Category: Music/Spirituality

“Alfie” by Cilla Black (1966)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music, 27 March 2022
Alfie, poster, Michael Caine, 1966. (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)

Sorry for being out for a long time with our Sunday music collection we try to relate with the Sunday gospel. But on this Fourth Sunday of Lent, we can’t let it past without coming up with our choice that perfectly matches the parable of the prodigal son – “Alfie” from the 1966 classic film of the same title.

Written by the formidable tandem of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, “Alfie” is the main character played by Michael Caine in the film about a young man who played on so many women and almost everyone without any regard for persons and relationships. Alfie is practically like the prodigal son in today’s gospel who also in the end realized the mess and waste of life he had done to himself and others (https://lordmychef.com/2022/03/26/the-joy-of-coming-home-in-the-father/).

I never had the chance to watch the classic film except the 2004 version that starred Jude Law but the song remains so touching and meaningful then and now in our generation. It is also said to be the favorite of Bacharach among his many great songs composed with David.

Learned about the song through the music of Dionne Warwick who had interpreted most of the works of Bacharach and David; but, it was only now that I have learned the original version by Ms. Cilla Black that was released in 1966. Funny that when the movie was released in the US, the producers had the young Cher recorded it too which became the version heard in the film.

The song had been covered by so many other artists with the latest by a Japanese named Fuji Kaze but, regardless of the artist singing Alfie, it is one song everyone of us can claim as ours with its sincerity and truth that come from the heart of someone truly on a Lenten journey of coming home to self, others, and God. 

What's it all about, Alfie?
Is it just for the moment we live?
What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?
Are we meant to take more than we give?
Or are we meant to be kind?

And if only fools are kind, Alfie
Then I guess it is wise to be cruel
And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie
What will you lend on an old golden rule?

As sure as I believe there's a heaven above, Alfie
I know there's something much more
Something even non-believers can believe in

I believe in love, Alfie
Without true love we just exist, Alfie
Until you find the love you've missed, you're nothing, Alfie

When you walk let your heart lead the way
And you'll find love any day, Alfie
Alfie

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

From YouTube.

“Night Fever” by the Bee Gees (1977)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 05 February 2022
Photo by Fr. Pop Dela Cruz, 2020.

Welcome back to our weekly music blog featuring songs with themes similar to the message of the Sunday gospel. For this fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we have chosen the 1977 smash hit Night Fever by the Bee Gees that is part of the soundtrack of the movie Saturday Night Fever.

Actually, we have the movie more in our mind than the music which tells the story of a young man Tony Manero played by John Travolta who was searching for meaning and direction in his life, pouring it out on the dance floor of a New York disco. The movie has become a classic as it mirrors so many realities in life during the late 70’s like sex and promiscuity as well as issues on abortion and marriage. Very interesting in the movie too is the brother of Tony who had decided to leave the priesthood, casting some moral aspersions about our practice of faith and religion.

And that is why we have chosen Night Fever as our music this Sunday: the movie and the song both capture the essence of our gospel today which is Jesus Christ coming to us in our daily lives, trying to catch us to give meaning and direction to our lives in him by following him, by leaving everything behind which Tony Manero did at the end of the movie when he apologized to his former girlfriend to start anew at the other side of New York by finding a new job and new direction in life (https://lordmychef.com/2022/02/05/catching-jesus-catching-for-jesus/).

Like Tony and the first four disciples of Jesus – the brothers Simon Peter and Andrew, and James and John who were sons of Zebedee, the business associate of Simon – we are all searching for meaning and direction in life.

According to biblical scholars, the Simon and company were all financially stable as they owned boats at that time, employing some men in their fishing ventures. Money was not a problem with them, something we also discover in life that more important than material things is fulfillment. Everything is passing that for a while may give us pleasures but never inner peace and contentment in life.

It is the message too of the song Night Fever with its very inviting beat, luring you to the life and action of the night that has become a fever that eventually leaves one empty and lost.

The movie is worth watching again 45 years after its release to rediscover the deeper meanings of its themes and most especially, its music. Night Fever is one of the five tracks by the Bee Gees included in the movie soundtrack that sold over 30 million copies, winning the 1978 Grammy Album of the Year. The soundtrack was the most successful album of all time until Michael Jackson’s Thriller dethroned it in the 1980’s.

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

From Youtube.com.

“The Nearness of You” by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (1956)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 05 December 2021
Photo by author, sunrise at the Lake of Galilee, Israel, May 2019.

