Revivalists on the Jukebox

 The ferry from Buffalo was long and your stomach did not agree with the choppy waves of the Erie Canal; but, you have finally reached your destination. Rochester. A city flush with the merriment of the Lord, brought about by the fiery preacher Charles Finney, who you've come to see. 

Ahhh...but first, a drink. The journey has indeed been long, and you desire refreshment and some lively music. You begin wandering the city. It's a new boomtown, roughly two decades old, and dotted seemingly everywhere with flour mills. You can't spare a glance, though, because the smell of the wharf is overpowering, even in the heart of the city. Surely a tavern or grog shop had to be nearby, you think. 

Aha. The Mansion House. Just drafty enough to waft away the smell of decaying fish and just enough light to make out what exactly you may be drinking. It's perfect. Inside, a squat booth against the corner becomes your abode for the afternoon, and as the crowd thins, a doorway becomes visible across the tavern, covered by a curtain. You find this curious. 

Behind the veil, a tall, curved box stands like a sentinel in the middle of the room, pulsing with a phantasmagoric light. And were those engravings moving? You sound out the words printed on the box's label: jukebox. As you reach forward to touch the moving images, they vanish, replaced by a scrolling list. Unable to believe your eyes at the scene before you, you think you must be dreaming. What kind of demonic technology is this? 

You read the list's title: "Frank Sinatra and the Revivalists on the Jukebox." Now, just who is this Frank Sinatra fellow? You think yourself possessed, and you would never admit to it, but your finger reaches out and presses the first button in a row of ten on a shelf below the engravings. Sounds begin emanating from the machine, and you quickly step back. Soon, you realize not just any sound, but music. Soulful, crooning, music. The baritone fills the room as words appear on the box out of nowhere: "My Way." 

As the opening verse comes and goes, you see ghosts appear in the room---ghosts in flowing white robes, shaved heads, arms raised high as if in eternal supplication. The wispy shapes waltz across the floor in a trance before coalescing into a single image. A group of spirits trudge up a mountain, upon which they shake hands, sit, and, as the voice of this Sinatra man belts the final chorus, turn to face the empty sky as if awaiting the end of the world. 

Upon the conclusion of the song, the jukebox shuts off abruptly, the lights wink out, and the ghosts evaporate. It was like the box was never used. You stare at the box for a moment, wondering if what you just witnessed was God, a dream, or the drink. Hoping it was the drink, you spin on your heel and approach the barkeeper, ordering another round. 

On the jukebox screen, the moving images carousel in and out. For a moment, they stop, and Sinatra winks. 

I thought I would write a fun little story before the next party of this entry, which I've titled "Revivalists on the Jukebox." I was listening to Frank Sinatra the other day when an idea suddenly fell upon me like an anvil: Frank Sinatra and The Second Great Awakening. To me, it seemed like a lot of Sinatra's songs could be anthems for certain religious groups that were either founded or whose popularity skyrocketed during the revival period. 

So, I've taken the liberty of choosing a few religious movements from the Second Great Awakening and pairing them with a Sinatra song. I hope you enjoy!

The Millerites -- "My Way"

• This one was easy. The Millerites were the ultimate "do it my way" group from the revival, fully certain in their belief that the world as they knew it was at an end. Sinatra's song is of course about that same core idea: refusing compromise. Sinatra encourages us to live by our own choices, even if the world doesn't approve, and to face the consequences of those choices with pride. The Millerites certainly lived by their own choices, the world certainly thought they were crazy for it, and they certainly faced the consequences with pride...well, some of them did, at least. 

The Holiness Movement -- "My Way of Life"

• The Holiness Movement posited the idea that one could live every day wholly devoted to God, completely free of sin, and being in a state of perpetual "holiness." It's not just conversion or routine prayer, it's a strict way of life in which every act you do is an offering to God. In "My Way of Life," the refrain goes "you are my way of life / the only way I know / you are my way of life / I'll never let you go." And that's just the refrain. The remaining verses describing fully giving one's self to another. It's quite an apt song. 

The Shakers -- "Come Dance with Me" 

• The Shakers were really interested in dancing. To them, dancing was how they prostrated before the Lord . "Come Dance with Me" is one of Sinatra's most swinging songs, and it's all about dancing. Perfect for the Shakers. I think if Sinatra performed at one of the revivals, the Shakers would go bonkers. 

Oneida Community -- "All the Way"

• This one's pretty simple. An attempted utopia, where they did in fact go all the way in trying to achieve societal perfection, as achieving perfection would mean establishing a Kingdom of God on Earth. Sinatra's song is about love being worthless unless you go "all the way." Similarly, the Oneida Community is pointless unless each one of its denizens goes "all the way" in living out the society's values.