Music - Passera', passera' ..

[temporal1]

These are experts: music brings me to tears.
In church, when we had choirs, i would often have to fight tears, for the music, but, also, for words in various sermons.

When our children were young, we visited, then joined a church whose pastor had a terminal illness.
When he preached, he “wasted no time” getting to the heart of Jesus’ message. i sensed his heart for Jesus in our first tentative visit, before i knew about his diagnosis, he did not mention it in his sermons. We soon learned about his illness, and the hundreds+hundreds of prayers dedicated to him, his wife, their 5 grown children. Prayers were answered, he was with us for a number of years longer than doctors warned, an unwavering, gentle, but fervently passionate pastor for Jesus. i miss those years and times and the people we encountered there.

There is nothing like a terminal diagnosis to reveal our hearts and passions.

(correction: inverno = winter)



This pastor taught me about the importance of passions in our earthly lives. God allows us exquisite passions wherein we glimpse His magnificence. Even glimpses of His Greatness are “too much” for our meager human souls to grasp.

John 16:12
https://biblehub.com/john/16-12.htm

11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.

12 I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.

13However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.
For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come.…

when we see enough to be humbled, then we have seen.

[temporal1]

Another performance. Each one unique.



Somehow, this one reminded me of what an odd little teen i was. i’d much forgotten.
i remembered my father’s bleak illness. poverty. going to work at 14, while carrying more than a full load in high school.
love of learning. drive to earn a little income.

being drawn to opera and classical music. in my home where those were 100% foreign. my family watched HeeHaw, westerns, soap operas. b+w tv. i watched almost nothing. i was too busy, for one thing! my humble room became a foreign haven of expression of simple beauty in the middle of poverty and chaos. i had a record player for my odd music, which i didn’t understand but loved. i embraced Shakespeare when introduced. i wasn’t good at any of these things. i enjoyed them. they piqued my imagination, took me to new worlds.

i bought little bunches of daisies for myself, a small self-indulgence that elevated my circumstances. again, something not done in my world. white daisies were my fav for years, fitting for a young girl, and they lasted a long while, so, not terribly wasteful. some don’t like cut flowers, i do. they remind me of the fleeting nature of life. i enjoy plants, gardens, gardening. including cut flowers.

one of my grandmothers loved roses. i loved her! but i remember thinking the roses were heavy+garish. they were just too much for me at that age. i never told her or anyone. in time i learned to love roses, too. esp fragrant roses. roses without fragrance are sad.

i carried a dictionary with me, as teachers recommended! but i don’t think anyone did. we had so many books to carry, no backpacks then. we walked long distances to school, lugging books. backpacks would have helped! they were not yet a thing in the U.S.
i wish children+teens would walk distances back+forth to school again. it’s so much healthier, for bodies+brains.

i’d forgotten what an odd little duck i was. my teachers wanted me to go to college so badly. i loved learning, could never take all the courses offered. i could not see any way to pay for college. my father’s illness impressed me with the importance of work and paying bills. i don’t see anything wrong with choosing work. neither path is wrong. student loans, grants, etc., were still very new, i couldn’t wrap my head around the math.

i’d borrowed money to buy a typewriter, about $100. earning $.90/hour, maybe less, it took a long while to pay the loan.
that taught me about debt! easy to borrow, hard to repay. so, school loans terrified me.

funny to think back on those times. i’d not thought about any of that in a long while.
funny how you can look back at your young self almost in a third-party way. with understanding and kindness.

i was, for sure, an odd little duck. painfully shy. full of life inside. hard working. hopeful. full of secret dreams.

now i have a grdaughter that plays Vivaldi on the cello.
she is an odd little duck in her world. far more talented+able than i. but, still. she has that odd little duck in her .. that thing .. that tells her it’s not easy, but it’s ok to be different. it’s a saving grace.

what a life.

[temporal1]

i had 2 different unexpected and specially touching moments with this “simple” “everyday” “children’s” hymn.

The first, we were with our young children, gathering to be seated in church, the young music director was playing the piano, as she often did before services began. She was an accomplished pianist, gifted in music, loved by children and all.

As we settled in, i was startled to realize, she was playing “the most beautiful” arrangement of “Jesus Loves Me,” beyond anything i’d ever imagined. Similar in ways to this youtube version. ^^^ Decades later, i remember that moment.

The second, years later, children grown+gone, we were at a funeral service for a dear friend who died suddenly. Well, suddenly to almost everyone. He had been battling cancer privately. We saw him frequently, he was a social person, involved in the community. He hid his pain well. We had no time to say good bye.

In the service, a mutual friend read something he’d written. It was a continuation of the lyrics to “Jesus Loves Me,” from the perspective of an aging man. It was read like a poem, not sung. It was amazing. like a beautiful epilogue to a beloved book.

As i sat and listened, i thought, if i could, i’d like to have his lyrics copyrighted in his name, esp for his family. He’d never married, had no children, but he had a niece he loved and some other family. i never attempted. not yet.

The mutual friend who read the piece has passed, i think his wife survives. Maybe she has it.
i would like to have a copy to read. i would like to know the lyrics are copyrighted and can be shared.
i’m sure others would appreciate them, too.

Anyway. It’s an example of how something so ordinary ~ isn’t always.

[ohio jones]

In the service, a mutual friend read something he’d written. It was a continuation of the lyrics to “Jesus Loves Me,” from the perspective of an aging man. It was read like a poem, not sung. It was amazing. like a beautiful epilogue to a beloved book.

Perhaps it was similar to this:



The solo part here is sung by Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley.