Lately everybody has been saying “Christmas is around the corner” or “Christmas is in the air” or simply “It’s Christmas”! This is the time of the year when we are most conscious of the season not of the Person behind the celebrations.

Christmas is Jesus Christ, of God becoming human like us, of God dwelling and living among us.

Christmas is the nearness of God among us.

That is why as we get closer to Christmas on this Second Sunday of Advent, we have chosen the very popular and lovely song The Nearness of You written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington to remind us of the Person of God so near among us ( see our reflection https://lordmychef.com/2021/12/04/advent-is-being-small-and-simple/).

Covered by so many artists since its debut in the 1938 movie Romance in the Dark, The Nearness of You has been covered since then by so many artists. Our favorite is still Frank Sinatra’s and this duet by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.

The song is very short but very touching because it is person-oriented which is what Christmas is all about, of God in Jesus Christ getting closest to man and vice-versa.

It’s not the pale moon
That excites me
That thrills and delights me
Oh no
It’s just the nearness of you

It isn’t your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation
Oh no
It’s just the nearness of you

Here we find in our relationships, whether with God or with others, the importance of being small, of being humble before everyone to be absorbed by the magic of the moment, of the relationship. When we look at the stars and the moon above us at night or watch a majestic sunrise or sunset, we experience our littleness yet it is in that being small when we also feel our greatness. It is in that being small when we feel so aware of our very selves, of others around us and of this beautiful world.

It is the same story of Christmas, of Christ born a Child on a lowly manger. Most of all, before his coming, there was also John the Baptist his Precursor who went to the desert to become small before God in preparing the way of the Lord.

On this Second Week of Advent we are reminded of God’s nearness among us if we can be small like John in the wilderness who preached the need to repent our sins to make a space within us for the coming Jesus Christ. Amen.

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

From YouTube.com.

“Hey Look At the Sun” by Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’77 (1973)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 28 November 2021
Photo by author, sunrise at Lake of Galilee, Israel, 2017.

A blessed happy New Year, everyone!

It is the first Sunday of Advent, the start of another year in our Church calendar as we officially prepare for the coming Christmas these next four Sundays. And that is why we have chosen this 1973 music by Sergio Mendes and his Brasil ’77 for this Sunday, “Hey, Look At the Sun”.

From their third studio album called “Love Music”, Hey Look At The Sun sounds so personal with that Hey! – which is close with the spirit of Advent when Jesus calls us to be vigilant for his Second Coming (https://lordmychef.com/2021/11/27/beginning-with-the-end-in-sight/).

Sometimes I wonder if sunrise happens only once or twice a year, maybe every nation would stop and pause on those days so that everybody could see the beauty and charm of life every morning brings with the rising of the sun.

It is my favorite time of the day, of catching the rising sun that makes me feel so alive.

And so loved.

all of my life
there were things i wanted to do
but they all change the moment i set my eyes on you
the magnet is on that attracted me to you
there’s something inside i just can’t explain
but now i know what i must do

hey look at the sun
it’s fin’lly shining on my life
shining on my life
and it’s because of you
it’s finally shining on my life
for me and for you

Sergio Mendes and his lovely singers were suave and sophisticated, so to speak. Their songs are very inviting and melodious as they fused bossa nova with jazz and funk. Most of all, their lyrics – even the ones they covered – always touched on the human experience of love.

In Hey Look At the Sun composed by Nelson Angelo which was covered a decade ago by local artist Sitti, the main character speaks of how everything changed in her life after discovering love in a man who suddenly came to her life. Everything changes in our lives when we love and when we are loved.

This is the reason Jesus tells us in the gospel this Sunday to “beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties daily life” today along with St. Paul in the Second reading” (Lk.21:34), meaning, to love more the other person not only our very selves focused on material things.

To wait for his Second Coming at the end of time means to remain in loving service for one another; hence, the need for us to change our ways to rediscover love by rediscovering the next person to us as brothers and sisters in Jesus.

all of my life i’ve wondered round time and again
but i’ve never thought that i am searching with to an end
and then you came along
and my world of love began
so now i’m gonna change my ways
you’re all i want
you’re all i need

hey look at the sun
it’s fin’lly shining on my life
shining on my life
and it’s all because of you
it’s fin’lly shining on my life
for me and for you

A blessed week ahead of everyone!

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

From YouTube.com

Any World (That I’m Welcome To) by Steely Dan (1975)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 21 November 2021
Photo by author, Singapore, 2018.

