THE JUKEBOX HERO HYMNAL: Hymn 028: Without A Map by Marketa Irglova

Sure, I’m partial to movies full of rubber monster suits and flying saucers hanging from fishing line, but that doesn’t mean I can’t branch out every so often. It just so happens one of my favorite low budget indie films is a quiet little drama about two lonely souls who cross each others paths in Dublin and decide to make some music together. So when I heard that one of the stars from Once had put out an album based on her “very strong connection to certain figures that come from the Christian tradition and the energy that those figures hold,” I was all in.

Marketa Irglova was not raised in a religious household, nor does she currently practice any religion, but as of late she has found herself drawn to certain aspects of Christianity. In an interview with Media Mikes, Irglova noted…

“I was reading a trilogy of books called Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. It happened by accident really, I was visiting a friend of mine and while she was making me some tea, I was going through her books and I just came across these books. I didn’t understand how someone could be having a conversation with God. Was he actually having talks with God or did he make it all up? I didn’t know the answer but I liked what I was reading and ended up getting stuck into these books. At the same time, I was allowing myself to ask all these questions as well. So that was one of the main influences for me. There is also a musical called Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, which is something that I saw when I was four years old. It really inspired my entire musical journey through my life and even now it still resonates with me with the songs and performances. It is a musical, so the story is told with song and there is this sort of call and answer between them. I think my approach to song writing is very similar. I have these conversations within these songs, I ask questions and answer them through the music.”

Yeah, yeah, we all know Conversations with God is full of new age nonsense, but hey, I remember seeing a priest on EWTN who said he first came to Christianity by reading a Chick tract. Everybody has to start somewhere. And Irglova is getting starting, as evidenced by songs such as Without A Map. Just take a listen to some of the lyrics…

Well come on then, God, show me,
Which way you would like me to go, and
I won’t resume to question,
How I was ever supposed to know.
There have been signs along the way, but
They’ve been so very obscure.
At times I thought I knew their meaning, but
How could I’ve ever been sure?

God, I was sent here deaf to learn to hear,
To have faith in you and never fear.
Life is an ocean, you its every wave,
Your arms would cradle me, and keep me safe.
You’re right, all this, and more I need to learn,
All this unease just makes my stomach churn.
It was I not you who set this trap, but
You did leave me here without a map.
All this time I’ve had to guess the way,
To keep moving when I wished to stay.
I’ve been right as much as I’ve been wrong, so
All I hear from you is: ‘You are strong enough,
For all you’ll ever have to face,
The only map you need is Love,
To guide you through this illusion of a maze.’

Sure, you can hear the new age influences seeping through some of the lines, but overall, it’s a song sung by someone who is seeking the truth, and you know what the Bible has to say about people who do that. Besides, it’s hard not to look kindly on a tune that finishes with a full recitation of the Our Father. And the entire album is like this, so if the style of the music catches your fancy, the whole thing is worth a listen.