God

The Admission’s Free

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concert-ticket

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. ~ Luke 2:7

Welcome to my Christmas song
I’d like to thank you for the year
So I’m sending you this Christmas card
To say it’s nice to have you here
I’d like to sing about all the things
Your eyes and mind can see
So hop aboard the turntable
Oh step into Christmas with me

Yup, that’s right and we’ve all heard this story a million times. There was no friendly greeter hanging outside the inn on that December night, nobody with a welcoming wave. Just a door slammed tight and nowhere to turn for Mary, Joseph and their new baby boy.

As my pastor, the Reverend Bryant Wright often says; Jesus was welcomed to this earth with a “No Entry” sign and laid to rest in a tomb with a “No Exit” sign. How’s that for a bit of Christmas cheer?

Step into Christmas
Let’s join together
We can watch the snow fall forever and ever
Eat, drink and be merry
Come along with me
Step into Christmas
The admission’s free

There was no offer of food or drink on this first Christmas Day and certainly no free rooms. And though some translations of the verses describing the scene in Bethlehem seemed quite comfy; the soft swaddling clothes and the quaint little manger, the truth was far harsher. More likely, it was a dirty feeding trough and a smelly shed with a dirt floor and holes in the walls big enough for a cat to jump through.

Take care in all you do next year
And keep smiling through the days
If we can help to entertain you
Oh we will find the ways
So merry Christmas one and all
There’s no place I’d rather be
Than asking you if you’d oblige
Stepping into Christmas with me

But the good news is that the gift-giving began soon afterwards and rolls merrily on every year since. The wise men who came following the star were smart enough to come bearing earthly gifts fitting for a King. Little did they know that the real gift was coming to them from the heavenly realm. And this gift was freely given not only to those wise men, but to all mankind smart enough to seek Him.

Step into Christmas
Let’s join together
We can watch the snow fall forever and ever
Eat, drink and be merry
Come along with me
Step into Christmas
The admission’s free
Oh oh oh
La la la la

Elton John, while surely not a highly religious man (check out my earlier post  A Pauper To A Pawn) has demonstrated a strong reverence for God and Jesus nonetheless. Many of his early songs have significant spiritual references – though in fairness we must recognize the lyrical genius of Bernie Taupin in this regard – and at the end of his most successful year to date as a recording artist, he decided to produce a musical Christmas card for his fans.

Welcome to my Christmas song
I’d like to thank you for the year
So I’m sending you this Christmas card
To say it’s nice to have you here
I’d like to sing about all the things
Your eyes and mind can see
So hop aboard the turntable
Oh step into Christmas with me

“Step Into Christmas” was released in late November of 1973, on the heels of his albums, Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player (“Crocodile Rock”, “Daniel” and “Teacher, I Need You”) in January and then the landmark Goodbye Yellow Brick Road in October. And like the proverbial “cherry on top”, it quickly rose to #1 on the Billboard Christmas Singles chart.

Step into Christmas
Let’s join together
We can watch the snow fall forever and ever
Eat, drink and be merry
Come along with me
Step into Christmas
The admission’s free

A few interesting notes about “Step Into Christmas”:

  • It was written and recorded in just a few short hours on a Sunday morning in London’s Trident Studios.
  • The song appeared as a standalone single, on the Elton John’s Christmas Party lp and as a bonus track on the 1995 re-issue of Caribou and two different vocal versions of the song exist.
  • Elton and Bernie were big fans of legendary producer Phil Spector’ girl groups of the early 60’s and his famed “Wall Of Sound” recording technique. “Step Into Christmas” was intentionally produced by Gus Dudgeon – at Elton and Bernie’s request – to imitate that sound. Castanets included!

I’ve always loved the slow and stirring Christmas songs like the Eagles “Please Come Home For Christmas” and Bing’s “White Christmas”, but, like Elton and Bernie, I’m a big fan of the “girl group” Christmas stuff too.

So, take a minute out of the busy days leading up to the big day and step  into this uplifting Christmas card message from Elton, Dee, Davey and Nigel to help get you into the true Christmas spirit!

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Sources for this post include:

 

What A Happy Sound

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churchbells

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. – Luke 2:10

The snow’s coming down
I’m watching it fall
Watching the people around
Baby please come home

There are no memories of Christmas quite like those of your childhood. And it’s not just the gifts you receive, but the warm love of friends and family which seems to magnify in intensity as the celebration of the birth of Christ approaches. Yes, it’s relationships, not gifts, that are the true “reason for the season”.

The churchbells in town
They’re ringing a song
What a happy sound
Baby please come home

And yet for many, it’s the lack of those relationships that can make Christmas a time of great sadness. The loss of a loved one, separation from family due to distance apart – or worst of all – a relationship gone bad at the worst possible time.

