When I was in my 20s, I had two warring identities within myself. I was a professional musician and music teacher but also a mother of small children. Why were these warring identities, you ask?
Because as a mother, I wanted music that was appropriate and edifying for my children, but as a musician, most of the children’s music I encountered made me want to claw my ears off my head.
It became obvious to me, that like in many artistic fields, children’s content was created with the erroneous thought that artistic integrity needed to be compromised in order to appeal to children. You’ve seen this yourself. Children’s illustrations that are sloppy, movies that are crass and poorly acted, music that is whiny and off-kilter. Or worse. Pop songs with extremely adult themes “kid-i-fied” with juvenile voices and a xylophone.
All that to say, I was not thrilled with my options.
It was around that time that we encountered the Rabbit Room and experienced a renaissance for ourselves as Christian artists. This, of course, came with the wealth of riches that is Slugs and Bugs, Coal Train Railroad, Rain for Roots, etc. We have feasted and have been sustained on these as well as other high-quality offerings ever since.
Since you’re likely already familiar with these artists, I want to introduce you to another that you may not have met yet.
Meet The Corner Room.
Like some of the Slugs and Bugs albums, the Corner Room albums are straight Scripture set to fantastic music by singer songwriter Adam Wright. What began as a project setting Psalms to music has blossomed into seven full albums including 30 Psalms settings, 5 messianic prophecies from Isaiah, and the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 13.
My personal favorite is Remember and Proclaim, a “new collection of Scripture songs designed to help us know and sing truth to ourselves and to each other.” This album, geared towards children, has all the marvelous musical integrity of Wright’s other projects (look up Act of Congress if you’re not familiar), but with a tenderness and whimsy that will draw children in.
This album has it all- songs that will make you dance in your kitchen, tunes that will make you laugh in sheer delight, and one in particular that will make you ugly cry in your car from the pure sweetness of it.
Our family has been so blessed by these albums. I can’t count the number of moments I have caught my children singing Scripture while coloring, or have found myself mumbling the words as I go about my own work, unconscious of the truths that have spilled out from my heart and onto my lips.
I hope you’ll add this to your repertoire of music for your home. To sweeten the deal, CD bundles are currently on sale until the end of May 2022, so now’s the perfect time to dive head first into Scripture songs for the summer.
Featured photo by wirestock
- Remember and Proclaim - September 4, 2024
- Gathering Stories - June 26, 2024
- Review: Son of the Deep - March 13, 2024
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