187. Rock Goes The Gospel - Rod Stewart "Maggie May"

"Maggie May" expresses the ambivalence and contradictory emotions of a young man involved in a relationship with an older woman, and was written from Stewart's own experience. In the January, 2007 issue of Q magazine, Stewart recalled: "Maggie May was more or less a true story, about the first woman I had a relationship with, at the 1961 Beaulieu Jazz Festival." The song was recorded in just two takes in one session. Drummer Micky Waller often arrived at recording sessions with the expectation that a drum kit would be provided and, for "Maggie May", it was - except that no cymbals could be found. The cymbal crashes had to be overdubbed separately some days later. It was initially released as the B-side of the single "Reason to Believe," but DJs in the United States (reportedly in Cleveland, Ohio and at WMEX in Boston) became fonder of the B-side and the song was reclassified, with "Maggie May" becoming the A-side. However, the single continued to be pressed with "Maggie May" as the B-side. The song was Stewart's first substantial hit as a solo performer and launched his solo career. It remains one of his best-known songs. A live performance of the song on Top of the Pops saw The Faces joined onstage by DJ John Peel, who pretended to play the mandolin (the mandolin player on the recording was Ray Jackson of Lindisfarne).

Oddly, in the days of Top-40 Hit Radio, when songs were released for airplay and to the public on 45RPM singles, "Maggie May" was not edited in any way or fashion. The full 5:15 version was pressed to single, even though its multiple refrains and 5-bar mandolin solo could have been easily taken to edit. Perhaps it was because "Maggie May" was initially only meant to be a B-side single, and many B-sides are left intact without editing. Most versions of "Maggie May" (especially on some Rod Stewart compilations) incorporate a 30-second solo guitar intro, "Henry", composed by Martin Quittenton. The original recording has appeared on almost all Rod Stewart compilations, and even appeared on the Ronnie Wood retrospective, Ronnie Wood Anthology: The Essential Crossexion, complete with "Henry" intro. A version by The Faces recorded for BBC Radio appeared on the four-disc box set Five Guys Walk Into A Bar.... A live version recorded in 1993 by Stewart joined by Wood for a session of MTV Unplugged is included on the album Unplugged...and Seated.  In October 1971, the song went to number one in the UK Singles Chart (for five weeks), and simultaneously topped the charts in the United States. Every Picture Tells a Story achieved the same status at the same time, a feat achieved by only a handful of performers, most notably The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 record for 1971. The song also topped the charts in Australia for four weeks at the same time.  The song re-entered the UK charts in December 1976, but only reached number 31.

Wake up maggie I think I got something to say to you
Its late september and I really should be back at school
I know I keep you amused but I feel Im being used
Oh maggie I couldnt have tried any more
You lured me away from home just to save you from being alone
You stole my heart and thats what really hurt

The morning sun when its in your face really shows your age
But that dont worry me none in my eyes youre everything
I laughed at all of your jokes my love you didnt need to coax
Oh, maggie I couldnt have tried any more
You lured me away from home, just to save you from being alone
You stole my soul and thats a pain I can do without

All I needed was a friend to lend a guiding hand
But you turned into a lover and
Mother what a lover, you wore me out
All you did was wreck my bed
And in the morning kick me in the head
Oh maggie I couldnt have tried anymore
You lured me away from home cause you didnt want to be alone
You stole my heart I couldnt leave you if I tried

I suppose I could collect my books and get on back to school
Or steal my daddys cue and make a living out of playing pool
Or find myself a rock and roll band that needs a helpin hand
Oh maggie I wish Id never seen your face
You made a first-class fool out of me
But Im as blind as a fool can be
You stole my heart but I love you anyway

Maggie I wish Id never seen your face
Ill get on back home one of these days

Maggie May is essentially a song about the power of seduction... the seduction of a younger boy by and older woman, being lured into a relationship and now there is tension between "it's time to call it a day" and not leaving at all. The song has these thoughts and emotions contained within it and this is what makes it a great song. The Scripture passages in this mornings devotions contain wisdom about feelings, emotions, lusts and seduction and are part of our walk and responsibility before God. The passage below is an example of the many passages that we will be looking at this morning that contains valuable teaching about keeping ourselves in check.

Lusts are unlawful desires. Lust is wanting that which you have no right to. Jesus explained in Matthew 5:27-28, that lusting after a woman is the same as actually committing adultery with her. As far as God is concerned, there is no difference between wanting to violate his heart for us and actually doing so. You see – your heart directs your actions. Solomon said you behave in the same manner as you think in your heart (Proverbs 23:7). It is the thoughts of the heart that defile us because they lead to ungodly action (Mark 7:18-23). The direction of our lives depends on where we look (Matthew 6:22-23). You may be looking to get as close to sin as you possibly can get without committing the sin. However, it is like trying to walk on a fence between two gardens. You probably can walk on it for a little way, but you will eventually slip into one.

