The Song a Week Project turns 6 months old…I want to share a quick update on the project itself, which has been super fun! To date I’ve been fully producing the songs and uploading them to streaming platforms like Spotify. That’s going to change for a few reasons… Katie and I are expecting Baby #3 any day now! With Marge so Large, Papa’s taking on homeschooling duties and a lot of mama’s side of the labor division — so she doesn’t need him to be locked up in the Batcave between a pair of headphones belaboredly mixing songs he’s releasing for free. Lol. So — here’s what’s going to change. Without changing the weekly rate of output, the production and distribution models are going to be tweaked. Starting next week, I’m going to be sharing my brand new songs in demo form here and only here — for paid subscribers only (no paywall today though, I want you to be able to hear what my demos sound like and get the vibe). Annual paid subscription to this Substack is $70, that breaks down to $1.35 a song per week. I’m pretty sure that’s less than a single cost in the 70’s (adjusted for inflation people were paying like $10 for singles back in the day, unreal). Def cheaper than coffee. Sound like a fair rate per tune from a father of 3 trying bring home the bacon? (Dude bacon is basically chaw to my toddler I’ve never seen someone constantly insist on spitting out something they enjoy so much… unless that’s sort of a metaphor for giving away your music for free? I utterly digress). What I will do in the background is work on proper recordings so that I can release studio versions of the songs on proper albums, which many of you have been asking me about lately. I’m still deciding whether they should be organizing chronologically — i.e. four albums per year simply collecting each quarters’ worth of songs — or aesthetically (y’know — putting the folk songs with folk songs, rock songs with rock songs, etc). The cool thing about this is how much your input will dictate the result — I want to know what you think! Anyway, you get the idea! You guys are the ones who can make this all happen, and your support will make this all the more symbiotic. I’m excited. PSA doneso. Year of the JubileeToday I’m excited to share “Year of the Jubilee.” It’s an old-fashioned folksy song. Actually, it seems to work as a church hymn without the tongue-in-cheek first verse about the Pope (see lyrics toward the end of this epistle). What is a Jubilee, you may ask? In the ole’ Mosaic law, Leviticus 25 in fact, the Hebrew nation was to observe the following every 50th year: “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is Mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land. If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property… In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property. If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger... he shall serve with him until the year of the jubilee. Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers.” Deuteronomy 15 adds: “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed… Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing… You shall give to him freely…” In other words: a Jubilee is a blanket of forgiveness over all debts. Relief for families who sold off their patrimony to survive; the release of the commons from the strangulation of the great tragedy; the abolition of slavery and the firm acknowledgement that all things are God’s. This is what Jesus proclaimed when He took to the Nazareth synagogue, proclaiming the Greatest of all Great Jubilees foretold by Isaiah. “[Jesus] stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Luke 4:16-21). Oh man, there’s so much esoteric deliciousness in these verbal morsels, and beautiful truths about what is right and good: the end of slavery, not only understood as the labor of physical toil, but of hatred; the victory of love: true recovery of sight to the blind, and liberty for the oppressed. As for the practical side, those economic measures outlined in Leviticus 25 — well, Jesus’ challenge to a people whose nation had, apparently, never actually celebrated the Jubilee was: “if you want something done right, do it yourself.” This is the Fella who “stormed the capitol” with his palm-waving flock of “fanatics” and flipped over the tables of the moneychangers in the temple (“mostly peaceful!”) because they were defrauding their people in the name of welfare — overcharging when converting denarii to shekels, falsely claiming the extra funds would go toward easing the people’s burdens while they really just lined the pockets of the ole’ elite. Nothing new under the sun! No wonder they were so pissed at Jesus. And we all know what happened next. Yea, a Jubilee sounds great, but as the story of the Passion proves, actually getting one ain’t easy, nor is it for the faint of heart. But what Jesus shows us at the Nazareth synagogue is step #1: proclaiming it. So, without further ado, here’s my proclamation: This is the year of the jubilee this is no drill, this is the real thing This is our return to sanity The triumph of truth and meaning Francesco said so at the Holy See* This is the year of the jubilee This is the year of the jubilee When we get back all our property When we rebuild our families And restore the bonds of fraternity With justice and charity This is the year of the jubilee This is the year of the jubilee The deaf will hear and the blind will see The lame will walk, the dumb will speak And when you knock, you’ll find what you seek If you’re in debt, you’ll be released In the year of the jubilee This is the year of the jubilee When new mountains arise from the sea When fire devours our enemies To purge hatred with mercy The condemned will be redeemed In the year of the jubilee This is the year of the jubilee the least will be crown’ed the chief Our despair will turn to relief Out of darkness, let light be The dead will Rise and take back the streets This is the year of the jubilee *Pope Francis proclaims 2025 Jubilee papal bull: ‘Hope does not disappoint’ Here’s the demo of the song below. Please let me know what you think, I love your feedback!
God bless, Seán Check out my past releases:Lofi Beats for Study, Dishwashing, and Dance Amazing Grace: Traditional Hymns Vol. I Our Father: Original Christian Songs Vol. I Sean & Katie McMahon: Resonate Tidwell’s Treasure: Slow! Children Crossing You're currently a free subscriber to Seán McMahon. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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Friday, February 21, 2025
SOTW: The Year of the Jubilee
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