So I was on my way to the store this morning, and A Prairie Home Companion was on the radio.  Long show, short trip, so I may have missed some context, but a song begins.  It was simple, it was cheerful, and the audience was encouraged to sing along at one point, but I had never heard it before.  Oddly enough, if I had written the lyrics myself, I’d have rejected them as too simplistic in their one-dimensional and insulting portrayal of believers.  But here, without a trace of irony, they were singing what I have since learned is a christian campfire song: “I wanna be a sheep”.

Now, I understand the metaphor of Jesus as shepherd; I had always assumed that it was sort of a “given that we are lost sheep, isn’t it nice to have a shepherd watching over us” metaphor.  I had never considered the “hey, isn’t it great to be a sheep, a mindless member of a herd!” interpretation.  But it turns out there are quite a few versions (the one at that last link is bizarre) of the song up on YouTube.

Frightening.  I assume the multiple watermarks on the photos are there ironically, since good christian sheep would never steal.

I wanna be a drone (mmmmmmmmmmmmm)
I wanna be a drone (mmmmmmmmmmmmm)
Don’t ever wanna have a thought of my own
I just wanna be a drone (mmmmmmmmmmmm)

Don’t wanna be a cuttlefish (cuttlefish-noise)
Don’t wanna be a cuttlefish (cuttlefish-noise)
Cos they’re too subtle fish
Don’t wanna be a cuttlefish (cuttlefish-noise)

Don’t wanna be… oh, I can’t go on.