advent journal: songs of hope

I spent some time looking for songs about hope in my music library tonight, in search of something beyond the songs I go to first. Here’s what I found.

The first is from the Milk Carton Kids, who are sort of Simon and Garfunkel for a new century. Their song is called “Hope of a Lifetime.”

while I pray for Promised Land
to replace all I have made
darkness steals the light I bear
and the hope of a lifetime fades
the hope of a lifetime fades

in the newfound reverie
of quiet peace I found
freedom comes from being unafraid
of the heartache that can plague a man
the heartache that can plague a man

a Spartan smile and westward stare hold a promise in the air
that’s the way they used to find their own way home
by the stars, on their own
by the stars, on their own

I first learned of Glen Hansard when he was a part of the Swell Season. His solo work is equally as compelling. Here is “Song of Good Hope.”

and take your time babe
it’s not as bad as it seems, you’ll be fine babe
it’s just some rivers and streams in between
you and where you wanna be
and watch the signs now
you’ll know what they mean, you’ll be fine now
just stay close to me and make good hope
walk with you through everything

may the song of good hope
walk with you through everything

Marc Broussard is a soulful singer who knows how to sing a love song. Here is “Hope for Me Yet.”

I could write a million verses
every word you’ve heard before
steal some of Dylan’s best
but it’d leave me wanting to say more
‘cause theres so much more

baby if you could love someone like me
theres no end to the possibility
hopes and dreams push away the pain and regret
but loving you just lets me know
there might be hope for me yet

Kate Rusby is an English folksinger I have listened to for a long time. She sings “Only Hope.”

there is peace for the restless one
there is peace for the restless one
she was on the verge of thinking
that her soul was lost and sinking
there is peace for the restless one

and you, you where my only hope
but could you really care for me
l even asked the holy ghost
are you the one I love the most
are you the one to set me free?

I’ll close tonight with a song from Glen Campbell’s album, Ghost on the Canvas, which he wrote and recorded as Alzheimer’s Disease was really starting to take its toll. Here is “Hold on Hope.”

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campfire flickering on the landscape
that nothing grows on, time still goes on
through each life of misery

everybody’s gotta hold on hope
it’s the last thing that’s holding me

Hope is holding us all.

Peace,
Milton