Please suspend any judgment yet for our choice of music this Sunday: I have waited so long for this inspiration to come in my prayers since we started this blog on music linked with the gospel.

Yes, I have always been a big fan – a Danhead – of Steely Dan since my elementary days in the mid-70’s and thanks to YouTube and the internet, the more I have come to love their music now that I am a priest!

Though I must confess that I have never learned nor fully understood their lyrics until now, I have always been faithfully in love with their music that is brusque and sophisticated at the same time yet charming and mysterious.

Just Google the meaning of Steely Dan, the band is essentially the duo of the late Walter Becker and Donald Fagen whose ability to gather the best musicians in itself is a stroke of genius.

Next to prayers, Steely Dan music has been my best antidote against all the blues, worries and fears since this pandemic began last year. And when burdens are so heavy that I feel so down, this is the Steely Dan tune I liked most at this time as it spoke so well exactly how I would always feel:

If I had my way
I would move to another lifetime
I’d quit my job
Ride the train through the misty nighttime
I’ll be ready when my feet touch ground
Wherever I come down
And if the folks will have me
Then they’ll have me

Any world that I’m welcome to
Is better than the one I come from

From their album Katy Lied released in 1975, Any World (That I’m Welcome To) speaks so well of our longing to go to another world where everything fits us right — the kind of feeling we tend to have when our plans do not happen, when everything seems to be wrong and out of order.

Like all their songs, Any World is loaded with philosophical musings by Becker and Fagen that words could not sufficiently express and that is why they always have to improvise and innovate in their music and instrumentations that sound so sublime, filled with enigma.

But, where is Jesus Christ and our celebration today of Christ the King in this music which many of my elders used to frown when I was growing up (and discerning my vocation)?

The inspiration came to me while praying on the first reading, on the “vision” of the prophet Daniel of the “Son of man” or Savior God sent to save us, Jesus Christ. Instantly, I remembered the last stanza of this song:

I think I’ll go to the park
Watch the children playing
Perhaps I’ll find in my head
What my heart is saying
A vision of a child returning
A kingdom where the sky is burning
Honey I will be there
Yes I’ll be there

Any world that I’m welcome to
Is better than the one I come from

And when we try visualize the gospel from John of the trial of Jesus before Pilate, the more we wish we are in any world where we are welcomed to! How ironic when we continue to put God on trial, always questioning him for all our woes, doubting his love and presence, his kingship, his very person in Jesus Christ (https://lordmychef.com/2021/11/20/jesus-truly-our-king/).

And that is where I find the genius and “spirituality” of Becker and Fagen: their music like Any World not only tells us of our deep longings but also at the same time of our convictions that there is something better, something good coming despite all the problems and darkness we have in life.

Yes, it will be pushing too hard to speak of faith and religion with Steely Dan music but, as I have cautioned you at the start, suspend any judgment and get the feel of Becker and Fagen in the second stanza of this great song:

I can hear your words
When you speak of what you are and have seen
I can see your hand
Reaching out through a shining daydream
Where the days and nights are not the same
Captured happy in a picture frame
Honey I will be there
Yes I’ll be there

Any world that I’m welcome to
Is better than the one I come from

Who else can understand us so well, who can see everything in us and most of all would be there? That must be Jesus, truly our King who died for us to make this a better world for us!

Have a blessed Sunday!

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

From YouTube.com.

“Paglisan” by Color It Red (1994)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 14 November 2021
Photo by Ms. Nikki A. Vergara, 2020 at Victoria, Laguna.

We go OPM (Original Pilipino Music) this Sunday with Color It Red’s 1994 single Paglisan from their Hand-Painted Sky album released that same year. Twice did we hear it played this week on two occasions as if accompanying us in our life journey: first was last Tuesday after a friend reminded me of our dinner the following day with her husband before they migrate to Canada and second at the funeral of a former classmate’s husband who suddenly died of a heart attack.

Paglisan perfectly matches our Sunday readings in preparation for the closing of our liturgical calendar two weeks from now. In the gospel we hear Jesus speaking of the coming tribulations and cosmic signs to signal the end of the world for his Second Coming when everything is finally made new in him, vanishing evil and sins on the face of earth. But it is not all destruction and end – it is actually a prelude to new beginnings in life in God.

Endings are new beginnings we must always welcome and anticipate with joy and gladness like the end of the world for the Second Coming of Christ (https://lordmychef.com/2021/11/13/endings-are-new-beginnings/).

