Bad Worship Songs: What a God, what a God - by SEU Worship

From time to to we examine the lyrics of worship songs. Our desire is not to mock or humiliate, but rather to honestly examine content with a view to calling forth a better worship expression.

With the great volume and variety of worship music available, none of us should have to settle for bad worship songs. We should be able to select hundreds or even thousands of top notch songs very easily.

What makes a song a worship song? Is it enough to contain words like God or holy? How about vaguely spiritual sounding phrases? Should Jesus be mentioned?

We think an excellent worship song should contain the following elements:

• A direct expression of adoration (God, you are...)
• A progression of ideas that culminates in a coherent story
• A focus on God, not us
• Lyrics that do not create uncertainty or cause confusion
• A certain amount of profundity
• A singable, interesting melody
• Allusions to Scripture
• Doctrinal soundness
• Not excessively metaphorical
• Not excessively repetitive
• Jesus is not your boyfriend

It's worth noting the most worship songs contain at least something good. That is, there might be a musical idea or a lyric that has merit. Such is the case with this song, What a God.

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Video link.

Lyrics:

[Verse 1]
Who thought I'd find You at the lowest place?
Who thought You'd feel me in the crowd?
Who knew You'd make good of my mistakes?
You're nothing like I thought You were, You're better

[Chorus 1]
What a God, what a God 
What a God, what a God 
What a God, what a God
What a God, what a God 

[Verse 2]
And I thought You'd show up for perfection
'Cause what kind of God looks for the lost?
They say, "It's over for a sinner"
Although You say, "No, it's not, no, it's not"
You say, "No, it's not, no, it's not"

[Chorus 1]
What a God, what a God
What a God, what a God 
What a God, what a God 
What a God, what a God

[Bridge 1]
If the highest place I reach is at Your feet, then I've done it all
If thе best thing that I've seen is Your glory, then I'vе seen it all
Your love has changed my life, forever satisfied
God, You are my everything
If the highest place I reached is at Your feet, then I've done it all
If the best thing that I've seen is Your glory, then I've seen it all
Your love has changed my life, forever satisfied
God, You are my everything 

[Bridge 2]
If one word is the only thing You speak, then I've heard it all
If I feel Your heart and never see Your hand, I still have it all
No treasure of this life could ever satisfy
God, You are my everything

[Refrain 1]
God, You are my everything
God, You are my everything

Overview

There were other versions of this song on youtube, but the one we linked to is an actual SEU video. Therefore, we would expect that it is representative of SEU's preferences. What do we find? The video is an outdoor evening scene with the video projected on a wavy, low quality screen. Sort of like a drive in screen, only worse. It is nearly impossible to tell what the video's setting is, what the band complement is comprised of, and who's doing what.

Further, the "shaky cam" style, combined with frequent cuts, is a continual irritant. We would have supposed the video is designed for short attention spans, but the music lasts for more than 7 minutes. This means we have more than 7 minutes of nearly unwatchable video.

As far as what we can pick out on the video, there is a glaring unpleasant red background, some people on stage whose faces aren't lit, and some hints of musical instruments. There's the typical enraptured expressions, the patting of one's heart, and the swaying and hopping that now constitutes the status quo of worship videos. 

Oh, and the obligatory "c'mon" command from the woman singer, as if the people assembled needed a rebuke for not singing loud enough.

We suppose this is now the trend. If so, we aren't interested.

The Music

Chords:

Verse: vi - Vsus - vi - Vsus - vi - Vsus - IV - I (1st inversion) - V

Chorus: IVmaj7 - Vsus - vi - I (1st inversion)

(Repeat)

Tag: IVmaj7 - I (1st inversion) - V

Bridge: IV - V -vi - I (1st inversion) - IV - V vi - 1 (1st inversion)

The band seems competent enough, though it's hard to tell if what we are seeing is actually what is being played. There's the typical sustained synth pad opening, the hip young vocalists, and some seemingly spontaneous worship section, followed by a massive crescendo to the bridge, a quiet, tender section, followed by a recap. It's all very conventional, almost a stereotype by this point.

Specifics. There is an odd harmony part in the chorus, perhaps sung by the man with the chain. Probably it has more to do with the ill-matched timbre of the two main vocalists. Also, the man takes over after a couple of minutes, and he sings the rest of the song. It seems odd. 

The drum march is a welcome departure from the typical tom-heavy drum parts that seem to be all the rage. There's a very good bass player who takes a brief lead during the a cappella section. We didn't see any guitars at all, nor are we sure there were any in the audio.

The melody isn't complicated, though the bridge might be a challenge for some, as the notes go by pretty fast. The vocal range in the bridge borders on the top edge of toleration for us. 

The Lyrics

We don't find anything terribly offensive in the verses or the chorus. The narrative seems to be focused on the unexpected nature of God's forgiveness and salvation, in that there's no credit to us. Yet despite our lowness, God saved us. This is certainly a topic worth singing about.

As far as praise, really only the chorus makes a praise statement, and that's pretty vague, "what a God, what a God." This means it's not really a worship song. Complicating things is the fact of dozens of references to self, God never really gets praised.

It's when we get to the three bridges we begin to have questions. The theme is a departure from the verses and the chorus. These are mostly a series of comparative statements centered around the idea of some sort of level of minimum human achievement being satisfactory. On the surface they seem almost profound, but upon further consideration they are superficial, even unbiblical. It's sort of the idea that "I got this much of God, no more is necessary."

There is no statement in the Bible that suggests that we might be satisfied with a mere taste of the goodness of God.

Conclusion

Though containing nothing glaringly heretical, we cannot recommend this song. It's just not noteworthy or profound in any way. There's nothing enduring or timeless here. The song will be forgotten in a few years.