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'Zekiel's Bones

A worship experience
for a song leader and a group


(Worship leader enters and begins to sing acapella a portion of the old negro spiritual, pointing to the various bones referred to on his own body as he precedes...)

The toe bone connected to the foot bone.
The foot bone connected to the ankle bone.
The ankle bone connected to the shin bone.
The shin bone connected to the knee bone.
The knee bone connected to the leg bone.
The leg bone connected to the hip bone.
The hip bone connected to the back bone.
The back bone connected to the rib bone.
The rib bone connected to the shoulder bone.
The shoulder bone connected to the neck bone.
The neck bone connected to the head bone.
Now hear the Word of the Lord!

(Spoken)

You remember the rest of this old American black spiritual about the prophet Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones. Today we're going to tell that story again, all of us together. Here is how we will do it: I'll sing a line, then you repeat that same line again after me exactly.

Are you ready? We need a little rythm for this to work properly. Can you clap with me?

(Establish the clapping rhythm.)

Good! Now sing each line after me.

(Repeat the toe bone through head bone section above, with the leader singing each line and the group repeating after him. When this is finished, proceed immediately to the lyrics below.)

Hand of God took 'Zekiel,
Led him to this valley.
Showed him all these dry bones,
Now hear the Word of the Lord!

God said, "Can these bones live?"
'Zekiel said, "Lord, you know."
God said, "You start preachin'.
They'll hear the Word of the Lord."

Bones, bones, dry bones.
Bones, bones, dry bones.
Bones, bones, dry bones.
Hear the Word of the Lord!

'Zekiel started preachin',
Bones began to rattle.
They all shook together,
To hear the Word of the Lord.

Skeletons put flesh on,
Bodies put their skin on.
A valley full of dead men,
Now hear the Word of the Lord!

Bones, bones, wet bones.
Bones, bones, wet bones.
Bones, bones, wet bones.
Hear the Word of the Lord!

The finger bone connected to the hand bone.
The hand bone connected to the wrist bone.
The wrist bone connected to the elbow bone.
Elbow bone connected to the arm bone.
The arm bone connected to the collar bone.
The collar bone connected to the neck bone.
The neck bone connected to the head bone.
Now hear the Word of the Lord!

God said, "Call the four winds.
Breathe upon these dead men.
When my wind starts blowin',
They'll hear the Word of the Lord."

'Zekiel called the four winds,
They blew through the valley.
Then rose up an army,
To hear the Word of the Lord.

Bones, bones, live bones.
Bones, bones, live bones.
Bones, bones, live bones.
Hear the Word of the Lord!

Hand of God took 'Zekiel,
Led him to this valley.
Showed him all these dry bones,
Now hear the Word of the Lord!

You and me are dry bones,
Till we get God's Spirit.
Then we are God's army.
Now hear the Word of the Lord!

Bones, bones, dry bones.
Bones, bones, wet bones.
Bones, bones, live bones.
Hear the Word of the Lord!

Bones, bones, dry bones.
Bones, bones, wet bones.
Bones, bones, live bones.
Hear the Word of the Lord!

The head bone connected to the brain bone.
The brain bone connected to the heart bone.
The heart bone connected to the spirit bone.
The spirit bone connected to our mighty God.
Now hear the Word of the Lord!
Now hear the Word of the Lord!
Now hear the Word of the Lord!

c2007 Skip Johnson
All rights reserved


Note: This piece is meant to be chanted line by line with a leader singing each line, followed by the group following with exactly the same line--rather like a marching chant in the military. The "lining" styling for leading a less familiar song with a large group who could neither read, nor write was used among the black slave worshippers in early America, and also taken up by other white congregations later in situations where music was largely an oral rather than a written expression.

The imagery of the lyric is taken from the prophet Ezekiel, chapter 37, verses 1-14, a passage I've come across in my rereading of that prophet's most unique and vivid words to God's people during the early years of the 70 years of Babylonian exile the Israelites suffered for their national apostacy and sins. Surely in the face of national defeat, the slaughter of many among their nation by Nebuchadnezzar's army, the destruction of their temple and the city of Jerusalem, and their own helpless condition as captives in a distant land, they felt as though all their hopes as a people were as dead as the valley in Ezekiel's vision. This depiction was meant to give them hope for the future in the face of what looked like permanent human defeat. It achieved that.

Curious difference between armies of human rulers and the army of God. Human generals start with a live army, and when they are done, often times it is a dead one. God's army is just the other way around. He starts with the dead, and ends up with the living. While I respect the former sort of army, if I had my choice, I'd rather enlist in the one Ezekiel saw.

I'd like to try this out with the young people's groups I regularly have opportunity to assist as a song leader. Last week I went over to our pre-school through 12th grade school--they've got just over 100 kids total--and spent time with pretty much every grade level, as well as doing the high school assembly for the morning. All the groups were asking for their favorite songs I'd written and sung for them last year. Maybe it is time to write them a new one. I think this might work for a children's story at our church, if I could get our congregation to sing along.