Ms. Cookie Chua lends the most perfect voice and attitude to the song Paglisan that speaks about the death of a beloved or maybe a break up. So peaceful and serene with some birds chirping signaling the start of a new day, the song speaks of how everything must come to an end like a journey. And in every leaving and ending, there is always the love that remains and keeps us one with those who have left us.

Kung ang buhay ay isang umagang nakangiti
At ikaw ay ang lupang sinusuyo ng bituin

‘Di mo man silip ang langit
‘Di mo man silip, ito’y nandirito pa rin

Kung ang lahat ay may katapusan
Itong paglalakbay ay makakarating din sa paroroonan
At sa iyong paglisan, ang tanging pabaon ko
Ay pag-ibig

Sa pagbuhos ng ulan, sa haplos ng hangin
Alaala mo ay nakaukit sa pisngi ng langit

‘Di man umihip ang hangin (ah)
‘Di man umihip, ika’y nandirito pa rin

Kung ang lahat ay may katapusan
Itong paglalakbay ay makakarating din sa paroroonan
At sa iyong paglisan, ang tanging pabaon ko
Ay pag-ibig
Ay pag-ibig
Ay pag-ibig

The year is about to end. Let us be thankful for the people and experiences we have had this 2021 despite the pandemic. May we continue to do our part in working for a better future.

Have a blessed week ahead!

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

From YouTube.com

“Lifesong” by John Klemmer (1980)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 07 November 2021
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

It is a very lovely first Sunday of November with so many good things happening around us with the decreasing number of COVID-19 patients and lowering of our alert level. Enjoy and appreciate life but keep your guard, stay safe, practice health protocols, and thank God, remember God for his blessings!

This Sunday Jesus is inviting us to level up, to make a shift in our perspectives and points of view (POV) on wealth and poverty, sharing and grandstanding, on our life in relation with one another, and most especially with God our Father (https://lordmychef.com/2021/11/06/life-is-more-than-pov/).

And that is why we have chosen the cool and soothing jazz piece by American musician and artist Jeff Klemmer called “Lifesong” released in 1980 from his album Midnight Madness.

In this piece with vocals by Danny O’Keefe, Klemmer gives tribute to his beloved wherein he expressed how his entire music has been his expression of great love for her, of how he had let himself be absorbed in her that he gave his very self to her and his music. The song could also be referring to Klemmer’s music which he loves so much.

The lyrics are simple and noble, sincere and honest that perfectly match the melody and relaxing beat of the music interspersed with Klemmer’s saxophone.

I’ve been living all my life
Living just to play for you
Playing all the words
I could never say


But the music says it all
And you know that it’s true, yes you do
That I have to play the words
That I can’t say to you

It’s a life heard through a horn
It all comes from the heart, you see
All the ways you stay
Together & a part of me

All my life I’ve played for keeps
What else could I do
I’ve played it all for love
When I played it all for you

In essence, both Klemmer and Jesus are telling us that the key to fulfillment in life is when we are able to give our total selves to the one we love, when we are able to love someone more than our self for that is when life becomes truly rewarding.

Many times, we cannot let go of our self and personal interests that actually hold us back from growing and maturing. Life is about giving up, of total giving of self.

Have a blessed week ahead!

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

From Youtube.com

“You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)” by Joe Jackson (1984)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 24 October 2021
Photo by author, ancient city of Jericho in Israel, May 2019.

It’s a dark and gloomy Sunday with some rains across Metro Manila and like our gospel filled with joy and inspiration in Jesus Christ’s healing of the blind man named Bartimaeus, we bring you Joe Jackson’s 1984 hit single You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want) from his album Body and Soul.

We find Jackson’s song perfectly matched the story of the blind Bartimaeus who got what he wanted from Jesus when he passed by Jericho because he has always been focused on what he really wanted in life which is to be able to see (https://lordmychef.com/2021/10/23/seeing-jesus-walking-with-jesus/).

Many times in life, we are easily distracted from our goals and aspirations by many other things that “blind” us and thus divert us from our aims in life. Exactly what Englishman Jackson says in this great musical piece of sophistication – from lyrics to melody and instrumentations!

