Randy Stonehill: Can Hell Burn Hot Enough

Randy Stonehill is one of the finest artists produced by the Christian contemporary music scene which emerged in the 1970s and is, one can argue, largely dead today, having been commercialized and commandeered by corporate interests who don't care much about the Gospel.

Stonehill's music can be, by turns, acoustically folksy, novelty-song silly, or flat-out rocking. I can't convey to you how great I think he is, easily the equal of some of my other favorites, like Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Bruce Cockburn, Bruce Springsteen, and U2.

I've just been listening to his 1990 release, Until We Have Wings, which contains seven original studio recordings made for the project and seven live performances of songs from his catalog. It begins with the gorgeous, Faithful, an homage to God that mirrors my own personal movement from atheism to faith in Christ, rooted in part in our childhood suspicion that there is "an unseen hand" who cares about us.

Can Hell Burn Hot Enough is a folk-rock tune that hits me (and I think, all of us, faith or no) between the eyes. Here are the lyrics:

POSTCARDS FROM BANGKOK
HUB OF THE EASTERN WORLD
WHERE ALL THE TOURISTS COME
TO PARTY WITH THE PRETTY GIRLS
THEY DANCE LIKE SLEEPWALKERS
UNDER THE DISCO LIGHTS
UP ON THE AUCTION BLOCK
HATING ALL THE HUNGRY EYES

AND I'VE SEEN THE WOODEN SHACKS
ROW AFTER ENDLESS ROW
WHERE OPEN SEWAGE FLOWS
IN THE SHADOW OF THE FACTORY
I'VE SEEN THE CHILDREN'S FACES
HOPE BURNING IN THEIR EYES
TOO YOUNG TO REALIZE
THEY FACE A LIFE OF MISERY

[Chorus]
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH
TO PAY FOR ALL THIS SUFFERING
THE MURDER OF THE INNOCENT
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH
TO BALANCE OUT THESE SCALES
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH

I'VE SEEN THE CORPORATIONS
BUILT UPON HUMAN BLOOD
THE NAMELESS, FACELESS WORKERS
CRUSHED LIKE DIAMONDS IN THE MUD
EXPAND YOUR OPERATION
THE LABOR COMES DIRT CHEAP
NO ONE COMPLAINS WHEN THERE'S
A MILLION JOBLESS ON THE STREET

AND I'VE SEEN THE SICK AND BROKEN
TOO WEAK FOR STANDING UP
HOLD UP THEIR BEGGAR'S CUP
JUST HOPING FOR ENOUGH TO EAT
WHEN JUST AROUND THE CORNER
AT THE SHANGRI-LA HOTEL
THE WEALTHY TAKE THEIR LUNCH
AT POOLSIDE TO ESCAPE THE HEAT

[Chorus]
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH
TO PAY FOR ALL THIS SUFFERING
THE MURDER OF THE INNOCENT
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH
TO BALANCE OUT THESE SCALES
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH

[Bridge]
O GOD OF JUSTICE
MY GOD OF EQUITY
I KNOW YOUR HEART BREAKS
FOR THE SINS OF THIS WICKED WORLD
I KNOW THAT JUDGEMENT WILL BE SWIFT AND IRREVERSIBLE
TILL THEN YOUR TEARS RAIN
ON THE EVIL AND THE GOOD

I KNOW THAT GOD IS HOLY
I KNOW THAT STATE I'M IN
I KNOW THAT SIN IS SIN
AND IT'S NOT MEASURED BY DEGREE
HERE IN THE LAND OF DARKNESS
WE ALL ARE GUILTY MEN
I KNOW I'D STAND CONDEMNED
WITHOUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS

[Chorus]
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH
TO PAY FOR ALL THIS SUFFERING
THE MURDER OF THE INNOCENT
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH
TO BALANCE OUT THESE SCALES
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH

Let those words sink in...and then try to find as many of Stonehill's releases as you can!

As for myself, I hope that listening to Stonehill again and listening to Burghardt will be more than passive exercises. I'm asking God to use them to remind me of my call as a follower of Jesus Christ to stand for justice in our world, to remember the prophet's recitation of God's command in the Old Testament:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

[The Wikipedia article on Randy Stonehill (here) is good.]

[This has been substantially cross-posted here.]