They’re singing deck the halls
But it’s not like Christmas at all
I remember when you were here
All the fun we had last year

The desire to keep relationships intact through the holidays is so strong, in fact, that January is regularly called “Divorce Month” in legal circles. The thought of being alone during the holidays is so depressing that even those who are desperate to sever ties will hold out -ever hopefully -until January.

Pretty lights on the tree
I’m watching ’em shine
You should be here with me
Baby please come home

So, it’s easy to understand how the subject of being alone and separated from loved ones gets so much attention in secular Christmas songs. As a teenager of the 70’s, I grew up with the Eagles haunting “Bells will be ringing…the sad, sad news” singing in my ears every year. Their soulful rendition of the 1950 classic “Please Come Home For Christmas”, written by famed blues pianist Charles Brown, was a mournful reminder of the unique longing that comes with love lost at Christmastime.

If there was a way
I’d hold back these tears
But it’s Christmas day
Baby please come home

But there was another song, reaching a bit further back into my childhood Christmas memories, that first evoked this stirring emotion in my soul. The year was 1963 and I was just a youngster riding in my parent’s car when I first heard it. Darlene Love was a perennial background singer that finally saw her chance to shine…and shine she did. The legendary 60’s girl group producer, Phil Spector (Ronettes, The Crystals, Bob B. Soxx, The Beatles, Ramones) had originally intended the song for the Ronettes, but after having both audition the piece, he declared Darlene’s version the more emotive of the two.

“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” became the quintessential “missing you at Christmas” song for me and set the bar for all those I heard afterwards. No sad Christmas song I ever heard – before or after – made you feel like this; not Elvis’ “Blue Christmas”, Mariah’s “All I Want For Christmas” or even Loretta’s “Christmas Without Daddy”. Right from the the opening, it just grabs you with that simple, lonesome plea, “Baby, please come home.”.

A few interesting tidbits about Darlene and the song:

  • In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” as #1 on it’s Greatest Rock And Roll Christmas Songs list.
  • Darlene has performed the song live on David Letterman’s final show before Christmas every year since 1986. (She wasn’t able to perform in 2007, so Dave showed a rerun of her 2006 performance.)
  • During the original recording session, Phil Spector thought the song was so good that they should make a non-Christmas version for airplay at any time of year. He had Darlene record “Johnny (Baby Please Come Home)” which was finally released in 1977 as the B side to Darlene’s single “Lord, If You’re A Woman”.
  • Darlene didn’t really get credit she deserved for her biggest hit “He’s A Rebel” (it went to #1 on the charts); it was released as being performed by The Crystals. (Phil Spector’s manipulations again, I’d suppose.)

So, as you enjoy the Christmas and New Year’s holidays this year, please be mindful of the fact that, for some, this can truly be the coldest time of year. But as Darlene said at a recent show in San Francisco: “A barricade is nothing but something you have to get over. Once you get over it, the joy on the other side is very fulfilling.”

Check out U2’s great live cover here:

The Darlene Love original:

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My sources for this post include:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_%28Baby_Please_Come_Home%29

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlene_Love

Some Way To Prove

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walkonwater

Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” – Matthew 14:31

Well if I could walk on water
And if I could find some way to prove
If I could walk on water would you believe in me
My love is so true

Trust, faith, belief…and the ever present Doubting Thomas. We all know how hard it is to maintain these traits given the nature of the human condition. The big problem, I believe, lies in the marked difference between what we see everyday in life versus what we want – or don’t want – to believe.

Well I’m no angel, now, I’ll admit
I made a few bad moves I should regret
I hurt you once or so you said
Just one more chance is all you get

Yes it’s the constant failings, both our fellow man’s and our own, that shake our faith. None of us are angels, that’s for sure. I get challenged on my faith by others at times. This is because most of them define faith as “belief without proof”. Or as a senseless belief in something – or someone – despite the existing evidence. When actually, quite the opposite is true.

Didn’t mean to do you wrong again
Worse things have been done by better men
Baby, baby, don’t, don’t treat me this way
I know, yes, I’ve got to pay now, I’m still paying

I’ll admit it’s hard, very hard, to keep your faith at times. After all, if what we see and experience on a daily basis from those around us (and even ourselves) is reality, it can seem almost ludicrous to maintain certain beliefs in the face of it all. And so it is these things that we “see” that rule our feelings and emotions. But as my grandpa once told me: “Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.”.

Well if I could walk on water
And if I could find some way to prove
If I could walk on water would you believe in me, my love is true

And the truth is that haters are going to hate and doubters are going to doubt. Walking on water, multiplying fish, raising the dead or splitting the sea…it won’t matter to some. They just don’t want to believe.

All along, I told you lies
To err is human, forgive is divine
Don’t be a fool, don’t settle the score
Cause I can’t take it no more, I can’t take it

Eddie Money – born Edward Mahoney – is surely a keen study in keeping the faith. Eddie was born to a large Irish Catholic family in Brooklyn, New York, laced with Irish cops – his grandfather, dad and brother were all NYPD.  In the late 60’s, Eddie was following the family path towards a career as a police officer himself – he was actually a NYPD cadet – while honing his chops as a local area rocker.

