Refrain:

With a hammer, a nail, an inkwell, and an extra piece of parchment,

He turned the world upon its head in the biblical department.
He didn't ask council or a pope for their permission.
He acted on authority of Jesus' Great Commission.


Verse 1:


Nine years before Columbus sailed the ocean blue
And by mistake discovered the Bahamas
In Germany, a bouncing baby boy

Made Margarette Luther a mama.

They named for a saint named Martin

So Martin Luther became his name
From these humble beginnings, he grew into a man
And Christendom would never be the same.


His father, Hans, thought he should be a lawyer
So Martin went to study law at Erfurt

But one stormy night, young Luther made a vow
And became an Augustinian convert.


Augustine, he was not a saint from Florida
Hippo was the place this bishop sat
And his monks loved music, charity, and learning

So this is where young Luther hung his hat.

So now Martin Luther's a monk

And he sleeps in his cell
But he's still scared of hell
In the daytime he chants and he prays

But at night he's tormented
By sins he's repented of...
...not understanding God's love...


Verse 2:


They thought what Martin needs is a pilgrimage
A way to acquire some shalom
So he put on his flip-flops and headed south

And hoped to find forgiveness in Rome.

This turned out to be a bad idea

Rome was not at all what he had thought
He paid his fees, climbed the stairs on his knees
But penitence cannot be sold or bought.


So now Luther is more depressed than normal
Like a slave who will not be released

So oddly enough they send him to Wittenberg
To study there and be the parish priest.


In school he gets to read the Scriptures
The Gospels, epistles, and more
And he learns that God saves man by justifying sinners

"Simul justus et pecator".

So now Martin Luther's a pastor

But the sheep have not heard
the good news from God's Word
And the Mass is still said in Latin

But when time for the sermon
He speaks in the German tongue...
...And writes new hymns to be sung.


Verse 3:


The Pope decided to build a new cathedral
The old one was not big enough
To hold all the pieces of the original cross

The bones of saints and relics and stuff.

But this basilica was gonna take some funding

And the penance market was in recession
So the Pope and his Reds put together their heads
To find a new way to charge for confession

Their solution was a man named Tetzel,

Who received a rewarding, new vocation
They sent him to the folk of Germany
To tell them he could sell them their salvation.

An indulgence could not save you from hell.

No, Tetzel sold a different story, He said,
"As soon as what you offer hits the bottom of the coffer,
A soul gets out of Purgatory."

So now Martin Luther gets word

Of God's people misled
'Bout the status of the dead
And he cannot stand idly by
While the people are taught
That forgiveness can be bought with gold...

...He knows the truth must be told.

Verse 4:

So he sits down and writes up a little list
Of ninety-five points of consternation

And on the door of the castle church of Wittenburg
He posted them for further conversation

The copy Luther posted was in Latin
For discussion midst the college faculty
But some students made a German translation
And gave it to their friends and family


Refrain:
And with a hammer, a nail, an inkwell, and an extra piece of parchment,
He turned the world upon its head in the biblical department
He didn't ask council or a pope for their permission
He acted on authority of Jesus' Great Commission





Now this was not a time of religious toleration
An inquisitor could turn you into toast
And this notoriety that Luther'd acquired
Put him in more danger than most.


So they opened up a new inquisition
With Martin Luther's name at the top
And they told him that he must recant
That this German reformation has to stop.

So now Martin Luther's an outlaw

Cuz he will not recant
To Cardinal Cajetan
At a council they hold in Augsburg
And at Worms they reprimand
But he says that I will stand right here...
...On the Word of God which is clear.


Verse 5:

Well there are several more chapters to this tale
And many more lyrics left to write
But the songs getting long and the melody old
So this will have to suffice for tonight.

You may be thinking some of this is just fiction
Mixed with the fact of the German Reformation
But undeniable is that Martin Luther changed
The course of Western Civilization.

Refrain:
With a hammer, a nail, an inkwell, and an extra piece of parchment,
He turned the world upon its head in the biblical department.
He didn't ask council or a pope for their permission.
He acted on authority of Jesus' Great Commission.