Can I Change the Music and Lyrics in a Worship Song?

Art is a funny thing.

On one hand, it's an ever evolving process where change is essential for progress and development.  On the other, works of art are protected by laws that ensure they are treated with integrity and that the artists are compensated fairly. 
Songs–even those in church—are protected by those same laws; and yet, they changed and adapted for many reasons. 

Let's clear up what you can and cannot do. (Disclaimer: This not legal advice; it's purely based on my own experience and research. Ultimately, you should consult with your licensing provider or a legal professional to help you navigate copyright law.)

Why Change Anything at All?

As a music ministry director, it's my job to put together arrangements of music in worship that support the overall message of the day while staying true to our confessed beliefs and at the same time, presenting them creatively and faithfully. And sometimes, that's a hard combination to balance.

Why is this the case?

The words are too archaic. As language evolves, words are dropped from our modern, working vocabulary, so when we "raise an Ebenezer" in the hymn "Come Thou Fount," many congregants may only infer some sort of vague reference to an offering of some kind. For most of my life, I thought an ebenezer was a cup, but instead, it's actually a stone monument. For some leaders, the gap is too large to bridge, so they might choose, "Here I raise my greatest treasure..." as a replacement. 

The theology is problematic. Whatever your theological persuasion, the songs you sing MUST match it. In most cases, popular worship songs fall well in line, but there are some occasional tunes that have unclear or misleading phrases. Two songs that immediately come to mind are "Reckless Love" and "Above All," recorded by Cory Asbury and Paul Baloche, respectively. In the case of the first tune, the use of hyperbole in characterizing God's love as "reckless" is unhelpful because it sparks confusion and debate instead of leading to instant clarity for ALL persons singing it. The same goes for the phrase, "He took the fall and thought of me, above all," in the latter tune. Did Paul Baloche intend to overemphasize Christ's work for a single person, rather than highlight Him accomplishing an all-encompassing work for every single one of His people? Probably not, but the phrase is still unhelpful. 

The music is too complex, or it's too simple. Sometimes, rapidly changing chord inversions and intricate drum beats are just plainly too much for some musicians to handle. Many music directors encourage simplifying or replacing complex parts with others are more easily performed. On the other hand, some groups want to "spice" things up with re-harmonizations and different stylings.

There's an opportunity for unique artistic expression. This most often comes in the form of medleys, where one song is combined with another (or more) to create a special presentation, all driven to accentuate the overall message of the service. 

There are chances to make the congregation feel more unified. In this case, music directors often change personal pronouns like "I," "me," and "mine," to "we," "us," and "our." I've mostly seen this done on the fly; it's rarely planned out ahead of time and the word changes are fairly flexible. 

What Is Safe and What Is Off-Limits?

Each of these reasons is a valid concern, but not all of them can be accommodated because of copyright laws. Here's a green light/yellow light/red light system to help you clearly know what you're able to do.

🟢 Changing pronouns from singular to plural. This totally allowable in all works, whether they are public domain or still held in copyright, as it's not inherently changing the meaning of the phrases.

🟡 Changing archaic terms to more modern ones. You have to be careful with this. It only works for public domain songs 🟢, not ones still held in copyright 🔴; and you might miss out on a good teaching moment. I tend to favor explaining the unfamiliar term, but if there's an acceptable alternative, then I see no reason to use it if it helps the congregation understand the themes better. 

🟡 Changing lyrics because they're problematic. This one is a big "no" according to copyright law 🔴. I'm largely in favor of this because it protects an artist's work from being essentially transformed and misrepresented. Case in point: Keith Getty and Stuart Townend have repeatedly passed on having their hit "In Christ Alone" included in hymn collections, due to the requested change for the phrase, "...the wrath of God was satisfied..." into, "...the love of God was magnified..." (You can check this out in more detail here.) One solution is to request a lyric change from the copyright holder (such as in David Crowder changing John Mark McMillan's "sloppy wet kiss" to "unforeseen kiss" in "How He Loves). If they approve, then great 🟢; if they decline, then you need to choose a different song. 

🟢 Changing music to more simple or more complex arrangements. Generally, this is acceptable to do; just be sure you maintain the integrity of primary copyrighted melody. Other parts of the recorded or orchestrated arrangement are fine to transform or replace.

🟢 Creating medleys of two or more songs. This also totally fine to do, as long as the copyright information is properly displayed on the print and visual materials. 

Now that you know a little bit more (or maybe, you had a misconception corrected), then go out with a clear direction and create... create... CREATE! 

Be blessed 👊✌️