His love of music reigned supreme however, and soon Eddie wound up splitting for Berkley, California. He cut his teeth on the local club circuit until legendary promoter Bill Graham, took notice. He wound up getting a deal with Columbia Records and the rest was history. His breakout debut Eddie Money spawned two Top 40 hits in 1977; “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets To Paradise” along with the his Top 1oo cover of the Smokey Robinson penned “You Really Got A Hold On Me”.

Well, if I could walk on water (if I could)
Is that what I’m gonna have to do
If I could walk on water would be you believe in me, my love is so true

Eddie’s meteoric rise to success continued through the early 80’s with MTV fueled hits like “Shakin” and “Think I’m In Love”, but the hits started to dry up as drug addiction problems began to take hold of his life. He went four years without a charting single, but his record label, Columbia, remained faithful and helped to get him back on track. In 1986, Eddie resurfaced on a duet with the legendary Ronnie Spector on “Take Me Home Tonight” and triumphed once again with “Walk On Water” in 1988.

Do I have to walk, walk, walk on water for you
Hey baby, baby, there’s a little time, let’s spend it together
We’ll get over what we left behind, there’s our future together
Yeah, well let’s stay together

A few interesting notes about Eddie:

  • The Ronettes biggest hit “Be My Baby” is featured as part of the background to “Take Me Home Tonight”
  • Eddie’s last charting single was “I’ll Get By” which reached #21 in 1992
  • Eddie and his song “Two Tickets To Paradise” were featured in a GEICO insurance commercial

And isn’t it ironic, especially at this time of year, when it seems that the whole world is taking time to celebrate the birth of Christ – as we have for over 2,000 years  – that people still find it hard to keep their faith?

So, when the world seems hell bent on beating you down and your faith starts to slide, just remember that there is always a reason to believe.

Listen to Eddie here:

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References:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Money

When The Winter Comes

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Winter-Love

Children are the heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. – Psalms 127:3

When your summer days come tumbling down
And you find yourself alone
Then you can come back and be with me
Just close your eyes and I’ll be there

I’ve always believed that the greatest blessings that God gives us in this world are the human relationships we share. Family, neighbors, freinds, colleagues and yes, our social media families, too. But among these, our children have to be the absolute greatest of all.

Listen to the sound
Of this old heart beating for you
Yes I’d miss you
But I never want to hold you down
You might say I’m here for you

And it’s funny how these blessings and the feelings we have for our children can be so distinctively different depending upon gender. Mother/daughter, Father/son and vice versa, they’re all filled with love, yet somehow unique.

Not to downplay any others, but it seems as if the relationship between a dad and his baby girl (and yes, she’ll always be his baby girl, even when she’s 40) will always be special. Mama Bear will always be protective of all their cubs, but not in the same way fathers can be for their daughters.

When the winter comes to your new home
And snowflakes are falling down
Then you can come back and be with me
Just close your eyes and I’ll be there

A father knows that his relationship with and the way he treats his wife will serve as the standard for how his daughter will set expectations for the men in her life. The Bible says husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the Church and that’s probably a good guideline to follow. And, rest assured that Dad will be keeping a keen eye on any young man in her life and will expect no lesser standard from him.

In the spring, protective arms surrounding you
In the fall, we let you go your way
Happiness I know will always find you
And when it does, I hope that it will stay

In all seasons fathers seek to protect their daughters, while still taking pride in their growth and independence as young women and watching them develop in the pathways provided by their mothers. We hope only for their safety and happiness in their lives beyond us, while still secretly wishing they could stay with us forever.

Yes I miss you
But I never want to hold you down
You might say I’m here for you
Yes I miss you
But I never want to hold you down
You might say I’m here for you
I’ll always be here for you

“Here For You” was released on Neil Young’s 27th studio LP Prairie Wind in 2005. It was written for his daughter, Amber Jean, who was 21 years old and in her final year at college.  Prairie Wind  marked yet another distinctive twist in Neil’s constantly shifting musical stylings, following the 60’s soul-infused Are You Passionate? in 2002 and the rock opera-esq Greendale in 2003.

And just like a father’s reminiscence, Prairie Wind appeared to harken back to his writings on the Harvest and Harvest Moon albums. It came at a time in Neil’s life when he was feeling a bit of his own mortality, coming closely on the heels of the death of his father and an operation for a minor brain aneurysm in the spring of 2005.

The whole album has a lustrous and bittersweet country rock tone, and “Here For You” is surely no exception.

So, to all the Dads out there with daughters, you’ll definitely relate – either now or down the road. And just let them know, no matter what, we’ll always be here…just for them.

