If You Can’t Laugh, You’re Doing It Wrong

My high priestess has a saying, “If you can’t laugh in Circle you are doing it wrong.”

Don’t get her wrong, there is reason for solemnity in most rituals and celebrations, but you must learn to laugh at yourself. I am going to help you see some of the humor in Pagan song and how you can incorporate that into your rituals and celebrations and use it in everyday life.

Humor in Pagan Song

Long-time listeners of the Magic Mess are familiar with our penchant for throwing humorous songs into the mess (see what I did there?). Sometimes we just need a laugh or the main focus of the show has been way too serious. Sometimes we just want to let loose and laugh at life, a situation, or ourselves. After our Ritual Soundtracks, we like to ground with a little fun as well. Can you imagine a Beltaine celebration without laughter? Or a Samhain rite that didn’t inject some humor? You’d leave Circle and the celebration itself feeling like something was missing.

Take for example the U.S. election cycle. No matter where you fall on the party lines, it is a serious business, full of mudslinging and heartrending personal attacks (whether on candidates or groups of people). On the Mess, we’ve visited the music of Tom Smith, Austin Lounge Lizards, and The Capitol Steps when addressing some of the political strife in the U.S. or elsewhere around the world. Though they are not Pagan artists, their music can make us stop and laugh a little at the situation; enabling us to move forward with a slight spring in our step (or voice) and tackle some of the issues of the day.

Pagan Song’s own Celia Farran contributed a fun song to the Green Album a few years ago (I Will Not) that takes a slightly lighthearted path to dealing with global warming and consumerism. The entire album is worth listening to and I encourage you to do so if you haven’t already. When it comes to Celia’s piece, you just stop and laugh. A fun song to sing along with that carries a great message.

The Red Album, full of great contributions, doesn’t take as obvious of a humorous slant. The album cut of SJ’s Devil at the Door is far from funny, but the jolt of an explicative can throw a hint of humor into an otherwise serious song. I enjoy both the original and the squeaky-clean edit. Imagine having a serious discussion or argument with someone about something that you are both passionate about; the stakes are getting higher and your emotions are soaring high; then someone throws out the f-bomb. Half the time you will throw it or another word back, the other half the time you might laugh – releasing the tension.

Both The Green Album and The Red Album are serious compilations of Pagan music. Both managed to throw a hint of fun into the mix. But there are albums out there that are nothing but fun (or mostly fun) by Pagan musicians of all sorts.

And sometimes you just need to laugh. Here in Lincoln, every May we have a marathon. The timing of it and my location in relation to the on-air studio for KZUM make it nearly impossible to navigate on Sunday mornings to do the Magic Mess. It’s almost always been that way. I’m either trapped (the last few years) or I have to run the gauntlet of marathon runners, spectators, and temporarily closed streets to get to the radio station. For decades, we’ve played one particular song to lighten the mood and dispel the frustration, Hand Me Down My Jogging Shoes by Holly Near (originally recorded by Tom Paxton).

• Cynthia McQuillin – the entire Bedlam Cats album
• Heather Bishop – Bellybutton: A Collection of Songs for Children
• Alexian – Cool to be a Witch
• The Brobdingnagian Bards (though not Pagan, they are fun and often Pagan-esque) – Do Virgins Taste Better
• Tricky Pixie – Alligator in the House (just to name one)
• Kenny Klein (though fallen out of favor) – Maria’s Not a Catholic Anymore
• Leigh Ann Hussey – I Used to be a Powerful Priestess

The above list is just a small sampling of some of the humor you kind in Pagan and Pagan-esque music. This life is short. We can be serious all we want, but if we can’t have a little fun and laughter we are doing it wrong.

And here’s a Spotify playlist by Pagan Song’s editor-in-chief, with some more pagan songs that are rather silly:

If you have other favorite examples of fun-loving pagan music, leave a comment and let us know what they are. The more, the merrier!

For more information about Phil, including his collected articles here on Pagan Song, his bio, and links to Phil’s sites on the web, check out Phil’s page here on Pagan Song.

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