This is how the American singer-songwriters of the early twenty-first century negotiate sacred space and lift Jerusalem up in song.
This is the companion page ("extended liner notes") to a compilation CD that was created in response to a college course entitled "Jerusalem: Negotiating Sacred Space." It features contemporary American singer-songwriters: the songs were released from 1997-2007. In some sense, this is two different sets of songs together onto one compilation. Tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 9 on the CD (listed on this page in the upper box on the left) are songs specifically about Jerusalem (or Bethlehem, or Israel and Palestine). Tracks 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, and 13 (listed in the lower box on the left) are songs about sacred space in general. The categories blend, though, and the songs vary, of course: some have an explicitly religious or spiritual message, while some focus on a desire for peace, and one uses the city as a platform for absurdity. Some songs allude to the current conflict, while others take a longer view or focus on other elements of sacred space: centers, mountains, pilgrimages, messiahs, etc. However, I suggest that not only are there threads and themes that tie certain songs together unexpectedly, but collectively the songs have an overarching message. They move towards a theory of sacred space that is more holistic: they sing of erasing (or at least smudging) borders, questioning the notion of a specific Promised Land, and stressing instead the aspects of sacred space that are accessible to anyone.
Click on the tabs above for the lyrics, or go directly to a song by clicking on its title on the left.
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