Maybe it’s not exactly the right word, but I was well into my thoughts for tonight when I realized I had already used weather; seasons will have to do. We have had a couple of early spring days here on the Shoreline, and it set me to thinking of songs about wind and rain and so forth, many of which have offered me hope and comfort over the years. The first is Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) singing “The Wind.”
I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul
where I end up, well, I think God only really knows . . .
Thunder shows up early in Emmylou Harris’ song of confession, “Prayer in Open D.”
there’s a valley of sorrow in my soul
and every night I hear the thunder roll
like the sound of a distant gun
over all the damage I have done . . .
I suppose I could do a whole post on nothing but rain songs. Randy Newman’s “I Think It’s Going To Rain Today.”
scarecrows dressed in the latest styles
with frozen smiles to chase love away
human kindness is overflowing
and I think it’s going to rain today
The Indigo Girls sing “The Wood Song” and what it takes to weather the storms of life.
the thin horizon of a plan is almost clear
my friends and I have had a tough time
bruising our brains hard up against change
all the old dogs and the magiciannow I see we’re in the boat in two-by-two’s
only the heart that we have for a tool we could use
and the very close quarters are hard to get used to
love weighs the hull down with its weight
Our next song to the seasons is from Tom Waits–“You Can Never Hold Back Spring.”
you can never hold back spring
You can be sure that I will never stop believing
the blushing rose will climb
spring ahead or fall behind
winter dreams the same dream every time
you can never hold back spring
I had another song picked for our closing hymn, but all I could hear in my mind was
winter spring summer or fall
all you have to do is call
and I’ll be there–
you’ve got a friend
Close your eyes and make it a prayer.
Peace,
Milton
