# 51-The Shouting Song

No Pentecostal worship service would be complete without the “shout down” song. A shout down service (future post) doesn’t occur every time a shout down song is performed, but one would argue that the performance of such songs is the Pentecostal equivalent of the opening of the corral gate at the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

Never mind that the lyrical and musical content of these songs is exactly the same every time. They usually start with a catchy intro of some strategically placed low notes and a heavy bass drum, a “walk up” followed by a very high energy verse about victory, freedom, battle or some other form of liberation.

Clint Brown mastered this art and won our hearts in the late nineties and early two thousands by placing a song following this protocol on every CD he put out.



But there is an entire sub genre of “shout down” songs within Pentecost: the Pentecostal Pride shout down songs. The genre has been on the decline since 2000 and saw it's hey day in the mid nineties.

When we sang "Born Again" or "Power, Filled With The Spirit" we were not only singing to God but we were singing about us!

If you think we get zealous when talking about "truth" you should us when we sing about it!

Most recently the CLC released a song entitled "I'm a Pentecostal" (see below) that has brought a resurrection of this genre of music, and boy has it caught on fire!

Choirs who lacked the musical tenacity to perform the songs usually accompanied them with their sign choir, which produced the same results.