With the release of her 'Theology' double CD, SINEAD O'CONNOR was willing to talk to Cross Rhythms' Tony Cummings.
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Tony: Those vocal performances on the acoustic version are very intense. Was it draining recording those songs?
Sinead: It's not draining at all! To a singer that sort of stuff comes easily. I mean if you feel a lot about what you're singing, it's no problem to sing it and it doesn't really take as much energy as you might think. Like some one might say to you, well it takes a lot of energy to do what you do but then you would probably say well, no I could do it in my sleep - whereas if I tried to do what you do, I'd probably be knackered!
Tony: You said in a press statement that you believe that some of these songs are "modern day hymns." I'm a member of an evangelical Protestant church which worships God mostly with newly composed songs. Could you imagine one or two of the songs on 'Theology' making it into congregational worship in churches?
Sinead: Well, I would love them to - that would be a dream of mine. Also, I'd love to see them being sung with choirs. For example, when you have the children's choirs at school and things like that. That's an area in which I would dearly love to work. I think I have a lot to offer in that area.
Tony: One of the songs, "Thank You For Hearing Me", from one of your earlier albums has been recorded by the David Crowder Band. Have you heard of them?
Sinead: I only heard about that recently, I never knew that! I'd love to hear it.
Tony: I'll get the record company to send you a copy. David is what in evangelical Protestant circles we now refer to as a worship leader - with a rock and roll band.
Sinead: I love that idea of music as a priesthood - that's why I love the Rastafarian Movement because they very much see music as a priesthood. I learned an awful lot of Scriptures through Rasta records, actually.
Tony: Way before I became a Christian I hung with a lot of Rastas. Even if you're initially going for the vibe or the bassline or whatever, eventually the lyrics can have an effect on you, can't they?
Sinead: Absolutely - it's a brilliant medium. Getting back to the point of religion - whatever I may say about religion I actually love religion. I'm very inspired by love in the different religions and so if I critique it, it's not from the point of not liking it - you know what I mean? But I think that sometimes the nature of the God character can be portrayed perhaps inaccurately, in a way which can be off putting to a lot of people. So music can be one of the areas where people can have an experience of God outside of religion.
Tony: What are you views, say, about the different kinds of Protestant Christianity? I mean surely Catholics and Protestants worship the same God and there is far more in common than any theological differences we have?
Sinead: I wouldn't have much experience of any conflicts between Protestants and Catholics - certainly Ireland has changed a lot but I do remember when I was a kid, there were ridiculous things going on. In the area in which I grew up in which I also live now, down the road there were two churches in the village, one is Catholic and one is Protestant, and when we were kids we were told that it was a sin even to go in the car park of the Protestant church, that it was an actual mortal sin to even enter the church. There's a famous joke in Ireland - it's a little crude but. . . about a girl who moves to London and she rings her mother up in the countryside in Ireland and after a while and she says, "Oh mother I'm a prostitute," and the mother faints on the floor and when the mother wakes up again, she says, "What did you say? What did you say?" and the girl said, "I'm a prostitute" and the mother says, "Oh thanks be to God, I thought that you said that you were a Protestant!" And that was the attitude in Ireland for years.
Tony: But again, if you look at the Bible, surely it was the religious leaders who crucified Christ.
Sinead: Absolutely and that gets back to the point we were talking about earlier about God being held hostage! It could be argued in many ways that the same thing is happening now but not just by religion obviously - it's that old saying which is on the record that says you know if God lived on earth people would break his windows!
Hi ,
I was extremely moved by Sinead's version of an old hymn on the radio many weeks' ago . But , in time honoured fashion , I have forgotten the hymn's title .Could you tell me what it was ? It was slow and sung with such sincerenity .
Thank you
David