Three songs about sheep...

...spanning more than two and a half centuries, illustrate a sad decline in the (admittedly niche) genre of sheep-related devotional music. Example #1:

• Bach's unutterably lovely Schafe können sicher weiden (that's Sheep may safely graze to you), written in 1713. Gorgeous when transcribed for piano or unaccompanied organ, too.

Next up:

• Handel's All we, like sheep from the Messiah (1740's). Unintentionally hilarious, due to the difficulty of singing that comma, but still pretty damn good.

And finally:

• The contemporary I just want to be a sheep by somebody who ought to be deeply ashamed (Not, in my opinion, Suitable For Work, or anywhere else, for that matter). I'm sure this abomination contravenes The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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