent, inspiring lyrics. One indication of its
quality is the fact that it still sounds fresh after having enjoyed (or in some
cases suffered from) being covered over 400 times in various styles, from
country to choral, by performers ranging from a 4-year-old to the PS22 Chorus
in Staten Island. I haven't heard all 400 covers, but I've heard a good
number of them.
To consider what is
"Mormon" about the song (as well as what is universal), let's start
with the lyrics:
There are times when you might feel aimless;
You can't see the places where you belong.
But you will find that there is a purpose;
It's been there within you all along
And when you're near it,
You can almost hear it.
It's like a symphony: just keep listening,
And pretty soon you'll start to figure out your part.
Everyone plays a piece, and there are melodies
In each one of us.
Oh, it's glorious.
You will know how to let it ring out
As you discover who you are.
Others around you will start to wake up
To the sounds that are in their hearts.
It's so amazing, what we're all creating.
It's like a symphony: just keep listening,
And pretty soon you'll start to figure out your part.
Everyone plays a piece, and there are melodies
In each one of us.
Oh, it's glorious.
And as you feel the notes build, ah,
You will see:
It's like a symphony: just keep listening,
And pretty soon you'll start to figure out your part.
Everyone plays a piece, and there are melodies
In each one of us.
Oh, it's glorious.
What will strike many
as typically "Mormon" about the song is its optimism. Mormons
are known for their positive--some would say naively positive--view of
life.
What gets us through
is genuine faith that there is a God--a perfectly wise and loving God--who is
in charge, and hope that everything will work out if we are faithful.
The song captures both
the idealism and the realism of the Mormon approach to life. Yes, we
sometimes feel aimless and isolated. But we believe that if we keep at
it, we'll find meaning and connection. That leads to another set of
distinctively Mormon elements in the song: the understanding of life--and even
eternal life--as a process, a process of discovery and growth and creation.
"Glorious"
celebrates not just the world we live in but the process of discovery and
creation that we are invited to engage in. "You will find that there
is a purpose . . . you can almost hear it . . . just keep listening . . .
you'll start to figure out your part . . .": all these phrases call to
mind the Latter-day Saint understanding of personal revelation, the process of
attuning ourselves to God's voice and to the divine meaning woven into the
world, a process that requires us to "study it out in our minds" and
recognize confirming insight and feelings.
The understanding of
purpose and meaning that we seek is somehow within us and always has been:
"It's been there within you all along." For "man is
spirit" and "was also in the beginning with God" (Doctrine and
Covenants 93:33, 29). We bring with us something that not only recognizes
but contributes to the meaning and beauty of the world. There are
"melodies in each one of us"--spiritual melodies, characteristics
deriving from our divine parentage and witnessing to our divine potential.
We are the offspring of God and (as Spencer W. Kimball put it) have
within us "the seeds of godhood."
"There are
melodies in each one of us," melodies that derive from our spiritual
natures and our divine heritage, but we contribute these melodies to a larger
tapestry of harmonious sound. Rightly understood, the song affirms both
individuality and community--something essential to the Mormon understanding of
life and of eternity. We believe we are unique and eternal individuals.
Yet our lives have meaning only through relationship with others.
In these and related
ways, the song "Glorious" beautifully expresses what might be called
the spirit of Mormonism--the sense of engaging in a glorious process of
awakening, of self-discovery and communal cooperation, of struggle and hope, of
appreciation and creation. It speaks to the immediate here and now while
also opening us to a vision of eternity--in fact, suggesting that eternity is
unfolding within the here and now.
Here are several of
Bruce Young’s favorite covers of the song “Glorious”.
Here are a couple more:
