Mr.. Peterson, Eugene [um] my name is Bono. I'm singer with the group U2 and wanted a sort of video message you my thanks and our thanks, from the band, for this remarkable work, you've done. There's been some great translations some very literary translations, but no translation that I've read that Speaks to me in my own language, so I want to thank you for that. Take a rest now, won't you. Bye. I had never heard a Bono before and then one of my students um showed up in class with a Copy of [the] [Rolling] [Stones] Rolling stones and In it there was an interview with Bono in which he talked about me and the message and [he] uses some you know slangy language about who I was And uh and I said who is bono and they were? Dumbfounded I never heard of Bono But that's not the sort of already traveled it very much, so [that's] how I ever heard about him And and then people started bringing his music, and I listened to his [music] and I thought I like this guy, and I I was starting to After a while, I started with struck being quite pleased he knew be yes, but the rest of the story is when that he invited you to come and Hang with them for a while you turned him down. I was I was pushing a deadline on the message I was finishing up the old testament the time and I really couldn't do [it]. [I] I Am you may be the only person alive who? Would turn down the opportunity just [to] make a deadline okay come on It spits bono for crying out loud Dean he was Isaiah. Yeah The old testament [is] a long long book much longer than the new testament And it did take a long time and a lot of devotion on both of our parts to Have that happen I have to say in the last Year's Eugene's writing has kept me [a] sane as As this has if you call its name, which you probably won't Remove the horses. That's powerful Manual for me and includes a lot of in century ideas, you know I hadn't really [thought] of of Jeremiah as a performance artist [why] do we need art? Why do we need the lyric poetry exams? Why do we know because the [only] way we can approach [God]? is if We're honest through metaphor through symbol so arts becomes essential not decorative I Learned about art I went to bed The profits earned with Jeremiah with that book that really changed and then Several years later this was about four years ago four or five years ago [rana] would like this to come to Dallas to my jan and me to come to [Alison] for a concert. We saw where he went to the concert? He was very um Sensitive dyes. [he] was we were winning, but I'll care for had really good seats and I'd never seen [a] match bit before that was my introduction to the mass bed Is it a pit that's a mosh pit mosh pit Okay How you can see how uneducated I am in this world and we had a it was a three-hour lunch and we just had a lovely conversation [uh] It was just very personal relational. He didn't put me on any kind of [a] penicillin, [I] didn't him so we were very natural with each other, but I was just Through [that] three-hour conversation. [I] was just really Taken by the simplicity of his life. Who he was we is And there was no pretension to him and So I at that point. I just you know felt like he was a companion in the faith [I] see I Think it's one of his one of his best ones, and [he] sings a lot. I mean he does this a lot it's one of the psAlms that reaches into that hurt and disappointment, and difficulty of being a human [being] and acknowledges that in a language that is immediately recognizable you know there's something it reaches into the heart of a person and the Stuff we all feel but many of us don't talk about I waited and waited and waited for God at last He looked finally he listened he lifts me out of the ditch He pulled me from Deep mud He stood me up on the solid rock to make sure that I wouldn't slip He taught me how to sing the latest Godson We're at Eugene and Jan Peterson's home [Bono] is coming here flying here from Vancouver in order to meet be together connect as friends but also have a conversation about the psAlms in order to share this common love for the PSAlm and Bear witness to others of the Beauty and power of the psAlms Cookies are jokes about field Look at this. It's so good to have you here great to see y'all. God bless you God bless you that's for sure. That's where you live Is it quite a spot you know I just realized never been to Montana haven't you really so many gifts already [just] [just] [just] since being here And welcome to the flathead that's what I always like to say to people when they come What is your [earliest] memory of? the PsAlms and what sort of impression Did it have on you both? I was 12 years old and I discovered the psAlms. [I] picked up the bible and I started reading And somebody who told me that the psAlms were important, so I started with the psAlms, and I was totally [confused] um Because I grew up in a culture where every word of the Bible was the word of God literally Don't mess around with it. It's just that's the way it is and I was starting to read On that he keeps my tears in this bottle I shoes on Javelins Rock God is our Rock come on and um After but two or three weeks this sister was just confused and I thought I'm missing something and uh I'd never heard the word metaphor before but I learned what a metaphor was not by knowing the name But by [just] observing what's going on in that psAlms? So I think the psAlms are important because they for some people like me at 12 years old They showed [me] that imagination was was a way to get Inside the truth. [I] remember the sons from the Little church of Ireland church Some the child's going. [I] remember thinking right words shame brother qin's except for The Lord is my shepherd which was great [June] [I] Really like that. This is good words and melodies ah They have this rawness the brutal honesty of whether it's David or not doesn't matter the psalmist is brutally honest [about] the explosive Joy, and That is feeling. I'm the deep