Think On These Things

Inspired by a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip series, this song encourages the listener to think on things of value and beauty in life; to stand against the idea that the violence, cynicism, and corruption we see in pop media today is a reflection of our society's values. Rather, it is a call to focus on the inherent goodness in people and, as the song says, "turn away from darkness." The social responsibility and personal participation aspects of this topic provide substantial subject matter for discussion in our schools' "Character Counts" culture.

Being a folk rock tune, instrumentation, typical to the style, includes drums, bass, acoustic and electric guitars, electric piano, and percussion. Musically, this song is pretty straight ahead with two verses and two choruses. The ending changes things slightly but, overall, it's an easy learn. The anticipated rhythms in the verses might be better understood by your older students, but even the younger kids in our group picked it up quickly. Take note of the breath placement in the chorus. You may not need to take a breath between phrases but it sounds best to break them up. We think we found the most logical and natural sounding spots.