Friday Fun: Dear 3rd Verse

Dear Third Verse,

I must apologize. I don’t really know when it all started, but Churches of Christ in America just started forgetting you in four-verse songs. Maybe it was when “Blessed Assurance” was written and only had three catchy verses. Or “I’ll Fly Away.” Or maybe that awful two-verse culprit “How Long Has it Been?” I mean, that’s really low, to not even include you!

I don’t know when it was, but we just left you out. Our song leaders started proudly calling out some number from a song book and then almost cruelly saying–sometimes while they were looking right at you–“Verses one, two, and four only.” A few were so heartless they even threw a “please” at the end of that statement, almost begging the singers to just act like you weren’t even there.

But you were there…you are there. Oh, every once in a while you get sung. If you were smart enough to be verse three of “How Great Thou Art” or “Nearer, Still Nearer,” you get sung all the time. Most of the time, though, you just sit there, almost as if you were only put in the song book to make sure the music properly filled the pages and didn’t leave the bottom margin too large.

Never mind that it’s a story song. Never mind that we go straight from “some of self and some of Thee” straight to “none of self and all of Thee” while neglecting “less of self and more of Thee.” Never mind that life is a range of emotions and we just skip right over “I need Thee ev’ry hour in joy or pain.” Never mind that we, um, “sing Thee not” when it comes time to sing about the open tomb. Nah, we’ll just jump straight from the crucifixion right to the ascension. That’s just how we treat you now.

Maybe it is time that we just send you off into the hymn sunset and only write three verse songs.

But…wait…what’s this? “In Christ Alone” has four verses and no one every skips you, third verse! Did you pay Stuart Townsend to resurrect your career or something? Because everyone sings all four verses of that song, and they even use you to raise the key to the fourth verse. You are attempting the greatest resurrection since Lazarus!

I have to admit, though, I’m skeptical. It’s just one song against, what, about 10,000? And you never get sung in any of the other ones. Pretty soon, we’ll just jump right from the cross to the conclusion in Townsend’s song, too, and there you will be, the “other” verse…again.

But cheer up, Third Verse. I’m writing to apologize. Maybe it’s too late to apologize (insert Timbaland going “eh, eh, eh” here), but I want to try. From now on, I’ll sing “verses one, three, and four,” and we’ll just see how that smug-looking second verse takes it.

Deal?

Sincerely,

American Songleaders