109 thoughts on “GOH: Feelin’ Mighty Fine”

    1. Ain’t that the truth. Not only are we not allowed to feel awful, we can’t express our true feelings and frustrations out loud to the LORD.

  1. I just hope, for the sake of their intellectual integrity, that no one who likes this song has ever attacked CCM for being shallow and repetitive.

    1. What are the chances that they got done singing this and then said something about how great it is to sing godly music with a great message?

      I’d say pretty darn good.

      1. Generally one like this is followed up with “Sweet Spirit” *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM7Iym4u9QY

        “And all gid’s people said….”

      2. Godly music with a great message as opposed to a song that sang about how Jesus was battered and scarred when he died for our sins, not how he had pretty brown eyes and curly brown hair, and a clear complexion?

        1. Also, if Jesus was walking in Memphis, do you think he would prefer eating catifsh on Beale Street over hanging with the stained glass crowd? ❓

        2. Beth, you know, that wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Jesus really did prefer hanging out with the crowd on Beale Street over most Fundamentalists. That said, I must say I love that song in the video.

    2. “For the sake of their intellectual integrity”??? That is giving them too much credit.

  2. My Grandmother and her sisters used to sing this. *twitch* This is awful bee boppy for Fundies, is it not? They also looked like they were having waaaayyy too much fun… πŸ™„

    1. I am not ashamed to say that I loved that! But then I am a huge fan of “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” That was awesome.

      1. I love that movie! The bluegrass, gospel music is awesome because Alison Krauss has the voice of an angel.

      2. Loved it too! O Brother Where Art Thou, one of my top 10 favorite movies of all time, and I don’t like George Clooney, this has to be the best performance of his “liberal” life.

    2. Maybe today’s guys would sound better if they got some Mountain Dew. Or maybe some Mountain Dew would help me make it past the first 3 words of them singing.

      1. Upon pressing play I immediately had to turn the VOLUME way down so the people upstairs wouldn’t wake up! Then, I felt the urge to leave the room. Nice pocket hankies…they look like mobsters. I think it’s hypocritical that some fundies like bluegrass it makes me not like it because they have put their stamp of approval on it. πŸ™„ πŸ™„

        1. Exactly that. Moonshine. The old Mountain Dew soft drink label used to be a moonshiner.

  3. I remember the first time I heard this song. It was at an old SBC church in Pelzer, SC. I remember thinking “This has got to be the worst song ever written.” So far, I think I could be right.

  4. This was originally an old Cathedrals song recorded in the late 80’s. The guy on the far right teaches at the school that once threatened us back in the late 90’s to expel us if we went to a Cathedrals concert. They didn’t want us to know they were getting their songs from liberals!!

    1. The Cathedrals was banned at MBBC in WI when I was there in the early 90s. I know that many people listened anyway including staff. I didn’t have the money to buy much music so I didn’t have a tape of them. I should look them up on youtube, because I haven’t heard them in years.

      I STILL like Classic Hymns the best but I don’t care if people listen to CCM. Music is really about taste.

      1. I was at MBBC from 90-99, so I’m very curious who you might be… πŸ™‚

        I went to a Cathedrals concert when I was at MBA. There were a few of us that went, but we needed to keep it hush-hush because… well, you know.

        1. I was part of the woodwork when I was at MBBC. I was a new Christian who had gotten saved after high school. Talk about culture shock. I only stayed for 4 semesters and then I dropped out. My health couldn’t take the stress of all the church, chapel, and the classwork. I also ran out of money and couldn’t justify spending 25K when there wasn’t a big choice in degrees. I know they were seeking accreditation and I wonder if my credit would transfer to a school here in VA even if it’s secular. I was there when Weniger remarried and thought it was terrible when he maligned her in an article in the new letters so that all of Christendom could see.

          Yeah. I understand why that would have to be hush hush. I once got stranded in Milwaukee picking up my friend and we all had to get a hotel room. We got thirty demerits for that. I left shortly after that b/c I got tired of the rules only applying to certain people.

          It’s good to me ya! πŸ˜€

        2. @Mominator: As one who has had his head buried in the sand for years, could you explain/amplify your statement?

          I was there when Weniger remarried and thought it was terrible when he maligned her in an article in the new letters so that all of Christendom could see.

          I’ve never heard about this

          Thanks!

        3. GR-

          This happened after she left him and filed for divorce. MBBC let him write a scathing article in the official MBBC newsletter that went out to all of the alumni, parents, students, pastors…etc. I wish we could find a copy of it. It would have been around 1995.

          As a woman, she got ALL of the blame. How could MBBC let him write such a thing?

          To backtrack a little. Sylvia (the 2nd Mrs. W) said in a devotional during my sorority meeting, that they (she and Arno) were writing to each other while Mrs. Weniger was dying of MS. She said she was praying that Mrs. Weniger would be healed. They were engaged only six months after her death and married a year after her death. That’s awfully soon for Arno to marry after being married for 25 years. The whole thing didn’t sound…kosher. You don’t write to another women’s husband when she’s dying of MS.

          I met the first Mrs. W about a month before she died. She wouldn’t have comprehended that they were writing to each other.

          Dr. Weniger also stated in chapel that it was OK for him to marry so soon b/c he is older, but we should date around and take our time.

      2. I believe this is an old Mosie Lister song and was around a long time before the Cathedrals got a hold of it. In fact, the Booth Brothers recorded a newer Mosier Lister song, “Still Feelin’ Fine.” Mosie Lister is now 90 years old. I used to be quite a Cathedrals fan. I also went to MBBC. I saw on their website a long list of approved and unapproved recordings. The Cathedrals a cappella Christmas project was on the approved list, even though it had “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” One of David Musselman’s recordings was on the unapproved list. Dave was recruited from BJU by Jerry Falwell, when Liberty opened in 1971.

        1. that is definitely the Mosie Lister song, very very old!

          The problem with these guys is they held back. That song only works if you are all in. Kinda does have a bluegrass feel to it, like most of Mosie’s stuff. Being a fan of such things, this one could definitely be redeemed by a good guitar/banjo/mandolin arrangement and a close harmony trio who actually know what good folk music is supposed to sound like. Hint: not like this.

        2. Mosie Lister! He was next to King David in my church’s view of a songwriter with the blessings of gawd upon him, haymen. Anyone remember some of his other gems: Goodbye, World, Goodbye; I’ve Been Changed; and Til the Storm Passes By?

          We had them all in the tatty, ragged Mosie Lister Songbook with Easy Arrangements for Church Choir that had been in use in our church for approximately 50 years and which contained about half of our choir’s approved repertoire (a/k/a those songs that we sang over and over and over because learning new ones was too hard and what’s wrong with the old ones bless gawd). They were fun to sing though.

          I always used to wonder who the fragglerock names their kid Mosie Lister.

        3. @captain_solo
          You’re right if one is going to sing this you can’t hold anything back it’s all or nothing.
          *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2l97lE7s4I&feature=related

          @Deacon’s Son
          who the fragglerock names their kid Mosie Lister.
          …the same woman who named another son “Hovie” Lister πŸ˜†

        4. Ahh we used to listen to the Booth Brothers all the time. They weren’t too bad, I guess. I still have fond memories of listening to them, and going to their concerts. Wouldn’t listen to their stuff now, but at least it doesn’t give me the heebie-jeebies remembering them.

        5. I first heard this song by the Booth Brothers, they are one of my favourite Southern Gospel groups. They followed it up with “Still Feelin’ Fine.” I prefer the latter song as it’s more upbeat but I like both songs. Of course in Southern Gospel, it seems they “borrow” each other’s songs all the time. I like this song much better than one EVERY group sings and I am so tired of, ” He Touched Me.” :mrgreen:

  5. Yup. I used to be one of those who attacked the Praise & Worship music (not all of CCM) for shallowness. I have since learned differently and openly admit I was wrong. I also know I owe some folks an apology because of my attitude. Does that mean that I have to swing to the other end of the pendulum arc and disdain songs like this one? I hope not. I enjoyed this. “Feeling Mighty Fine” may not be theologically deep. It does, however, convey a happiness at thoughts of Heaven. In Colossians 3:1 – 2 we are told to set our minds on “things above”. Another idea I caught in there was the confidence in knowing God is in control. Sometimes a simple message is a good one. Today…it’s a good one for me. As for intellectualism, content-wise, maybe not so much, but the actual singing of it… well, it’s like a game. It’s fun! Getting those parts right and hitting your mark, blending the harmony. I remember times with friends and with my dad on the bass part, me on piano and trying to sing the tenor at the same time, working over songs like this just for the sheer fun of it and laughing like idiots and high fiving each other when we got it right. I find it fun to listen to when it’s sung well, like when the Catherdals sang it. These guys weren’t bad either even if they lacked a bass singer. I am glad there are many kinds of music. I liked it. It was good for me this morning. Fun to listen to and to think about Heaven.

    1. I look forward to Heaven and then the New Jerusalem.

      I didn’t hear much preaching about Heaven when I was in the IFB.

