Story Behind the Song: Get Canonized A Saint

In the year 2000, I was on a roll. My first album A Time to Laugh was released, and I wanted to keep up the momentum of writing new parody songs. I decided to focus my attention on individual holiness, and so the concept of “Eternal Life: The Party Album” was born.

One of the ideas I had behind the album was to look upon heaven as a glorious feast, a party. Part of this was due to the influence of a best seller at that time, The Kingdom of God is a Party by Tony Campolo. Granted, it’s a simplification, and there’s a whole lot more there than the title, but the overarching point remained. We look at the formality of a reverent service, and we lose sight that it is a Wedding Feast.

I was also reminded of the movie Harold and Maude. In that cult-classic comedy (which, admittedly, may not to be everyone’s taste), the central protagonist would often go to churches and vandalize the statues, putting happy faces on them. She insisted that they looked too “sad.” If heaven is a place of eternal joy, where is this reflected in the statues of our churches?

So while I was thinking of these concepts, the song “Fly Away” by Lenny Kravitz started making its way through radio stations at that time. The song was very popular, quite ubiquitous. And it occurred to me that there could be a parody written on that song, based on the concept that, instead of leaving the world and getting away from the pain of whatever he was going through, I made the connection that the song could be about leaving the world and getting toward the fullness of what we were all called to be.

From my Free Parody Lyrics resource: It is a fallacy to believe that the great Saints throughout history that are touted about in statues in churches are unattainable. It is God’s desire for us all to become Saints; in fact, it is a tragedy when a person does not attain sainthood. It is what we are all called to be.

Get Canonized A Saint

Parody of “Fly Away”
Written and Performed by Lenny Kravitz

I hope that when I die I’ll be alive in paradise
Redeemed and sanctified
Forget those newspapers
I want a blurb within Butler’s and on the Calendar

I want to get a day / Get canonized a Saint
Yeah, yeah, yeah
The “S” is uppercase when canonized a Saint
Yeah, yeah, yeah

You know I once believed
They came only from nuns and priests
But had no room for me.
Since then I’ve changed my mind
Our God’s inclined to save mankind
I only want what’s mine

I want to get a day / Get canonized a Saint
Yeah, yeah, yeah
He’ll give me what it takes to get canonized a Saint
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(I want to get a day)
(I’ve got to want to pray)

When I get judgment grades I want to get all “A”s
And when I end this race I want to get first place. Yeah!
He will give me what it takes to get canonized a Saint
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

I want to see His face, I want amazin’ grace
Then I will sing His praise without an end of days, Yeah!
I won’t live this life in waste… get canonized a Saint
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Buy Eternal Life: The Party Album

Super thanks to Ron Zabrocki, who produced this.