This post is dedicated to my daughter, Amanda (who is quite a gifted and creative writer herself).

Listen to the original here:

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My sources for this post included:

Songfacts: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=5994

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Wind

A Problem You’ll Understand

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leaningbuilding

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:  If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain, we all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow

Yes, we all have our problems. But the good news of Jesus is that there will always be at least one “someone to lean on”. And though true friends can be hard to find, sometimes help can come from people and places you would not normally expect.

Lean on me when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on

John Lennon once said Instant Karma was gonna get you, but it can just as easily help you. It’s a two-way street. Maybe I’ve lived a charmed life, but I honestly can’t recall a single time in my life when I really needed help and couldn’t find it.

The “snow-jam” last winter in Atlanta was a testimony to folks reaching out to help others in any way they could. I-75 was a literal parking lot, with cars stranded and stuck in all lanes, rapidly running out of gas (and heat) in sub-zero temps for hours and hours. I was at home watching the news and saw where people that lived nearby were hiking out from their homes, sometimes walking miles, bringing blankets, water and food to those stuck in their cars.

Please, swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won’t let show

But it doesn’t take a natural disaster to bring the best out in our fellow man. I’ve found that if you’ll just be humble enough to ask, more times than not you’ll find people willing and even eager to lend a helping hand. And that can be tough for some of us – especially men – to do.

In this month of Thanksgiving, we all should take time out to be thankful for those we lean on for support. The greatest blessings God has bestowed on us are the human relationships in our lives.

You just call on me, brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Bill Withers knows firsthand what it is like to be in need. Bill was born in the rural coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, the youngest of 13 children. Bill’s father died when he was only 13 years old and at age 18, he enlisted in the Navy. It was during his nine year Navy service that Bill truly began to develop his singing and songwriting style.

After leaving the Navy, Bill took a job on the assembly line at Douglas Aircraft and was so unsure of his future in music that he refused to quit his job even as his first hit single “Ain’t No Sunshine” was hitting the charts.

If there is a load
You have to bear that you can’t carry
I’m right up the road, I’ll share your load
If you just call me

“Lean On Me” was Bill’s biggest hit, going to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Soul Singles charts in 1972. It was the first single off his breakthrough LP Still Bill and was ranked #205 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. It is one of only nine songs in rock history to reach #1 on the charts for two different artists; Club Nouveau also hit the top spot with their funky hip hop dance version in 1987.

Bill’s inspiration for “Lean On Me” came after he had moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his music career. He was living in a seedy, West LA apartment and thinking of how different it was and how the different the people were, too.

In a 2004 interview with Carl Wiser of Songfacts, Bill said, “(I know) it sounds idealized if you are from an environment where it’s (helping others out) not ordinarily practical to do that. But I’m from an environment where it was practical to do that.”

As an example, Bill recalled an incident from earlier days: “When I was in the Navy, I must have been about 18, 19 years old, and I was stationed in Pensacola, Florida. It was some holiday, I had this car that I was able to buy and I was driving from Pensacola, Florida up to West Virginia. As is the case with young people with cheap cars, the tires weren’t that great, so one of my tire blew out on this rural Alabama road. This guy comes walking over the hill that looked like he was right out of the movie Deliverance. Did you see that movie?”

“He says to me, ‘Oh, you had a blowout.’ Well, I didn’t have a spare tire. This guy goes walking back across the hill, and I’m not too comfortable here because I know where I am. He comes back walking with a tire, and he actually helps me put the tire on the car. My circumstance, this was not an idealized concept, this was real to me.”

“Still Bill” is still around, doing some writing and producing; mostly working with new artists to help them get a start. So, let’s all take a few minutes while we’re giving thanks this week to reflect on the simple human kindnesses that abound out there. And know that there’s always somebody out there that needs somebody to lean on.

Listen to the sweet sounds of “Still Bill” here:

Club Nouveau cover here:

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My sources for this post included:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_on_Me_%28song%29

Songfacts: http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/bill_withers/

Singing To My Soul

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goldbars

By your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries. – Ezekiel 28:4

When the lights go down in the California town
People are in for the evening
I jump into my car and I throw in my guitar
My heart beatin’ time with my breathin’
Drivin’ over Kanan, singin’ to my soul
There’s people out there turnin’ music into gold

In 1978, I was an up and coming college student struggling to get by on my part time gig at a local steak house and trying to figure out what I was ultimately going to do with myself. I had given up on my fantasy of becoming a part of the Turner Broadcasting team working Atlanta Braves games (via an Electrical Engineering degree – not for me, thank you) and had settled into a more manageable course of study in Mass Communications and Journalism at Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta.

Sports and music were my two favorite hobbies, but I was not good enough at either of them (drums and baseball) to even remotely imagine making money in those endeavors, so I was slowly coming to the realization that I needed to figure out a career path.