    2. Singing and playing music like this IS lots of fun! And there are times when it’s perfectly appropriate to sing light-hearted, more shallow songs.

      I think for many of us though the associations of music like this with abusive and unloving behavior is too close making this too triggering.

    3. Hey Kate, tks for your reasonable comment. I play bluegrass music all around our state, and must admit that many of the songs we love to play and that folks want to hear are definitely “theologically shallow.”

      “Conveying happiness at the thoughts of Heaven” The verse you cited and many others most certainly would have us thinking of heaven, I feel like if me and the guys can get the folks thinking of heaven, and off the worries of this world for 45 minutes, we’ve accomplished something.

      Shenandoah Baptist Boys heading back into the studio next week, have it for Tue-Fri, and we are going to record some more “happy” songs………songs of salvation and such πŸ˜€

      1. I like John and June Cash for their ability to sing any genre. The Carter’s had a bluegrass sound to begin with.

    1. They sure didn’t look like they were really feeling all that fine. Maybe just ok.

      1. Me too! My unbroken foot is tappin’ πŸ˜› I BM it for the future.

        This song could get me going in the morning or it could be great cleaning music!

      2. I grew up on Southern Gospel music, I got to see the Cathedrals in their farewell tour. Good memories.

    2. OOTBJWC–Thanks for the Cathedrals link. I really like the song, and the Pointy Hankie Three just about ruined it.

      I like good, theologically deep music, but it sure is fun to bust loose on a happy feel-good song.

  6. Lasted 37 seconds in. Reminded me too much of a place and time I would rather forget.

  7. Don’t even need to watch the video to know what song this is. And yet, it’ll probably be stuck in my head for the next few days. Thanks, Darrell.

    1. That’s what those things remind me of! Bats!

      Fun fact: In Chinese art, bats symbolize blessings, because the Mandarin words for “bat” and “blessing” are homophones.

      Often, a design of five bats is used to represent the Confucian “Five Blessings”: long life, wealth, love of virtue, health and a natural death.

    1. Do you play?

      I’ve played for 26 years and I’m teaching my kiddos to play too.

      1. Sure do! And Southern Gospel has been the hardest to try to let go of…since leaving the IFB. I prob have half the hymn book still memorized…word for word, note for note. πŸ™„

        1. I use the Palmer Method with my kids so they’ll learn theory too.

          Do you play CCM now instead of Southern Gospel? I’m shocked your IFB let your play SP.

          I still play the old way cause that’s how I learned. I’ll have to check out some CCM arrangements.

        2. You don’t have to be IFB to listen to / play Southern Gospel! My church (Baptist) is decidedly non-Fundy, and not even all that conservative. We are in Arizona, well out of the “Bible Belt.” Our worship is contemporary, mostly CCM. Our pastor, who just recently left after 1/2 years, is from Alabama, and brought his favorite Southern Gospel songs. Even though our worship is mostly CCM, the Southern Gospel is always well loved! (Of course, we do it with guitars and drums as well as piano.)

        3. A lot of fundies think Southern Gospel is a bad thing! It has a beat and uses drums! How WICKED! My husband and I used to go to a place called the Gospel Barn when we lived in Michigan and the pastor of our church spoke badly about it because it was interdenominational of all things. We might get corrupted by people who weren’t fundies and might read the wrong Bible and speak in tongues and all that other wicked stuff! So we felt rebellious by going! LOL. I’m glad we now have a pastor who likes Southern Gospel and a group of us went last Christmas to see a concert, and he was there with us! :mrgreen:

  8. The guy on the left must be the liberal of the trio because his jacket was unbuttoned. πŸ˜€

    1. The middle one has his micro in the left hand -. must be a haretic!

      Shalom
      Hermann

  9. I always used to think this was a song about getting drunk (in my limited concept of what I imagined getting drunk must be like). Sort of like Pr. 23:35 “they have hit me and I am not hurt” kind of thing.

    Anyway, I used to sing my own words to myself when this song was sung:

    I am feeling mighty fine.
    Got drunk on a bottle of wine.
    Fell down and cracked my spine.
    ER gave me an IV line.
    And now I’m feelin’ mighty fine.

    I used to imagine a drunk in the gutter of sin belting out this song with a big sloppy smile on his face. Given the drunken manner in which this song was usually slurred through, I think I was not entirely unjustified in thinking these words fit the song as least as well as the original.

        1. I’ve been here almost two months and I am learning the same thing.

          I just learned what GOH means.

  10. I’m afraid to voice my opinion. I might get blown away….so I’m just sitting here, holding my mace, in case a pit bull shows up.

