 |
| Our prophetic musical duo |
by Ben Howard
Without any ado, I give you an overly interpretive
theological reading of “Scream and Shout” by Will.I.Am (feat. Britney Spears).
Bring the action…
A deep voice proclaims the beginning of a prophetic
utterance. Similar in tone to “These are the words of the LORD…”
When you’re up in the club/You’re gonna turn this s*** up
You’re gonna turn this s*** up/You’re gonna turn this s*** up
When we up in the club/All eyes on us
All eyes on us/All eyes on us
See the boys in the club/They watching us
They watching us/They watching us
Everybody in the club/All eyes on us
All eyes on us/All eyes on us
Britney Spears introduces the prophetic proclamation to all
of those in attendance (“up in the club”). She tells them to pay attention for
important things are going to be said and they will want to “turn this s*** up.”
She repeats her call to attention, demanding “all eyes on us.”
In a smirking nod to the patriarchal nature of the church,
she chides us by saying that the “boys in the club”, the Old Boys Club if you
will, they are “watching us.” Once again, she demands attention before turning
over the microphone to her partner Will.I.Am.
I wanna scream and shout, and let it all out/And scream and shout, and
let it out
We saying, oh wee oh wee oh wee oh/We saying, oh wee oh wee oh wee oh
I wanna scream and shout, and let it all out/And scream and shout, and
let it out
We saying, oh wee oh wee oh wee oh
Mr. I.Am comes to us with a lament. He is full of pain and
wants to “scream and shout” and “let it out.” What is the source of pain for
Mr. I.Am? It is us. It our worship in which we repeat utter nonsense in place
of praise. It is as if we are saying, “oh wee oh wee oh wee oh.” The distress
is palpable, how will we overcome this apathetic sensibility?
You are now, now rocking with Will.I.Am and Britney, b****
[beat break]
Oh, yeah…[3x]
Bring the action
 |
| Will.I.Am engaging a vision of the Trinity |
What is our duos response to our apathy? Nothing less than a
divine experience. We will be “rocking” with them. We are blasted by
astonishing noises (beat break) and three times we hear the Hallelujah call of
the dance floor (Oh, yeah…) an echo of the Trinitarian nature of our God.
Finally we are called once again to “Bring the action.”
Rock and roll, everybody let’s lose control/All the bottom we let it go
Going fast, we ain’t going slow, no, no/Hey yo, hear the beat, now let’s
hit the floor
Mr. I.Am exerts the people to “lose control” and get rid of
their baseline expectations for worship (“the bottom we let it go”). From now
on the people will be “going fast” and will be “hit(ting) the floor” running.
Drink it up, and then drink some more/Light it up, and let’s let it
blow, blow, blow
Hey yo, rock it out, rock it now/If you know what we talking ‘bout
In this section Mr. I. Am references the twin moments when
the people will need to “drink it up.” First at the Eucharist, and then “drink
some more” by drinking deeply of the Spirit. I.Am reminds us to “light it up”
bringing to mind the children’s song “This Little Light of Mine”. He then
invites us to “rock it out” if we understand what “we talking ‘bout”.
Turn it up, and burn down the house, ho-house/Hey yo, turn it up, and
don’t turn it down
Here we go, we gon’ shake the ground/’Cause everywhere that we go we
bring the action
I read this bit of Mr. I.Am’s song/prophecy as a call to
destroy the sacred constructs which constrain our praise (“burn down the house”)
and allow our joy to overflow and run free throughout our lives (“turn it up,
and don’t turn it down”). He continues on saying that “we gon’ shake the ground”
bringing to mind Jesus’ proclamation that faith could move mountains.
When you’re up in the club/You’re gonna turn this s*** up
You’re gonna turn this s*** up/You’re gonna turn this s*** up
When we up in the club/All eyes on us
All eyes on us/All eyes on us
See the boys in the club/They watching us
They watching us/They watching us
Everybody in the club/All eyes on us
All eyes on us/All eyes on us
 |
| 3 in 1 and 1 in 3 as portrayed by Britney Spears |
Britney Spears, the angel of our initial invitation, returns
here and repeats her earlier refrain. However, hearing it in the light of I.Am’s
call it feels different. Instead of a call to listen, it feels like an
invitation to go forth and be a part. Instead of telling those “in the club” to
attention, it feels like a invitation to be part of the show.
You are now, now rocking with Will.I.Am and Britney, b****
[beat break]
Oh, yeah…[3x]
We are once again inundated with the splendor and glory of
divine presence with this interlude of danceable beats and our Trinitarian
dance-floor Hallelujah.
It goes on and on and on and on/When me and you party together
I wish this night would last forever/’Cause I was feeling down, now I’m
feeling better
And maybe it goes on and on and on and on/When me and you party
together
I wish this night would last forever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever
In his last point before leaving, Will.I.Am speaks to God as
a spokesperson for all the people “in the club.” He expresses the profound
nature of our experience with the divine (“When me and you party together” and
our desire that this experience “last forever.” Alas, it fades into the
distance.
I wanna scream and shout, and let it all out/And scream and shout, and
let it out
We saying, oh wee oh wee oh wee oh/We saying, oh wee oh wee oh wee oh
I wanna scream and shout, and let it all out/And scream and shout, and
let it out
We saying, oh wee oh wee oh wee oh/We saying, oh wee oh wee oh wee oh
Will comes back with one final reminder of where we’ve come
from and the distance we’ve traveled over the course of the life-altering
divine encounter.
You are now, now rocking with Will.I.Am and Britney, b****
Our prophetic master’s of ceremonies depart reminding us
that we are “now rocking” with them in perpetuity.
Amen.
Peace,
Ben
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