Cleverly Devised Myths

Cleverly Devised Myths.  Edelweiss isn’t an Austrian folk song. Take a few moments to register the shock of that revelation. When asked, locals in the village of Millstat, close to Salzburg, Austria, had never heard this folk song about the mountain flower, edelweiss, except as piped in via American film, The Sound of Music (1965), with their addition of an appropriate eyeroll. 

When Ronald Reagan quoted the movie’s lyrics back to Austrian President, Rudolf Kirchschlaeger, at a State Dinner speech (March 1, 1984), the Austrian press excoriated the song as “kitsch” and “sticky-sweet,” a sell-out by Austrian leaders for cooperating with ignorance. “If the world doesn't want to take us any other way, we just have to sell ourselves under a thick layer of icing” (Ruth Gruber, “Austrians Rankled at Reagan,” March 2, 1984, UPI).

Edelweiss, edelweiss / Every morning you greet me

Small and white, clean and bright / You look happy to meet me

Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow / Bloom and grow forever

Edelweiss, edelweiss / Bless my homeland forever

The film took liberties with the story, but the Trapp family exists, as does the Austrian state flower, edelweiss. Rodgers and Hammerstein commissioned the song, which was skillfully written by Bill Lee and Charmaine Carr, for their Broadway show (1959) and its film release.

“It is a love song,” said Baron Georg von Trapp of Edelweiss in the film (played by Christopher Plummer, though the singing was dubbed over with the voice of composer Bill Lee). Its lyrics were doubly meaningful, presenting a subtle protest. He sang of his homeland, like a mountain flower which had been mercilessly plucked by the Nazis, while pretending to be happy about it. Austria, however, will bloom again. The film was adapted from the memoirs of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (1949). In life, the von Trapp family emigrated from Austria to America, settling in Stowe, Vermont.

Now, take a few moments to prepare for the shock of this next revelation. The gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t like Edelweiss. Skillful artisans in the school of the apostles did not apply a backstory to make their narrative believable, even beautiful. Edelweiss, the fake folk song, might have sounded believable about Austria to Hollywood, but the Austrians knew better. The perennial accusation against the church is that the disciples fabricated a backstory to make their narrative believable, even beautiful. Critics might allow for the Jesus character but not the biblical Christ. However, the death and resurrection of Christ truly is a love song for the church. Its composer is God. It might sound kitsch and sticky-sweet to natural ears, but whoever has ears of faith knows better. “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16).