Pop musicians contemplate the nature of God

We are fortunate that sometimes when creative people contemplate the nature of God, they express their thoughts about the subject in modern music, then share it with the rest of us.

DANNI & LIZZY:

Recently, I happened upon a Youtube video of a singer named Lizzy, who appeared on America's got talent. Her wistful song is apparently written and performed in memory of someone who was lost, and who is now in Heaven.   Her sweetness and sincerity come through both her voice, inflection, facial appearance, and the lyrics themselves.

Her song is called "Dancing in the Sky"

Here is a phrase from the lyrics:

Oh I, I hope you're dancing in the sky
I hope you're singing in the angels's choir
I hope the angels, know what they have
I bet it's so nice up in heaven since you arrived

JOAN OSBORNE:

Another singer, who happens to be a famous pop artist named Joan Osborne, sang a song entitled:

"What if God was one of us?" in the 90's.

To some, her song may sound like heresy.  To me, it sounds like a modern hymn, with a person living in this contemporary world, and contemplating the nature of God.  She is imagining what she might say, should she have the opportunity to see his face and ask him a question:

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?

PETE TOWNSHEND:

Even earlier than Joan's modern song, in about 1970, the famous singer, Pete Townshend of "The Who," gave us the song entitled "A Bargain."

"Bargain" is a love song.  The opening lines are:

I'd gladly lose me to find you
I'd gladly give up all I had
To find you I'd suffer anything and be glad

The lyrics are typical love song lyrics in which Townshend says he will give up everything to win his love, and that he would consider that a bargain.  However, the lyrics do not identify who the subject of the singer's love is.

He goes on to sing:

"I know I'm worth nothing without you"

During a subsequent interview, Townshend revealed that the object of the love song was God.   He paradoxicaly stated that God's love is the easiest thing, yet the hardest thing to get, and that it would be worth giving up everything he had to ensure that he was at peace with him.  Townshend stated "The song is about losing one's ego...  I constantly try to lose myself and find him.... this song expresses how much of a bargain it would be to lose everything in order to be at one with God."

The song "A Bargain" may be downloaded on iTunes in various formats.  The acoustic version is particularly moving.  Here is a link to the complete lyrics.

LORENZO SNOW, A PROPHET OF GOD:

Now, here's something I know I can rely on:  Lorenzo Snow was an LDS Prophet from 1898 - 1901. As  I try to relate some of this modern contemplative music about the nature of God to my own beliefs, it brings me back to one of my favorite quotes from him, when he wrote the famous couplet:

“As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be.” 

Now contemplate that for a while.  Or a lifetime, or eternity.  It runs deep.

Questions:

Do you see any connection between the restored gospel and modern music?
What are your favorite modern, pop, or sacred songs about the gospel?