Well my buddy Jim Bass he’s a-workin’ pumpin gas
And he makes two fifty for an hour
He’s got rythm in his hands as he’s tappin’ on the cans
Sings rock and roll in the shower
Drivin’ over Kanan, singin’ to my soul
There’s people out there turnin’ music into gold

I was making exactly $2.50 an hour at that steak house and with winter break approaching, I saw an opportunity to pump up my barely visible checking account balance. I say “saw” literally, because as I was sitting at a red light one day, I glanced over at the shopping center on my left to see a new record store that had recently opened. Hey, I thought, maybe I could get an extra part time job over the break…and what better place for a music junkie to work than a record store?

I pulled up, parked in front and approached the guy who owned the place. His name was Al. I needed a job and he needed some extra help checking in merchandise. Sixteen years – and hundreds of new stores – later I was still there, trying to help Big Al turn music into gold.

Ah, the California girls are the greatest in the world
Each one’s a song in the making
Singin’ rock to me I can hear the melody
The story is there for the takin’
Drivin’ over Kanan, singin’ to my soul
There’s people out there turnin’ music into gold

John Stewart was a legendary singer-songwriter long before he teamed up with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham to turn a bit of music into “Gold”, his come-from-out-of-nowhere top 5 single in 1979. John started his career in folk music with The Cumberland Three and then became a member of the Kingston Trio, replacing founding member, Dave Guard, in 1961. The Kingston Trio continued to perform and record throughout the early 60″s, but as the British Invasion took hold, the folk music scene began to decline and John’s writing shifted to a pop tilt.  His biggest claim to fame before hitting with “Gold” was composing The Monkee’s smash hit “Daydream Believer”.

John’s golden decision to team up with Buckingham and Nicks was obviously a terrific move as his album Bombs Away Dream Babies spawned three Top 40 hits including “Gold”, “Midnight Wind” and “Lost Her In The Sun”.

When the lights go down in the California town
People are in for the evening
I jump into my car and I throw in my guitar
My heart beatin’ time with my breathin’
Drivin’ over Kanan, singin’ to my soul
There’s people out there turnin’ music into gold

Yes, sometimes life and success are more about good timing than anything else. It was surely good timing that put me in front of the record store that day and launched my career path. The music industry itself went from being a lucrative business for label execs to becoming the ruler of pop culture in the 70’s and 80’s with the product rolling from vinyl to cassette to CD’s, and everybody demanding their MTV on cable.

Record sales benchmarks went from being measured in terms of gold records to platinum to multi platinum. For those artists entering the market during these boom times, the sky truly was the limit. For a time during the second British Invasion of the 80’s, it seemed that all you needed was a guitar and the right hair (see Flock Of Seagulls) to turn music into literal gold.

John’s timing was perfect too, coming into folk, pop, rock and on into Americana at just the right time with just the right songs.

So, turn down the lights and give this little nugget a listen. And get a glimpse of the way the record biz – back in the good old days – could turn a blob of black wax into pure gold.

Listen to the original here:

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My sources for this post include:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stewart_%28musician%29

 

A Brand New Story

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manspeakspic

For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. – Matthew 12:37

Smile an everlasting smile
A smile could bring you near to me
Don’t ever let me find you gone
‘Cause that would bring a tear to me

You know the feeling, right? It’s intense. And things like a glance or smile, or even just the smell on the shirt or jacket he/she left at your place can stir your heart mightily. Little things, but they can mean so much.

This world has lost it’s glory
Let’s start a brand new story
Now my love, right now there’ll be
No other time and I can show you
how, my love

You feel like you’re living in a world of your own, just the two of you. Others pass by, darting in and out, occasionally interrupting but only superficially. You pay them no mind.

Talk in everlasting words
And dedicate them all to me
And I will give you all my life
I’m here if you should call to me

And then one day, IT happens. No, not that…it’s those words you just said. Hanging out there in the air. You can almost see them, as if captured in one of those comic strip “speech bubbles”, with the arrow coming out of your mouth. You’re frozen, unable to move or speak further.

Sometimes this can be a good thing, but more than often than not our mouths can get us in a lot of trouble. Sometimes a few carelessly spoken words hurt the ones we love more than anything else we can do. And once spoken, we can never get them back.

The Bible is full of warnings regarding the evils of the tongue and all the havoc it can wreak in our lives. To the point of our own condemnation. In the Book of James, it says that no human can tame the tongue and that it’s filled with evil. It cautions even those most pious, that to live with an unbridled tongue is to make their religion worthless.

It’s amazing how this tongue our Lord has blessed us with, can be such a force for good and happiness, yet can just as easily become a vessel of evil and heartache. Even so, many of us give very little thought to the impact that our words can have on others.

You think that I don’t even mean
A single word I say
It’s only words, and words are all
I have to take your heart away

If the Beach Boys are America’s original “brother” band, then certainly the Bee Gees (the Brothers Gibb) are the U.K.’s (though some might argue they were Australian).