Sometimes you start feelin’ so lost and lonely
Then you’ll find it’s all been in your mind
Sometimes you think someone is the one and only
Can’t you see, it could be you and me?
But if there’s any doubt
Then I think I’ll leave it out

Cause I’ll tell you one thing
You can’t get what you want
Till you know what you want
Said you can’t get what you want
Till you know what you want

Sometimes you keep busy reaching out for something
You don’t care, there’s always something there
Sometimes you can’t see that all you need is one thing
If it’s right, you could sleep at night
But it can take some time
But at least I’m here in line

Cause I’ll tell you one thing
You can’t get what you want
Till you know what you want
Said you can’t get what you want
Till you know what you want

We’re sure that you too would be giving a great AMEN! after listening to Joe Jackson’s “explosive” live performance of You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want).

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

From YouTube.com.

“The One I Love” by R.E.M. (1987)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 17 October 2021
Photo by Alex Powell on Pexels.com

Finally, I have found an opportunity this Sunday to feature one of our most favorite bands in the 1980’s with its superb music and mysterious – and controversial lyrics – R.E.M. with their first hit song in 1987 The One I Love that has often been misinterpreted by many people as a straightforward love song when in fact it is the opposite.

According to lead vocal Michael Stipe, he was hesitant at first in recording this song because it is about people using people repeatedly for selfish gains, describing it as so “brutal” with a line that says “A simple prop to occupy my time” – of how a man uses the one he “loves” like a thing! 

This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one I've left behind
A simple prop to occupy my time
This one goes out to the one I love
Fire
Fire
This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one I've left behind
A simple prop to occupy my time
This one goes out to the one I love

Stipe explained that the song never referred to any actual person nor event except that the band simply played up its lyrics while on tour with just one word at its chorus which is “Fire”.

One can readily find that it is not a love song at all by watching its music video that is generally dark except for some scenes of blue skies with white clouds that featured empty apartments and sad-looking couples.

But such is the genius of these four men who got together to form R.E.M. while students at the University of Georgia in 1980 as one of the earliest alternative rock bands who’s other major hit is called “Losing My Religion” – another song that one must not take literally as anti religion. But, that is another story we are reserving in the future.

We chose R.E.M.’s The One I Love because of its direct relationship with our Sunday gospel, especially at that part in the end when Jesus summoned the Twelve to himself to explain to them the basis of their relationships after the ten became indignant with the brothers James and John’s request from him to be seated at his right and his left when he assumes his kingship as the Messiah or Christ.

“You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:42-45

Here we find Jesus clearly telling us how our relationships must be based on love and respect, serving the lowest and weakest among us unlike the way of the world that is based on power and dominance where everyone tries to escape sufferings and persecutions (https://lordmychef.com/2021/10/16/the-things-we-wish-vs-things-we-pray-to-jesus/).

Love always calls for giving up of self, thinking always the good of the other person. Not using them as props.

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

From YouTube.com.

“Question Me An Answer” by Burt Bacharach/Bobby Van (1973)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nick F. Lalog II, 10 October 2021
Photo by Dr. Mylene A. Santos, MD, 2020.

I used to tell my students before that a person is known more with the questions he/she asks than with the answers he/she gives. Too often, our answers are wrong or not certain but if we ask the right questions, even if we do not have the answers immediately, we shall get the right answer at the right time as we mature in life.

What matters most is we ask the right question always.

And that is why we have chosen “Question Me An Answer” from the 1973 movie of the 1933 novel The Lost Lost Horizon for our Sunday music this week. Written by Burt Bacharach and sang by the late Bobby Van in the movie, Question Me An Answer may sound very American and colonial but still, the message is never lost, especially if you listen well to Van’s introduction to his students at Shangri-La.

In this Sunday’s gospel, we find Jesus being asked by a man and then by Peter with questions we ourselves also ask sometimes because deep inside us, we are worried that no one can seem to provide us with the right answer.

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

Mark 10:17

According to Mark, the man’s “face fell and went away for he had many possessions” after Jesus had answered fully his question which in turn bothered Peter who began to express to Jesus his worry over his answer to the man who had left.

Peter began to say to him, “We have given up everything and followed you.”

Mark 10:28

One of the beauties of seeking and following Jesus are the endless questions that come along our journey with him. That is why we need to pray always and ask for the gift of wisdom so we may be guided in this life that becomes more wonderful with the questions we ask, not with the answers we give, or even get (https://lordmychef.com/2021/10/09/our-secret-worries-in-life/).

And the good news is, next to Jesus to accompany us in this journey in life is we also have great music keeping us company.

*We have no intentions of infringing into the copyrights of this music and its uploader except to share its beauty and listening pleasure.

From YouTube.com