12 Awkward Metaphors in Worship Songs

I’m writing these comments as someone who has great appreciation for the modern worship movement. Still….

Am I the only one who has noticed a spate of unusual metaphors popping up in our worship songs in recent years?

There isn’t anything profound that I’m trying to communicate in this post. I’m simply issuing a plea to exercise more care when we employ metaphors in worship music.

Following are 12 worship-song metaphors that I find at least a bit awkward. (And, yes, I know some of these are similes or personifications.) I apologize in advance if you like these lines or the songs in which they are found. Personally, I like some of them quite a lot! Let me also clarify in advance that I love metaphors; please don’t think of me as a wooden literalist.[1]

Awkward Worship-Song Metaphors:

“Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing.”[2]

Bones will sing?

“I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open.”[3]

That must require a lot of balance.

“Go on and scream it from the mountains.”[4]

I sure hope this is a metaphor.

“You didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus, you brought heaven down.”[5]

Besides the question of whether the first line is theologically appropriate, what does it mean to bring heaven down?

“When you move, you move all our fears. When you move, you move us to tears. When you fall, we fall on our knees.”[6]

Notice that there are three meanings of “move” and two meanings of “fall” in these lines. The first meaning of each of these two words is Christianese jargon. There is little chance that an outsider to church culture will be able to figure out what these words mean.

“And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss.”[7]

The song in which this line appears packs quite a few awkward metaphors besides this one. Did you know that this line was originally: “And heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss”?[8] Now that’s awkward.

“I’ve tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves.”[9]

I get how someone could metaphorically taste a sweet love, but why add something about seeing?

“So I’ll walk upon salvation.”[10]

Not sure what it means to walk upon salvation…

“Dancers who dance upon injustice.”[11]

Injustice is far too serious a subject to minimize with an image of someone dancing upon it. And how would someone dance upon injustice, anyway?

“And what was said to the rose to make it unfold was said to me here in my chest.”[12]

????????

“The darling of heaven, crucified.”[13]

It feels a bit irreverent, at least to me, to refer to Jesus as “the darling of heaven.” But I gladly admit that I may be hearing a nuance that you aren’t.

“These sufferings, this passing tide, under your wings I will abide.”[14]

I get the metaphors, but the combination of sufferings/tide and wings is a bit discordant.

Those are some of the metaphors I have found either unusual, or in the worst cases, jarring. Have you encountered others?

I recently came across an article about a professional songwriter who was driven away from Christianity at least partially by a poor use of metaphor in a worship song.[15] That’s an extreme case, I know, but it is a reminder that we need to think carefully about our lyrics, including the way we employ metaphors in contemporary worship music.