The Bee Gees had two very distinct periods of success: from 1967-1975 (pre-disco) and from 1975-forward (post-disco). Their 1975 single “Jive Talkin'” was definitely the turning point, if you ask me. Even though their success after the release of 1977’s Saturday Night Fever was far greater than their earlier works – SNF alone sold over 15 million albums – I’ve always thought their pre-disco period material was superior. (That being said, I must admit “How Deep Is Your Love” is a favorite of mine and will always hold special meaning for me.)

“Words” was released in 1968 and charted at #15 here in the U.S and at #9 in the U.K. Interestingly, most all of their pre-disco songs featured Robin’s clear vibrato on lead vocals and most of the post-disco songs had Barry’s soul-infused falsetto, but “Words” was the exception. Barry took the lead on “Words” and it was also the first time one of the brothers solo-ed on one of their songs.

“Words” always stood out to me – it had that familiar Bee Gees sound, but was missing the harmony vocals. And with that unique “compressed” piano (sounded like 10 pianos playing at once), it had a spare, lonely, haunting sound that definitely stood out among the other songs swirling Top 40 radio at that time.

Barry actually wrote the song after the brothers had a few too many arguments in the studio, and to point out how hurtful some of the things the brothers had said to one another were. I guess you could say it was kind of an inter-group “make-up” song.

A few interesting notes about the song include:

  • Like a lot of their songs, they wrote it for someone else; in this case Cliff Richards. He never got around to recording it, so they did.
  • Elvis Presley chose to perform it in many of his early 70’s concerts.
  • The song was not on one of their albums; it was written for a movie soundtrack, The Mini Affair.
  • It reached #1 on the charts in Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands and China.

The Bee Gees went on to sell over 220 million records worldwide, making them one of the best selling acts of all time. The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and their citation says “Only Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees.”

When my son, Trey, was about 13, he and I were traveling on a camping trip and I had the Bee Gees live masterpiece, One Night Only, playing in the car. After listening quietly to a few songs (with Barry on lead vocals), Trey turned to me and asked “Dad, why does he sing like that?”. I looked at him and said, “Son, because he can!”.

Listen to the original studio version here:

Listen to Barry and the Bee Gees live on Ed Sullivan 1968 here:

Almost 30 years later in Las Vegas:

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Sources for this article include:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Gees

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Gees_discography

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Words_%28Bee_Gees_song%29

Songfacts: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3371

 

 

 

 

The Eyes Of The Blind

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negative_blind_eye

It is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed  ~Romans 13:11

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To a river so deep
I must be looking for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it’s too hard to cross

What are you searching for? Someone to love? A soul mate? A new career? A new place to live?

Or is your search much deeper than that? I know it is for me. It has taken me a long. long time to near the end of my search, but I’ve begun to at least see it now. Funny thing is that it has been right in front of me all along. My search is for meaning.

And even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and I stand on the shore
And try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find out what I’ve been looking for

For us “baby boomers” maybe it’s just in the way we are wired. So self absorbed, so critically oblivious and materially motivated. I can remember clearly, when I was in my early 30’s, my mother saying to me when I was home for a visit, “Son, you know we’re proud for you and all you have accomplished, but you really need to stop and smell the roses.”

I heard her, but I didn’t really hear her. It’s taken me a long time to take her advice. And when I look, I can see the same thing all around me, in almost everyone I know.

And I’ve been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I would never lose
Something somebody stole

And what was stolen can never be replaced. It can’t be repurchased. It can’t be replenished. And even if he wanted to, the thief who robbed me can’t give it back. That which was stolen is time. And like Jim Croce once sang, we can’t bottle it.

I don’t know why I go walking at night
But now I’m tired and I don’t want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn’t take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is that I’ve been looking for

One of my favorite quotes is from Sister Mary Corita Kent: “Life is a succession of moments; to live each one is to succeed.”

Yes, the things we search for are right here in front of us, in each and every one of those moments.

I believe the greatest meaning and fulfillment we can find in life, is found within the human relationships we have and living fully in those moments we share with others.

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To a river so deep
I know I’m searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night

It’s ironic that Billy Joel, son of a Holocaust survivor and an avowed atheist would write a song so deeply infused with Biblical references. He said as much himself: he got the idea for the song in one of his dreams – in the dream he was sleepwalking – and when he awoke he said to himself “Hey, who am I to try to pull off a gospel song?”. But he just couldn’t shake the feeling and found himself singing it over and over in the shower that morning.

I do think his lyric about something that could “only be seen by the eyes of the blind” is a bit of a atheistic stab at religious belief, but I would challenge him to say that he had no religious inspiration in the song. And might that mean that he was being a little spiritually guided, as well?

