Jesus Songs - 1970

It was 1970.  I was a mere lad of 11, at that irritating age that comes to all children, a teenager wannabe.  'Teenager' was a relatively new concept in those days, and pre-teen had yet to be invented, but teenagers were cool and I wanted to be one.  See, both my sisters were teenagers and they got to do groovy things like go on outings with the church youth group.

1970 was also the heyday of the Jesus People movement.  Lots of cool and groovy things were happening, especially concerts where people sang songs about Jesus that weren't hymns in strict 4-4 time.  Musicians even used guitars and drums and had long hair and wore Levis.

Somehow, I finagled my way into being allowed to go with my sisters to one of these events.  What is stuck in my mind is not the event, but the ride home.  See, in the high-spirited aftermath of the concert, everyone was in the mood for singing.  So, numerous songs of the Jesus Movement were belted out by the bus load of energetic teens (and pre-teens in my case).   Keep in mind that in parallel with the Jesus People movement, which was viewed with an awed mix of joy and concern by the adults in church, I and my sisters had discovered AM radio and rock-and-roll.

In the dark of that bus that night, these two cultural phenomenon neatly dovetailed as the unlikely hit song "Put Your Hand In the Hand" was started by someone and everyone joined in.

That same year, another song with vague spiritual overtones performed by the folk duo "Brewer and Shipley" would climb nearly as high in the charts.  Now, in my unsophisticated mind, this song was just another example of the Jesus Movement seeping into the popular music scene.  After all, it mentioned 'Sweet Jesus' and 'Mary'.  Maybe the song was Catholic in origin?  I knew Catholics were big on Mary.

So, after the last line of "Put Your Hand in The Hand" faded away, I started to belt out, "One Toke Over The Line, Sweet Jesus".  After all, I felt I loved singing and Jesus as much as anyone else in the bus.  However, my attempt at spiritual leadership was abruptly terminated by a hissing negative comment by my oldest sister.  I cannot recall exactly what she said, but her sharp brevity combined with the stern look on her face made me realize that in no uncertain terms: I had committed a SERIOUS SOCIAL MISTAKE!

There is no place to disappear on a church bus.  I couldn't very well crawl under the seat, though I considered it briefly.  Somehow, the moment passed.  Whether there was any more singing, I don't remember.  Nor do I remember anything else about the ride home other than an overwhelming sense of mortification at my own ignorance.

Exactly when I discovered the meaning of "toke" and learned that "Mary" was shorthand for MARIjuana I cannot say.  What I can say is that I was really excited to hear the Doobie Brothers version of "Jesus Is Just Alright" a couple of years later, that is, until someone explained to me what a 'doobie' was...