Sorrow or confusion and It's that at makes that sets the [sams] apart from me and and I often think gosh Why isn't church music more like that? the Lord's my shepherd I not one he makes me down to Lie in pastures Green he Leadeth me the quiet Waters by that [rights] beautiful he was right oh Boy, this is Magic [wow], he quite. How when did you get the place? When did you get this place? Oh, it's been in the family my father brought the author property Just towards the end of the second world war 1945 46 So then we expanded we doubled the size of this [cuz] we knew it. We'd have a lot of guests when you we'd [have] you foolishly made room for the Irish I got started with a sin Translating the psAlms by translating a song for us distress certain person just a single person [uh-Huh]? To try to get them to realize that Praying wasn't being nice before God. I would translate a song that I thought fits them And you know the songs are not pretty they're not They're [not] nice And um and I would ask them to spray this song Using my translation. I think I'm doing it as about as close to the Hebrew as I can get it And what it's it's not smooth. It's not nice. It's not pretty, but it's it's honest and [I] think we're trying for honesty um Which is very very hard in art in our? culture I'm talking about dishonesty that I find a lot of in the in Christian art a lot of dishonest Yeah, and I in it and I think it's a shame because [II] got these are people who? Venerable to God in a good way in a vulnerable. I'm in [poorest] open. I I would love if if this conversation Would inspire people who are writing these beautiful voices and writing beautiful say gospel songs write a song about their bad marriage write a song about About how they're you know pissed over the government? because that's what God wants from you that truth the way the truth and And that truthfulness know the truth the truth will set you free he'll blow things apart why I I'm suspicious of Christians is because Of this lack of realism and I'd love to see more of that in art and in life and in music The Psalms have an honest Quality to the feeling that is expressed the psAlmist is saying I'm mad about this. I'm happy about that I'm confused about this. I'm despairing about that What is the work of the artists in the making of the work to acknowledge the Intensity the reality of the feeling? Without indulging the feeling self-indulgence what? you know I'm an opera singer and So I Let those feelings go Through me and come out having feelings is perfectly normal and and Let them act Why do I like the sams David? I like David very much? He danced naked in front of the troops. That's one reason. I like him and His missus was not at all happy You know it's it's this Abandonment, [you] know ever you've got to it's got to get it out. It's important and dancing very important and understanding are Our bodies as well as our minds and our spirits and the three-Percent, God the Trinity is reflected in our body mind spirit and We have to ignore. We really do ignore this What do we do with violence violence in our own hearts the sense of wanting to do violence and the violence in the world? That's a hard question we need to find a way to cuss without cussing And the imprecatory song is sure you do that They just lay it out and I Just I think they're really important if we've got to have some Way in context and the context is our bible and the whole salter some way in context to tell people How mad we are today one of Eugene's and translations? 35 punched the nose punch [there's] at 35. It's Fantastic and punched the nose of the bullies God But I love the idea [of] you got a cuss find a way of cussing without crossing and you have to give vent to That I like that that's going to stay with me. Do you have songs? that have given some kind of expression Narrative Poetic to violence to this violence [nS]. Violence in the world yes, and It's [called] raised by Wolves to song I Like try to make it real try to bring people to that place because it must have had an effect on me and I want to understand violence and a bombing that I missed in Dublin myself [and] three car bombs time to go off at 5:30 on Friday night in 1974 any other Time I would have been on the street where the bomb went off because I used to travel through the City Centre I'm going get two buses home from school and but it was [a] bus strike that day, and I [took] a bicycle and I have no problem with the old testament I don't see god as a violent God, but I think the world is a violent place, and it does reflect that and and either is a terrifying thing some to some of the old testament [but] but but it is real and In a way I kind of prefer it to the airy-fairy Stuff where we don't get really don't where we don't get real? Is there a way to read the psAlms through Jesus's eyes that helps us understand? Why? [odds] are non-violence. Well yeah a crucifixion There's violence. There's got to be some kind of response And is it more violence or less? I'm glad we have a Process in every room in this house, but I when I look at those I think I don't think of Decoration I think this is the world we live in and it's a world with a lot of crosses And I just would like to spend my life um doing something about that through [scripture] through preaching through friendship ah [yeah], my you know my ears, or years are getting shorter and I? Don't have nearly as many left, but [I'd] I don't want to escape that escape the violence Be with us as we [continue] our lives of serving you with poetry with the [arts] with song finding ways to Enter into what you're doing already doing Not calculating the chances are blessing. I needed I've been doing what's right there, but you've already started doing He was just a thank you for this day the hours of this day your blessing Lord Lord give us your blessing amen Together alright see you guys bye. Don't run you
Pretty cool stuff, inspirational even. Thank you.