I’m not sure about a life after this
God knows I’ve never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That runs to the promised land

I guess we all have our doubts and struggles with our faith and beliefs, no matter what they are, and I’m sure it’s the same for Billy. “The River Of Dreams” was the title song and first hit single off his last recorded studio album to date, 1993’s River Of Dreams. The album leaned strongly towards themes around love, trust, betrayal  and loss. Sure sounds like a man searching for meaning to me.

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We’re all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night

A few interesting notes about Billy and the album include:

  • The album cover art was painted by his then wife, Christie Brinkley
  • Each of the subsequent singles from the album featured cover art that was a small section of the album cover painting.
  • Rolling Stone magazine gave it a “Top Pick” in their Best Album Cover of the Year awards in 1993
  • Joel said “river of dreams” was a play on the phrase “stream of consciousness”
  • Billy often toured with fellow pianist, Elton John, another strongly non-religious musical artist

While I may not agree with Billy’s lack of religious belief,  I do have to admire the God given talent behind it. “The River of Dreams” may have been one of his finest recordings in a career that includes over 150 million records sold worldwide, making him the #3 solo recoding artist all-time in the Unites States.

So, let’s roll up our pants legs and wander down to the river where we can hear a non-sermon from “an innocent man”. And while we’re at it, we can say a prayer for Billy, too.

Listen to the original studio version and video here:

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Sources for this post include:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Joel

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_River_of_Dreams

Songfacts.com: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4600

My Secrets To Reveal

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magnet

Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. -Proverbs 27:5

Now I told you so you ought to know
It takes some time for a feelin’ to grow
You’re so close now I can’t let you go
And I can’t let go

With you I’m not shy to show the way I feel
With you I might try my secrets to reveal
For you are a magnet and I am steel
For you are a magnet and I am steel

Isn’t there something in the Bible about not “coveting” your neighbor’s things? I’m sure I recall hearing and reading that somewhere. But who hasn’t done this? I have to believe this is one of the most common sins we all have. As hard as we might try not to, somewhere along the way, this little bugaboo bites you.

I can’t hope that I’ll hold you for long
You’re a woman who’s lost to your song
But the love that I feel is so strong
And it can’t be wrong

Now, this sin can come in the form of material envy -say your neighbor’s classic 1968 ‘Vette – or wealth envy – how did he or she get that job? – and just occasionally in the form of thy neighbor’s significant other.

And sometimes this bite is so hard and the pull is so strong, that you just have to give in. As the late, great Luther Ingram once sang “If loving you is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.”. You know in your heart it’s not right, but it’s just too good to resist.

With you I’m not shy to show the way I feel
With you I might try my secrets to reveal
For you are a magnet and I am steel
For you are a magnet and I am steel

Yes, the attraction is just like that; a magnetic pull so strong you just feel locked in. You throw all caution and rational thought to the wind and just go for it.

“Magnet And Steel”, the hit single off of Walter Egan’s second album, Not Shy, is a tale of exactly this type situation. In this case, the coveted object was one Stevie Nicks, the ex-wife of Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham. Now we may have to give Walter a bit of a pass on this, as I believe that Stevie and Lindsey were not exactly “together” at the time. But given the close relationship between Egan and Buckingham, it seems a bit too close for comfort, if you ask me.

egan4

Walter met Lindsey at a party in 1976, and as a big admirer of his work on 1975’s smash hit Fleetwood Mac, he asked Lindsey to help with his debut album, Fundamental Roll. Lindsey agreed to work with it a bit and brought in Stevie to provide some background vocals. Walter wound up naming Buckingham and Nicks as album co-producers, along with himself and Duane Scott.

After that, it was a natural progression for Lindsey, Stevie and Rumours producer, Richard Dashut to jump in full force on Not Shy. The rest, as they say, was history. The album’s hit single “Magnet And Steel” went on to sell over a million copies and reached #8 on the Billboard charts.

Walter tells the story “behind the story” on Songfacts.com:

“On the night when Stevie did the background vocals for my song ‘Tunnel o’ Love,’ (on the Fundamental Roll lp) my nascent amorous feelings toward her came into a sharper focus – I was smitten by the kitten, as they say. It was on my drive home at 3 AM from Van Nuys to Pomona that I happened to be behind a metal flake blue Lincoln Continental with ground effects and a diamond window in back. I was inspired by the car’s license plate: “Not Shy.”

By the time I pulled into my driveway I had formulated the lyrics and come up with the magnet metaphor. From there the song was finished in 15 minutes. It was especially satisfying to have Stevie sing on ‘Magnet,’ since it was about her (and me).”

Most folks regard Walter as another “one hit wonder”, but he actually went on to release a total of 9 albums, with the latest being 2011’s Raw Elegant.

