The Bible

It's night time in the Big City
a girl goes through the medicine cabinet of the man who brought her home
a ringing phone goes unanswered For the next hour we're gonna be playin' music about Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, The Wisdom of Solomon, First Maccabees and Second Maccabees, First Samuel and Second Samuel, First Kings, Second Kings. We're gonna be playing stuff that comes out of the Psalms and the Proverbs. You know all of these. Jonah and Malachi - how come nobody's named Malachi any more? We're gonna be playing music that has something to do with Nehemia, Esther, Job, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And of course, The Book of Revelations. So gather the family around the radio and hear the good news. Seek and you shall find.

The Singers and Songs

  • Yonder Comes a Freight Train
  • Are You Bound for Heaven or Hell?
  • Bottle and a Bible
    "If you have to choose between the bottle and a bible, you might be needing a 12 Step Program, which was started by Bill Wilson, who helped spread the idea that drinking was a disease. If you feel 12 steps aren't enough for ya, may I recommend the Alfred Hitchcock Classic, The 39 Steps . If you have to go higher than 39 steps just remember, one might be too many, and a hundred might not be enough."
  • Samson and Delilah
    "Like a lot of other street performers, he always put gospel songs in among his blues to make it harder for the police to interrupt him."
  • He Will Set Your Fields on Fire
  • Adam Come And Get Your Rib
  • The Old Ark's A-Moving
  • Denomination Blues
    "He was a pioneering gospel performer of the 20's. Recorded only 18 songs but, boy, what songs."
  • The Four Internes
    I'm Using My Bible For A Road Map
  • Elijah Rock
  • The Rivers Of Babylon
  • The Revelator
  • Jess Willard
    Boogie Woogie Preaching Man
  • Oh Mary Don't You Weep
    "If you listened closely to that song you might have heard Claude Jeter say, 'I'll be your bridge over deep water, if you trust in my name,' a phrase that inspired Paul Simon, a few years later, to write some song."
  • That's What The Good Book Says
    "Biblical in scope, rhythm and blues in nature. This is the kind of bible study you don't get in Sunday school...And what's a rhythm and blues gospel song without a vibraphone solo, that one probably played by Johnny Otis,"

The Other People and Players

  • The Coasters
  • Al Green
  • Johnny Horton
  • Roger McGuinn
  • T-Bone Burnett
    "He's always been a man of great taste."
  • Levon Helm
  • Reno and Smiley
    "I'm Using My Bible for a Road Map"
  • Hank Penny
  • Sir Nathan
  • Joe Brown
  • Harry Geiger
  • Lowell Stokes
  • Rafael
  • Michelangelo
  • Sire Thomas Brown
  • Moses
  • Johnny Wright (of Johnny and Jack)
  • The Philistines
  • Bill Wilson
  • Steve Earle
  • The Georgia Satellites

The Other Songs and Albums

The Guests

  • Keb Mo

The Movies and TV Shows

The Places

  • Baghdad
  • Chebar River
  • Euphrates River
  • Babylon
  • Simsboro, TX
  • Israel
  • The Brook of Sorec
  • Gaza
  • Jamaica

Well, it's time for me to say goodbye and turn the other cheek and head out of the Abernathy Building, down the street, past the church, and down to Sampson's Diner. And in the meantime, eat, drink, and be merry and forgive them, for they know not what they do. We'll see you next week on Theme Time Radio Hour. Amen.