Freemasons and Music

From About Freemasons

Contemporary References in Music

Masonic culture and references can be seen in many contemporary pieces of music:

Band/Artist: Amsterdam
Song Title: My Father Was A Mason
Genre: Pop
Year:1999

Band/Artist: Blur
Song Title: Mr Robinson's Quango
Genre: Pop
Year: 1995
Reference: In the lyrics, Blur sings: “He got respiratory problems and a mason's ring”

Band/Artist: Boxcar
Song Title: Freemason
Genre: Pop
Year:1988

Band/Artist: The Doug Anthony Allstars
Song Title: Jason and Kylie
Genre: Alternative
Reference: At one point in the songs, the lyrics are: "Let's play freemason. I'll chase you 'round the house while you wear silly aprons."

Band/Artist: House of Pain
Song Title: Life Goes On
Genre: Rap
Year: 1992
“Did you know about the science of creation/About the Masons, about their nation/
Of disarm, this arm, a lega lega or a head/To the thirty-third degree, you know that's me”

Band/Artist: Steve Earle
Song Title: Copperhead Road
Genre: Country
Year: 1987
Reference in lyrics: "Now Daddy ran the whiskey in a big block Dodge/Bought it at an auction at the Mason's Lodge."

Band/Artist: New Bad Things
Song Title: Freemason Love Triangle
Genre: Grunge
Year: 1995

Classical Masonic music

The composer W. R. Chetwood wrote “The Generous Freemason,” the first Masonic opera in 1730. It was first performed in 1731. The opera is mainly about an English lady known as Maria, and a gentleman, Sebastian. Maria and Sebastian are secretly engaged but when she is pressured to marry someone else, Maria and Sebastian run away together. They travel to Spain, where a wealthy relative of Sebastian lives. As he is leaving England, Sebastian laments not only his homeland, but also the Masons he leaves behind:

But yet one pang I feel thro' all my joy,
That from my noble Brethren I must part;
Those men whose lustre spreads from Pole to Pole,
Possessing every virtue of the Soul.
But yet all climes the Brotherhood adorn,
As smiling Phoebus gilds the rosie morn !
Let Love and Friendship then our cares confound,
And halcyon days be one eternal round.

The ship to Spain is captured by the High Admiral of King Amuranth of Tunis, Mirza. The lovers are thrown into prison but are soon released when the king falls in love with Maria and the Queen falls in love with Sebastian. Sebastian appeals to the fact that both he and the king are Masons and therefore brothers to plead for his and Maria’s release. Throughout the opera, many references to Masons and Freemasonry are made.

Chetwood’s opera is not the only opera relating to Masons. In fact, one of the most famous classical composers and one of the most revered musicians of all time was a Mason and wrote many pieces inspired by the tenets of Freemasonry. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart joined the Masons in 1784, when he was 28. Over his life, he wrote many pieces which are considered Masonic. Among these are Masonic Funeral Music, Gesellenreise (A Fellowcraft's Journey), O Heiliges Band, Zerflieszet Heut, Geliebte Bruder, and Ihr Unsre Neuen Leiter. Many of Mozart’s pieces were created for the lodge and were -- and in fact still are -- used in lodges. The Magic Flute, Mozart’s last major opera, has long been considered a Masonic opera, although it does not explicitly refer to Freemasonry they way Chetwood’s work does. Musicians, however, assert that the structure of the opera is heavily influenced by the principles of Freemasonry.