A few more interesting notes about Walter:

  • He never had another Top 40 hit himself, but a cover version of his song “Hot Summer Night” went to #18 for the band Night, who also had a female lead singer named Stevie (Stevie Vann aka Stevie Lange).
  • In 1985 he was a four time champion on the TV game show Catch Phrase.
  • He got credit as a co-writer on Eminem’s hit “We Made You” because producer Dr. Dre felt the song’s bass line was influenced by “Hot Summer Night”.
  • Walter got his start in music with a group called the Malibooz, imitating the Pac coast surf music sound of the Beach Boys and the Ventures, although the group was entirely from NYC and had never even visited the West Coast.

So, quit admiring your neighbor’s new car and focus on the blessings you have in your own hand. And please repress those longings for beautiful “things” others may possess. Then again, just looking never hurt anyone…did it?

Listen to the great original studio version here:

Night’s hit version of “Hot Summer Night” here:

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Sources for this post include:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Egan

Songfacts.com: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=10286

Walter’s website: http://www.walteregan.com/

 

First Wound Of Pride

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candle_heart_texture

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving. -Proverbs 14:8

Dying flame, you’re free again
Who could love, do that to you
All dressed in black, he won’t be coming back

It’s over, right? Yep. He’s/she’s gone right? Yep, gone, long gone, gone like yesterday, and gone like a freight train, as Montgomery Gentry once sang.

But it’s not over.

And the truth is, it never really will be. Oh sure, you move on and accept the new reality, but it’s always still there, burned in like the exposed images on the negatives from an old-time camera’s film.

Look, save your tears
Got years and years
The pains of seventeen’s
Unreal they’re only dreams
Save your cryin’ for the day

I turned 21 in April of 1978, and Chris Rea’s debut album, Whatever Happened To Benny Santini and the hit single “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” was all over the airwaves. Years of teen angst were still fresh in my mind and I was in the nether world between a high school romance lost and a long distance relationship via college separation gone awry. The song absolutely cut me to the quick. But it was so irresistibly catchy, I couldn’t wait to hear it again.

Fool if you think it’s over
‘Cause you said goodbye
Fool if you think it’s over
I’ll tell you why
New born eyes always cry with pain
At the first look at the morning sun
Fool if you think it’s over
It’s just begun

“The folly of fools” as the Bible said, was certainly all over me in trying to deceive myself. The real fool is one who thinks that just because you say it’s over, it really is. And yes, you must open your eyes and face the harsh light of reality, as painful as that may be.

Miss Teenage Dream, such a tragic scene
He knocked your crown and ran away
First wound of pride, and how you cried and cried
But save your tears, got years and years

I guess I’ll never really be able to understand the female side of this equation; I can only imagine what that must be like. I’ve always believed that women were much stronger emotionally than men, for all of our posturing and denial of feelings. I know that the key for men is to feel respected above all, and when not loved, we can justify that as less a loss of respect and more as a loss of value. OK, so she left me for something of higher value. No loss of respect there, right? It’s like she’s getting a new job or trading up for a new car. But a wound of pride? Definitely.

I’ll buy you first good wine
We’ll have a real good time
Save your cryin’ for the day
That may not come
But anyone who had to pay
Would laugh at you and say

Speaking of wounded pride, Chris would probably be chagrined to know that most folks here in the U.S. would probably call him a “one hit wonder”. While it’s true that his biggest hit came from his first album release here – instead of in his native U.K. – he later returned to Europe and recorded over 30 additional LP’s with several singles reaching the charts in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, as well as in the U.K..

In fact, his U.S. record label became so disenchanted with his efforts that they didn’t bother to choose a name for his fourth album (Chris Rea), and they just dumped out a bunch of his raw demo tapes as his fifth. Ironically, the fifth album ,Water Sign, became a surprise hit in Ireland and Europe, spawning a Top 20 single, “I Can Hear Your Heartbeat”.

Chris’ career in Europe took off like a rocket after that, with his breakthrough #1 charting LP The Road To Hell coming in 1989.

Fool if you think it’s over
‘Cause you said goodbye
Fool if you think it’s over
I’ll tell you why

No one here in the U.S. these days ever really wonders much about Whatever Happened to Benny Santini and Chris Rea, but here’s a few interesting tidbits to chew on:

  • The album’s title came about because Chris’ record label originally wanted him to change his stage name to – you guessed it – Benjamin Santini.
  • The album was produced by Elton John’s producer, Gus Dudgeon. Chris always wanted to try to sound more like Elton and/or Billy Joel.
  • Ironically, “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” was nominated for a Grammy (Song of The Year) but got beat out by Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are”.
  • And to prove it really wasn’t over, British pop singer, Elkie Brooks, scored a 17 on the U.K. charts with her cover version in 1982.

So light a candle, pour yourself a glass of good wine and admit to yourself that a great song, like a great romance, will never really be completely over.

Listen to the original studio version here:

Elkie Brooks cover version on Top Of The Pops here:

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Sources for this post include:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rea

Songfacts.com: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=19641