Tupac's Hail Mary Didn't Rock The Church When It Accidentally Made It Into A Sri Lankan Christmas Carol Programme

Well, that was awkward.
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Tupac Shakur
Mike Segar / Reuters

Churchgoers in Sri Lanka were left gobsmacked when they were given lyrics to Tupac Shakur's hit song Hail Mary instead of the traditional prayer that's usually sung over the festive season.

The mix up dominated social media on Christmas Day when pictures of the lyrics were shared from the programme of Joy to the World 2016. The Guardian reports that the pictures came from one of Sri Lanka's largest carol services.

Hip Hop and music lovers will know that Tupac's song has nothing to do with Christmas and certain words in the song are not to be said in the House of the Lord.

"Makaveli in this, Killuminati, all through your body That blows like a 12-gauge shotty, feel me," starts Tupac's version, which contains language unlikely to be used by a church choir.

The traditional hymn is rather different.

The Guardian reported that the pictures were taken by Andrew Choksy, a Colombo man who attended the service. "A lot of people around us were in shock as to whether it was a joke, or if someone would actually rap the song," he said.

"A few of the older ladies in front of us could not stop looking at the printed booklet." He said he sent the pictures of the programme to friends, from where they spread and eventually found their way online.

"No explanation was given [by organisers] at all," he said. "They didn't acknowledge it at the venue. To be honest, I don't think many people saw the booklet at all. The people that realised were shocked at first but then took it in good humour around me," he said.

"To be honest, I was bursting inside."

CNN reported that the Archdiocese of Colombo, which organised the event, quickly took the hymn sheets back with apologies.

Father Da Silva, from the archdiocese, told CNN that a "young boy" had simply downloaded the wrong version of the song.