It’s just a simple little round song. Picture this: a group of a few dozen teenagers, perhaps standing around a smoky bonfire, out in a field at a campsite. A few adults act as mentors, and this was what they chose to sing – “Someday”. Did the words come out of nowhere? The answer seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Perhaps three sub-themes constituted what one or more the adults talked about that night, thus helping to drive what they decided to sing in three verses. When or how the first group decided to sing “Someday” is lost in space, at least until everyone reassembles in the time and place about which they were all thinking when they premiered this little tune. Do you call it heaven, or maybe eternity (see one conception of this place in the picture)? How about paradise, or rapture? What about dreamland, where all of one’s fondest wishes come true, as suggested in a well-known Iowa-based baseball movie? You may not be able to put your finger on this someday with mathematical certainty, but does that mean it’s not going to arrive? It’s a question each person must answer.
Was ‘Someday’ in fact at first a campfire song? The answer is ‘could have been’, but does it matter? Lots of songs might have been sung in such a setting, but three ways to coax listeners to walk toward God could be derived from just the 15 words in this jingle. ‘Someday’ could sound rather indefinite, and therefore not too convincing as a way to give a group of people inspiration. Yet, consider a group of early 19th Century American slaves, whose terrestrial outlook did not allow them much room for glad tidings, at least on this side of eternity. For them, ‘someday’ could have helped gird their inner strength, and tell themselves that there ultimately would be judgement and salvation dispensed by a righteous God. And, though the words of verse 2 might have rung a bit hollow here on earth, they could believe that ‘peace’, ‘joy’, and ‘happiness’ would by necessity make ‘no more sorrow’ a reality in the never-ending day. How many times could they have read about those three words – at least, those who had learned to read a bible, and were permitted to tell others? They could have heard these words repeated hundreds of times, perhaps none more hopeful and encouraging than when He’s called the ‘God of peace’ (Hebrews 13:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Philippians 4:9; Romans 16:20). How great is it to hear about ‘joy’ like what Jesus promised (such as in John 16:21-22)? Or, how about ‘happiness’ like that which the Master will reward us (Matthew 25:21-23)? With those first two verses in mind, it’s easier to convince hearers with verse three that they ‘gotta be ready when He calls my name’. Could a campfire teacher have emphasized this theme with words by Jesus himself, once again, this time as He was instructing followers about the importance of watchfulness? Four times in one such teaching (Luke 12: 35-48), Jesus uses the word ‘ready’, because no one can predict when He will come. The wise person who wants what is promised in verse 2 will internalize the need to practice verse 3, and wait expectantly for verse 1’s reality to come true.
Put to music what you want your hearers to live out. One could deduce that the first time, and many times thereafter, that ‘Someday’ was sung, this was the objective. What I vocalize can be just pretty sounds. If that’s all they are, perhaps one prophet needs to reappear – Amos (5:23). He said that God called that stuff ‘noise’. Someday…what do you want the one day that will never end to feel like? Do you believe it will sound insincere and empty there? ‘Someday’ wants me to begin practicing like I think that day’s already here. It’ll be full-blown, impossible-to-ignore reality. Gotta get ready.
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