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What do you think of that 90's song "One of Us" (aka "What if God was one of us")?

What do you think of that 90's song "One of Us" (aka "What if God was one of us")?

  • Love it

    Votes: 33 13.1%

  • Like it

    Votes: 58 23.0%

  • Meh

    Votes: 58 23.0%

  • Oh man, it sucks

    Votes: 60 23.8%

  • I blocked it out and wanted to keep it that way. From hell's heart I stab at thee, OP!

    Votes: 27 10.7%

  • Who cares?

    Votes: 16 6.3%
  • Total voters
    252

Deleted member 31923

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Joan Osborne - One of us

What if god was one of us by Joan Osborne, with original Music Video. ____________________[The thing she says at the beginning:one of these nights at about t...
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This may be random and better suited for weekend ERA (though it will be Friday soon), but I randomly thought of this song by Joan Osborne unprompted, meaning I didn't hear it or see any posts or comments by Joan or the song. It's one of those songs I can't tell if I love or hate, thus Era must decide how it holds up in 2021. Here are the lyrics:

If God had a name what would it be?
And would you call it to his face?
If you were faced with Him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question?

And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
And yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin' to make his way home?

If God had a face what would it look like?
And would you want to see if, seeing meant
That you would have to believe in things like heaven
And in Jesus and the saints, and all the prophets?

And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
And yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin' to make his way home?

Just tryin' to make his way home
Like back up to heaven all alone
Nobody callin' on the phone
'Cept for the Pope maybe in Rome

And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
And yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin' to make his way home?

Just tryin' to make his way home
Like a holy rolling stone
Back up to heaven all alone
Just tryin' to make his way home
Nobody callin' on the phone
'Cept for the Pope maybe in Rome
Click to expand...
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trappedinsap

trappedinsap

Member
Jul 26, 2019
481
I worked at Target when it came out and it was on constant rotation on the TVs in electronics. Hated it then, now I'm indifferent.
 
Doc Laserstein

Doc Laserstein

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,591
I don't think I can have an unbiased take on that song because it was so relentlessly overplayed in 95-96.

I've liked some of Osborne's other stuff well enough though, and I appreciate the work she did with the Holmes Brothers.
 
Menome

Menome

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Oct 25, 2017
6,461
It's one of those religious-themed songs where you don't mind it's a religious song because the tune's good enough to carry it. I like it. 🤷‍♀️
 
Morrigan

Morrigan

Spear of the Metal Church
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Oct 24, 2017
34,582
One of the worst songs I ever had the displeasure of hearing. Christian Rock, hell, Christian music in general is a blight.
 
Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 25, 2017
31,974
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Ashes of Dreams

Ashes of Dreams

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May 22, 2020
15,028
Never heard it used seriously. It's exclusively used in a parody or ironic context in my experience. It's also very overused and I'm done with it.
 
ItIsOkBro

ItIsOkBro

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The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
9,578
i thought for sure 'Cept for the Pope maybe in Rome would be a mishead lyric but nope, she actually says that.
 
PJV3

PJV3

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Oct 25, 2017
25,841
London
Is it actually a religious song?
I don't know much about the guy from the Hooters who wrote it, i thought it was meant to be humourous or something.
 
Ruisu

Ruisu

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Aug 1, 2019
5,535
Brasil
It's a religious song? How? What's supposed to be the message? That God being an actual physical mundane person would be kind of weird?

I like the song, honestly it just baffles me for how long I didn't know the singer is not actually related to Ozzy Osborne
 
The Real Abed

The Real Abed

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,764
Pennsylvania
I'm not religious but I like this song. It's cute. And yeah, it's parodied all the time.

I never saw it as a serious religious song. Comes off more as hypothetical to me.

Is it actually a religious song? What do y'all think of "Jesus is Just All Right With Me"? I never really think of that one as serious either. lol
 
OneTrueJack

OneTrueJack

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Aug 30, 2020
4,781
I love it, but for me, it's definitely one of those songs where certain covers outshine the original.
 
machine

machine

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,862
It's an ok song but it was really overplayed back in the day. I was sick of it for a long time but I don't mind it now.
 
Gr8one

Gr8one

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,833
I didn't like the song the first time I heard it and the more I heard it the more I hated it. It didn't help that a lot of radio stations around my area played it a ton when it was on the charts so I'd hear it in the car with my parents whenever we were going anywhere and on TV when I was watching Much Music.

It's a meh from me today because it's not on the radio or anything and I've softened a bit. I still think it's a boring song with dumb lyrics.
 
Coolluck

Coolluck

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Oct 27, 2017
5,521
Sucks shit. Plodding song that gets the point across and then just keeps going. Too slow to be interesting since it never goes anywhere.
 
Conciliator

Conciliator

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,177
It's a functional song in a very specific 90s lite-rock style. It's aight.

For what it's worth, the diehard southern christians, at least where I came up, considered this song to be blasphemous. It's certainly a religious song of sorts, but I don't think it's really a Christian-rock song in like the let's-get-more-young-people-to-come-to-church kind of style.
 
Schwarzbier

Schwarzbier

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Nov 14, 2017
2,004
New Jersey
It was a cool song at the time, haven't really thought about it in years. I was a little bit of an earworm if I remember right, at least for me.
 
Mollymauk

Mollymauk

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,329
Never liked this song, but I saw Joan Osborne open up for Morphine and she was quite good, and most of her music is very different from this.
 
Altazor

Altazor

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Oct 25, 2017
8,254
Chile
It was definitely overplayed but the song evokes a lot of different feelings on me (and my mom) - it was one of the songs that were essentially ubiquitous back when my mom was pregnant with my brother. Those weren't easy days for us, and they became even harder when, after the birth, my brother wasn't... like other kids.

It was only like a year after that my parents got the 'official' diagnosis - my brother was autistic.

So the song (and others from the same era, 95/96) kinda encapsulates the bittersweet tornado of emotions those years meant for us. Like, I love my brother with my entire fucking being, but receiving those news isn't easy when you've never even heard of autism before and don't know how the road's gonna be.

So... yeah, that.
 
Goldenroad

Goldenroad

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Nov 2, 2017
9,475
Joan is and was a great singer. Just an incredible voice. I'm not crazy about the song honestly, but I'm shocked she never had a more prosperous career.
 
John Harker

John Harker

Knows things...
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Oct 27, 2017
4,444
Santa Destroy
I never interpreted it as "pro religious" or "preaching" song at all…

more of a 90s eta "what does it all mean?" Extesentialsim. Even the chorus sounds more like some disinterested background buzzing/murmuring we get preached to in life but that the singer believes it
 

Deleted member 9241

Oct 26, 2017
10,416
My take away was that God may possibly be walking among us and he could literally be anyone you meet so treat everyone well, even the slob on the bus. It is a good sentiment.
 
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