[temporal1]

In the service, a mutual friend read something he’d written. It was a continuation of the lyrics to “Jesus Loves Me,” from the perspective of an aging man. It was read like a poem, not sung. It was amazing. like a beautiful epilogue to a beloved book.

Perhaps it was similar to this:
[media]https://youtube.
The solo part here is sung by Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley.

Thank you. In theme, yes, but i can’t remember clearly.
It was read as a poem, no instruments, so it sounded differently. i’ve wondered if anyone had written anything similar ..
Now i’m wondering if he’d written down these lyrics, and we were mistaken he wrote them?! It could be.

i’d really like to get a copy, now to compare. He would be so amused. i promise you. his dry sense of humor.
He enjoyed church, and sometimes talked about how he would have liked to have been a pastor. He gave of himself, not for glory.
A mystery. i wonder if i’ll ever know?

[temporal1]

Tears in Heaven / The Gat Brothers / 2 Rabbis in Jerusalem
It begins at about 1.3 min mark.

Tears In Heaven / Song by Eric Clapton

Would you know my name?
If I saw you in heaven
Would it be the same?
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong
And carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Would you hold my hand?
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me stand?
If I saw you in heaven
I'll find my way
Through night and day
'Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven

Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knees
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please

Beyond the door
There's peace, I'm sure
And I know there'll be no more
Tears in heaven

Would you know my name?
If I saw you in heaven
Would you be the same?
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong
And carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Will Jennings / Eric Clapton

(i believe) this touching song was written by Eric Clapton sometime after the tragic accidental death of his toddler son.

i just heard The Gat Brothers for the first time today. what a surprise they are! quite a repertoire!

oj,
i believe you’ve visited Jerusalem? have you seen them? do you know of them?
new to me.

[temporal1]

Don Quixote / Gordon Lightfoot

Don Quixote / Song by Gordon Lightfoot

Through the woodland, through the valley
Comes a horseman wild and free
Tilting at the windmills passing
Who can the brave young horseman be
He is wild but he is mellow
He is strong but he is weak
He is cruel but he is gentle
He is wise but he is meek

Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a battered book into his hand
Standing like a prophet bold
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Till he can shout no more

I have come o'er moor and mountain
Like the hawk upon the wing
I was once a shining knight
Who was the guardian of a king
I have searched the whole world over
Looking for a place to sleep
I have seen the strong survive
And I have seen the lean grown weak

See the children of the earth
Who wake to find the table bare
See the gentry in the country
Riding off to take the air

Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a rusty sword into his hand
Then striking up a knightly pose
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Till he can shout no more

See the jailor with his key
Who locks away all trace of sin
See the judge upon the bench
Who tries the case as best he can
See the wise and wicked ones
Who feed upon life's sacred fire
See the soldier with his gun
Who must be dead to be admired

See the man who tips the needle
See the man who buys and sells
See the man who puts the collar
On the ones who dare not tell
See the drunkard in the tavern
Stemming gold to make ends meet
See the youth in ghetto black
Condemned to life upon the street

Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a tarnished cross into his hand
Then standing like a preacher now
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Then in a blaze of tangled hooves
He gallops off across the dusty plain
In vain to search again
Where no one will hear

Through the woodland, through the valley
Comes a horseman wild and free
Tilting at the windmills passing
Who can the brave young horseman be
He is wild but he is mellow
He is strong but he is weak
He is cruel but he is gentle
He is wise but he is meek

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Gordon Lightfoot

His lyrics impress, they reflect a good basic level of education, of history and humanity.
i first noticed in his “Canadian Railroad Trilogy.” History. Language. It doesn’t come from nowhere.

In addition to being a solid, gifted, educated musician. He worked to educate himself musically. He was gifted, and he applied himself. Some admired his work ethic. Born in 1938, i think he’s living, with emphysema. Very difficult.

i presumed “Lightfoot” to be Native American, i read, it’s a common name in England, he says he’s all Scottish descent.

As is common with musicians, he was a sinner, i hope redeemed. He was not without conscience.

[ohio jones]

Born in 1938, i think he’s living, with emphysema. Very difficult.

Not just alive, but he was in your neighborhood recently (though he didn't perform either of the referenced pieces).

2022 Tour Schedule

[temporal1]

Born in 1938, i think he’s living, with emphysema. Very difficult.

Not just alive, but he was in your neighborhood recently (though he didn't perform either of the referenced pieces).
2022 Tour Schedule

serves me right for ignoring news. i wonder if it sold out?
i haven’t been a particular fan, but i just viewed a sort of biography of his life, it was interesting. not very recent, so i had no idea what he was doing. (again, i don’t follow any.)

possibly the only music concert i attended was Roberta Flack/Bill Withers, April 1976, Santa Barbara outdoor arena. “Killing me softly” it was a very nice event. quite a lot of smoke in the air. it was sunny, warm, dry. i can almost remember who opened, but not quite.

Phoebe Snow was amazing at that time, i don’t think i saw her. so much talent. “Poetry Man”

Gladys Knight was a bit earlier, i think, but still popular, esp with “Midnight Train to Georgia” (which resonated, we were in CA).
i worked with a sweet young woman, she+her pastor husband had just arrived from Georgia. He fell right into a deep ditch, they ran back to Georgia lickety-split, i hoped their marriage survived back home with families to support. they were both so sweet.

i’ve never cared for crowds, so, i shied away from concerts. they became so expensive, too.

[temporal1]

i don’t recall this song or movie from 1974.
Roberta Flack has such a sweet voice, she expresses the lyrics beautifully.

Freedom - Huckleberry Finn (1974)