  11. One thing you have to admire……Fundies really know how to rock the comb-over ❗ ❗ ❗

  12. A little off-topic here, but tell me . . . What’s with all these IFB churches that have comfy-looking stuffed chairs on the pulpit platforms for their pastors? It seems to me that the old-fashioned “thrones” that were ubiquitous in Baptist churches years ago would be WAY more appropriate theologically . . .
    :mrgreen:

  13. I hate fundamentalism… but I have to admit, I like that. haha! πŸ™‚
    πŸ˜†

  14. Ok. I like this song. My wife and I used to listen to a Christian radio station on the way to work in the morning that played this as a “wake-up song”. It was sung by a large church choir. It was amazing, and somehow, made the day seem a little better.

    Don’t understand why these guys aren’t smiling as they sing. Also, not sure why they need the words to the song. It’s fairly repetitive.

    1. Grand Old Hymn…but I like to imagine it as a statement – much like the Homer Simpson “DOH!”

    2. Sometimes it’s meant to truly signify a Grand Old Hymn; other times it’s used ironically, as in something that fundies LIKE but is in no way deserving of such a title.

  15. At one of my old fundy churches the pastor’s wife used to play this for a special occasionally. My parents were never happy about that since it is “too bouncy” to be spiritual. πŸ™„ My dad would joke about her “playing the piano and the bench too” since she was a tiny woman and had to slide up and down a bit to get to the keys she needed. She played it right though! I think she hit every key on the piano during each verse and then again during the chorus.

    1. “Too bouncy to be spiritual”??

      I doubt they would have been happy with the idea of David dancing naked before the Lord! :mrgreen:

  16. This is one of my mother’s favorite groups singing this song. I have it on my iPod. It needs some energy and quality harmony and it is fun. I used this version for a curtain call for a play at Christian school that we plugged a bunch of southern gospel songs into.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsEM0ey4Tek

  17. I still love Southern Gospel Music.
    I love songs like “Shouting Time in Heaven” by the Hoppers. *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZIIQEc4Pqs&feature=related

    And “Highway to Heaven” by Jessy Dixon!
    *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gMGw_ytbS0&feature=related

    and this true GOH “Precious Lord Take My Hand”
    *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FXVqhXptK0&feature=related

    1. “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” comes from the black Pentecostal tradition. Thomas A. Dorsey wrote the lyrics upon receiving the news that his wife had died unexpectedly.

      It’s a TRULY Grand Old Hymn.

  18. This song reminds me of women’s devos at HAC. It was sung quite a few times in those meetings, and it was also popular in my bus division. It is a good trip down memory lane. My dad agreed with the “too bouncy” sentiment and we didn’t sing it, so I always felt so rebellious singing it in college.

  19. Didn’t press play because I still have “One more night with the frogs” stuck in my head. Such lyrical drivel…
    My reason for not liking these songs is because it’s ALL our fundy church sang- bouncy, shallow ditties. The first time I heard an actual song with depth, “Before the Throne of God Above”, I had to sit & process it for hours. It was the first time I heard the gospel & I just sat & cried in the community church a friend had invited me to. I couldn’t believe it (the gospel) was so simple, so pure and so lovely. So, that is why I eschew ditties.

  20. Is this another one of those churches where it’s run by the “family”. Noticed it was “The Tharp Brothers”. Is it the Sr. Pastor, and 2 associates? Maybe one is the principle of their fine school? Maybe even college! ROFLOL

  21. Yeah, none of those guys wrote this song. It’s been around for years. I know the two older guys personally, the younger one is the son of the guy in the middle. I could say more, but won’t. πŸ™‚

  22. Today’s post was kind of a slap in the face to me. I like this song, but at the same time, I realize the truth of its shallowness. I think of it as a “rah-rah” kind of song, not a statement about how everyone is supposed to be every day. But I have had days from time to time such as the one they sang about, and they are great days to feel like it. I try not to let my feelings control everything I do, but I enjoy it when I feel wonderful!

    After thinking about it, I like the song more for the associations than for the song itself. I first heard the Marshall Family sing this song shortly after I heard about them, and I enjoyed finding them, so this song is tied with pleasant memories of that.

    In the same vein, “One More Night With the Frogs” is tied to some very dear and special memories of a cancer-ridden man (now in heaven). So, while the song isn’t really all that great in many respects, I have fond memories of it because of the associations as well.

  23. Must have been a Sunday night because the choir was dismissed. My old church only started dismissing the choir on Sunday mornings when the crowd wasnt as full as it used to be.

  24. This song was sung as early as 1968 at the First Baptist Church of Hammond

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