Repetition in Christian Song Pastor Matt Postiff

Concern: Excessive Repetition Some repetition can be helpful. The Bible uses it in Psalm 136, for example. There comes a point when repetition is bad. See Acts 19:34 for an example. The key teaching is Matthew 6:7. Unbelievers use repeated words to cajole God to hear but that should not be the believer’s practice.

Example: #806 Worthy is the Lamb Worthy, worthy is the Lamb; That was slain! (Chorus x 4) Praise Him and adore Him; Praise the Lamb! He redeemed our souls to God; By His blood. He has made us kings and priests; To our God. We shall ever reign with Him; The Lamb of God.

Example: #806 Worthy is the Lamb Worthy, worthy is the Lamb; That was slain! Praise Him and adore Him; Praise the Lamb! He redeemed our souls to God; By His blood. Praise Him and adore Him; Praise the Lamb! Worthy, worthy is the Lamb; That was slain! Praise Him and adore Him; Praise the Lamb! He redeemed our souls to God; By His blood.

Example: #806 Worthy is the Lamb He has made us kings and priests; To our God. Praise Him and adore Him; Praise the Lamb! We shall ever reign with Him; The Lamb of God. Praise Him and adore Him; Praise the Lamb! He has made us kings and priests; To our God. We shall ever reign with Him; The Lamb of God.

Example: #806 Worthy is the Lamb All words in the song: 157 Redundancy Eliminated: Only 45 words left 29% “meaning density” 38% of the song is taken up with repeating “Praise Him and adore Him.”

Metric: Meaning Density Meaning density is a simple percentage that indicates how many words of the song express unique meaning. For instance, if you sing 100 words, and only 10 are unique, that means about 10% of what you are saying is “meaningful.” A song with low density is “fluffy.”

Software Tool I wrote a script called hymnSimplify in Perl. It takes a hymn line by line and recognizes repetition and automatically calculates the meaning density. It is not perfect at recognizing all repetition because it was programmed with limited intelligence.

Summary of Selected Songs Song TitleAuthor or GroupWord CountSimplifiedMeaning Density Hallelujah ChorusHandel % Worthy is the Lamb W. P. MacKay, Alfred Smith version % My Sins are Blotted OutMerrill Dunlop % I Can Only ImagineBard Millard, MercyMe % Worthy is the LambHillsong % Who Am ICasting Crowns % Why Should He Love Me SoR. H % To God be the GloryFanny J. Crosby % Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul John W. Peterson % My Hope is in the LordNorman J. Clayton % Jesus SavesPriscilla J. Owens % Awesome GodMichael W. Smith % Praise Him! Fanny J. Crosby % Amazing GraceJohn Newton % A Mighty Fortress is Our GodMartin Luther % His Robes for MineChris Anderson % In Christ AloneKeith Getty, Stuart Townend %

Observations There is a group of songs at about 35% or less meaning density. There is a middle group from around 50% up to about the low 80% range. There is a prominent third group of songs that have no repetition, including some real classics.

Interesting Notes “Why should he love me so?” 50% of the song is in that chorus “Jesus saves” 30% of the song is in that chorus “My Sins are Blotted Out” dedicates 60% of the song to that phrase

Conclusions Because good songs are often repeated in total (when we “get them in our heads”), I would suggest that heavy repetition within a song is not helpful. We already repeat it! I am not favorable toward regularly using the worst offenders in the above table. The worship of the church needs to be more substantive.

Conclusions I was surprised at some of the hymns on the list. I noted that what I call “CCM” genre songs in the above table generally fall under about 50% meaning density. There are some modern hymns that I do not classify as “CCM” although they can be performed in a “CCM” way.

Further Study I have examined a limited number of songs. This is not at the level of a scientific study yet! Meaning density is only one metric. Other important aspects of hymn analysis include music style, focus (God or man), theological truths, theological system of the song’s origin, and “majesty” of the words and music.