Oh, Lord: Ken Levine didn’t remove religious lyrics from Bioshock Infinite trailer
The original lyrics of the now non copyrighted version of the song did not use the word “Lord” — indeed the original song was non sectarian. To remain consistent with the steampunk style game world set in 1912, Bioshock uses the original song and verse rather than the countrified Carter / Cash version.
A new trailer for Bioshock Infinite was shown during the 2011 Video Game Awards, featuring in-engine gameplay while a new cover of the religious classic “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” plays over the images. The song is sung by Courtnee Draper, the voice actress who plays Elizabeth, the lead in the game.
A few people online have already picked up on the fact that this version of the popular song does not use the word “Lord” in the chorus. This in turn is leading some to take offense to the religious aspect of the song being taken away, leading to strongly worded notes claiming that song lyrics to such classical and powerful hymns shouldn’t be touched for pop culture. The truth is much simpler: the word “Lord” was never in the song to begin with.
First, let’s take a look at the trailer that was shown during the Video Game Awards.