Poems, Prayers & Promises

"Music makes pictures and often tells stories, all of it magic and all of it true

All of the pictures and all of the stories, all of the magic- the music is you."

With those words, one of my all-time favorite albums begins. First released in 1975,  An Evening with John Denver captured the sound and the spirit of one of the great performers of my high school years in all of its glory.  I attended two of his concerts in person and have great memories of both. The album was one of my favorites; I listened to it over and over and knew the words to every song.  And then, as often happens, I moved on.  John Denver fell out of favor as an artist. As popular music changed with the advent of first disco and then punk, artists like JD fell through the cracks, At the height of his career he was suddenly too country to be pop and too pop to be country.  In 1997 he was killed in a plane crash at the relatively young age of 53- the same age I will turn next month.  I have thought many times over the last couple of years that I should get a copy of Evening, but I just never got around to it.  I even doubted if I would still enjoy it, and I didn't want to tarnish some great memories.  It seemed like something an old man might purchase, you know?  But yesterday I decided to break down and buy the album on I-tunes. At least getting it there made me feel slightly less ancient, and it came with 6 bonus tracks!  So I downloaded the double album set and began to listen. And the only response I know that fits is this- holy crap!

As soon as the music started, I was transported back in time.  It felt so comfortable and so familiar.  I still knew every word.  And the songs.  Oh my goodness, the songs.  So many of them came with such vivid memories of days gone by, some of which I had completely forgotten. One of the first songs I ever learned to play on guitar was Sweet Surrender, because it only had 2 chords.  I remember singing Today with Alice Carroll and Martha Ratledge Farlow at Quaker Lake Camp; listening to Martha sing Boy From the Country in so many Friends Meetings on Sunday mornings;  walking in on Robin Cox singing The Eagle and the Hawk in the ping pong room in an octave that broke glass 100 miles away;  rocking the Fireplace Room with Jay Wilkins and Darek Newby as we played Grandma's Feather Bed; having great sing-a-longs to Take Me Home Country Roads on ski trips from Kissimmee;  turning Country Roads into Country Swamps; and singing My Sweet Lady, Annie's Song (2 amazing love songs), Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio,  Annie's Other Song and Forest Lawn at mini-concerts of my own.  And I remember hearing John himself close concerts with Rocky Mountain High and This Old Guitar.  Everyone of those songs (and many more!) are on this live album.  I spent all day yesterday remembering, smiling and even shedding a tear or two. Only music can do that to me.

So maybe it is OK that I am a little bit of an old man.  Maybe real (no auto tuning), live acoustic based music is something the world could use a little more of these days.  I just know this- those opening words could not be more accurate.  The songs on this album do paint pictures and tell stories.  They transport me to another time and move my soul in ways I could not have predicted. And it was all summed up for me in the words of yet another great song on the album, Poems, Prayers and Promises:

I've been lately thinking
About my life's time
All the things I've done
And how it's been
And I can't help believing
In my own mind
I know I'm gonna hate to see it end

I've seen a lot of sunshine
Slept out in the rain
Spent a night or two all on my own
I've known my lady's pleasures
Had myself some friends
And spent a night or two in my own home

And I have to say it now
It's been a good life all in all
It's really fine
To have a chance to hang around
And lie there by the fire
And watch the evening tire
While all my friends and my old lady
Sit and pass the pipe around

And talk of poems and prayers and promises
And things that we believe in
How sweet it is to love someone
How right it is to care
How long it's been since yesterday
And what about tomorrow
And what about our dreams
And all the memories we share

The days they pass so quickly now
Nights are seldom long
And time around me whispers when it's cold
The changes somehow frighten me
Still I have to smile
It turns me on to think of growing old
For though my life's been good to me
There's still so much to do
So many things my mind has never known
I'd like to raise a family
I'd like to sail away
And dance across the mountains on the moon

I have to say it now
It's been a good life all in all
It's really fine
To have the chance to hang around
And lie there by the fire
And watch the evening tire
While all my friends and my old lady
Sit and watch the sun go down

And talk of poems and prayers and promises
And things that we believe in
How sweet it is to love someone
How right it is to care
How long it's been since yesterday
What about tomorrow
What about our dreams
And all the memories we share

Music can remind us of where we have been.  It can help us see where we are are, and where we are going.  And it can remind that wherever life takes us, God will be there.  Now if you will excuse me, there are 29 songs that all need another listen.

Because of Jesus,