In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul gives a list of the works of the flesh that will keep us from living God's best for us. Among these works is the word lasciviousness or licentiousness, depending on the translation of your Bible. Lasciviousness means being wanton, lewd, or lustful. William Barclay described it as “a love of sin so reckless and so audacious that a man has ceased to care what God or man thinks of his actions.” Lusts are wrong because you stop trying to please God.  As Christians, we must remove lustful feelings from our lives. Paul warned Timothy in II Timothy 2:22, to flee youthful lusts. Youth is a time when lusts strike the strongest and you have the least experience dealing with them. The hormones flowing through your body cause your emotions to fluctuate between extremes. You have new functions that you are just beginning to learn how to deal with. There are new desires that you are now aware of, but you are still learning how to deal with them. These add up to potential danger for the unwary Christian. This what Paul is driving home to Timothy,  Instead of giving in to these desires, we must learn how to keep a tight reign on them. Peter tells us to abstain from fleshly lusts (I Peter 2:11). The main source of your desires for sex is from your own body. However, Satan will use a variety of tactics to try to get you to sin. John tells us, in I John 2:15-16, that Satan’s devices come in three categories: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Advertising agencies are aware of these devices. They use these devices to “tempt” you into buying their products. Satan also uses these devices to tempt you into violating God’s heart for you. These youthful lusts are not just for those who are young, youthful lusts are in all of us no matter our age.

Lusts of the flesh are those things that start out as normal desires of your body and then get out of hand. Everyone has the desire to eat, to drink, and to have sex. We can often find ourselves placed in situations where those desires pull you to violating God’s heart. For example, when Satan tempted Christ to prove he was the son of God, he asked Jesus to turn stones into bread (Matthew 4:1-4). At that time, Jesus was hungry. He had not eaten for 40 days. Proving who he was and getting food must have been very tempting, but Jesus did not give in.  Lusts of the eyes are those things that look good and cause you to want them when you should not. Everyone admires a beautiful car, but it is wrong to want to take the car for yourself or to be envious of the lucky owner of the car. Some women are very beautiful, but don’t let yourself be tempt you into wanting to have that man/woman for your own use.  Pride of life is the desire to be admired by others. When you want fame or fortune so badly that you would do just about anything to obtain it, we open ourselves up as an easy target. Admiration is nice, but don’t make it a goal in your life. Some people spend long hours in the gym building up their muscles so that they can be attractive to the opposite sex.. Many will wear form-fitting clothes or clothes that expose large portions of their skin in hopes of gaining the admiration of others. While it is not wrong to look nice, you should not center your life around such objectives.

"Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." James 1:13-15 

Everyone has desires of the body; everyone enjoys beautiful things; everyone likes admiration, but these thing and our desires may lead us into sin. We may be placed place in situations where the desirable thing to do would be to violate some portion of God’s heart for us. If you give in to such desires even a single time, it becomes easier for you to do it repeatedly. Soon you are hooked and you don’t care what others think; you don’t care what God thinks. Don’t take the first step. God promises us a way out of every temptation (I Corinthians 10:13). The way out may not be as desirable at the moment, but it is there. Consider what happened to Joseph.

"Now it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything form me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside". Genesis 39:7-12

The phrase “Lie with me” is a way of saying “Have sex with me.” Joseph found himself alone in a house with Potiphar’s wife. She made it clear that she wanted to have sex with him in bed and she was not going to take “no” for an answer. What would you do if you were in Joseph’s place? It would be easy to give her what she wanted; it would even be fun. No one would know a thing about what happened. Besides, things could turn miserable for you if you did not give in. On top of it all, she is already starting to take your clothes off. What would you do? Joseph turned and ran from the temptation. True, he had to leave his clothes behind and flee in what today would be called his undershorts, but he managed not to give in to Satan’s trap.

Solomon tells us not to consent to sin (Proverbs. 1:10). That is what Joseph did and that is what each of us must do. It won’t be easy, but we do have one advantage: God is on our side. Paul said, in Philippians 4:13, that he could do all things with Jesus’ help and so can you. Ask God for help to avoid the snares of temptation (Matthew 6:13). When we can’t avoid these traps, pray to God for strength and guidance (Hebrews 4:15-16). God is not unaware of your situation. Because of Jesus, he knows what you are going through. Ask God for help.  It is important for us to keep ourselves pure and unblemished in our walk with God.

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and That the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are". I Corinthians 3:16-17

Under the old law, God’s presence was associated with the tabernacle and the temple. However, under Christ’s law, God dwells in the hearts of each Christian. Since God will have nothing to do with sin, we cannot expect God to remain in our hearts when we break his laws. Therefore, as Christians, our goal is to have nothing to do with immorality, impurity, lust, or evil desires (Colossians 3:1-5).

Before we finish this morning devotion Devotion, I would like you to be aware of one additional thing. Just because God has promised you a way out of every temptation, do not get the idea that you don’t have to worry about avoiding tempting situations. Solomon asks the question in Proverbs 6:25-28, “Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” If you are not near a fire, it is unlikely that you will be burnt. If you are not being tempted, you are less likely to sin. Why make Satan’s job easy? Many men and women read and watch porn – which is designed to arouse the desires in the reader and to provoke emotions. Many will argue that there is nothing wrong with looking at nakedness. You may think you are not hurting anyone, but in the end you are hurting yourself.  It is not just printed material. How many of the songs that you listen to talk about having sex outside of marriage? How many of the television shows that you watch feature a one night stand between a man and a woman buried in the story line? How often do you think you can listen and watch these things before you start thinking that this is the normal way to live?  Real love is not something that comes from a physical act or from something you have seen or from something you have heard. Real love is built on a relationship between two people that develops over time, real love is different from fleeting lusts, just read 1 Corinthians 13 to find out.