Another post in the countdown to Dan and Donna's 25th anniversary this coming June, which I began back in December. It is my plan to post a story, remembrance and/or poem once a week for 25 weeks leading to the big date.
So, when we were married and in those first few years - the 1980s and into the 1990s a bit - the music we were listening to was nearly exclusively Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) and, unfortunately, much of it was not very good, musically or artistically or even spiritually. It was, nonetheless, deeply meaningful and important to us at the time and the best of it helped contribute greatly to who we are today, so I am thankful for that.
Some of the better folk we listened to included the often manic and hilarious - yet sometimes quite sober and deep - "Uncle" Randy Stonehill...
She was told when she was young
Ah - that blondes always have more fun
Lie lie lie dirty lie du du dumb
Perfect hair perfect waste
With a perfect prom queen smile upon her face
For everyone
But it's all right, it's okay
Now your self-respect is the only price you'll pay
It's okay, that's all right
You're the queen of the Barbie nation
Queen of the Barbie nation
Queen of the Barbie nation tonight
(from "Barbie Nation" by Randy Stonehill)
Or,
In this land of the walking wounded
In this desert of countless sorrows
I will cling to His hand today
and fear not for tomorrow...
In the chill of my darkest hour
I am saved from my deep despair
For the Father who loves His children
hears my trusting prayer
(From "Hymn" by Randy)
And the more serious - even when he's joking - Steve Camp...
Girl, she loves to dance, she's hooked on MTV and
A Harlequin romance is her favorite thing to read
She's into aerobics, she does it every day
Her body looks so good, but her soul is out of shape
Lazy Jane, oh, you're so lazy
L-L-Lazy Jane
(From "Lazy Jane")
And the late, great Larry Norman (who passed away just last year and who is generally acknowledged as the man who began CCM, for better and for worse)...
Rolling Stones are millionaires, flower children pallbearers,
Beatles said All you need is love, and then they broke up.
Jimi took an overdose, Janis followed so close,
The whole music scene and all the bands are pretty comatose.
This time last year, people didn't wanna hear.
They looked at Jesus from afar, this year he's a superstar.
(From "Reader's Digest" by Larry Norman)
Or,
I was born and raised an orphan
in a land that once was free
in a land that poured its love out on the moon
and I grew up in the shadows
of your silos filled with grain
but you never helped to fill my empty spoon...
(from "Great American Novel" by Larry)
And the late, great Rich Mullins...
There's more that rises in the morning
Than the sun
And more that shines in the night
Than just the moon
It's more than just this fire here
That keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger Than this room...
So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home...
("If I Stand" by Rich)
You was a baby like I was once
You was cryin' in the early mornin'
You was born in a stable Lord
Reid Memorial is where I was born
They wrapped You in swaddling clothes
Me they dressed in baby blue...
Well, did You grow up hungry?
Did You grow up fast?
Did the little girls giggle when You walked past?
Did You wonder what it was that made them laugh?...
("Boy Like Me" by Rich)
Sometimes the night was beautiful
Sometimes the sky was so far away
Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close
You could touch it but your heart would break
Sometimes the morning came too soon
Sometimes the day could be so hot
There was so much work left to do
But so much You'd already done
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You...
("Sometimes by Step" by Rich)
And the coal trucks come a-runnin'
With their bellies full of coal
And their big wheels a-hummin'
Down this road that lies open like the soul of a woman...
And this road she is a woman
She was made from a rib
Cut from the sides of these mountains
Oh these great sleeping Adams
Who are lonely even here in paradise
Lonely for somebody to kiss them
and I'll sing my song, and I'll sing my song
In the land of my sojourn...
("Land of My Sojourn" by Rich)
...I kissed the earth on my daddy's grave
Said goodbye to my brave young companions
But when they hoist that sail I know my heart will break
As bright and as fine as the morning...
But I'll carry the songs I learned when we were kids
I'll carry the scars of generations gone by
I'll pray for you always, and I promise you this
I'll carry on, I'll carry on...
("I'll Carry On" by Rich)
Donna and I caught Rich in concert shortly before he died and he was truly a poet and a man we respected and whose music we still dig. His concert that we attended would have been one of the things that helped turn us on (or, bring us back, perhaps) to more acoustic/folk-ish music, which is where we are today.
Lyrics such as these have greatly shaped who we are and helped Donna and I to grow in a similar direction over the years to a place some would say is fairly far removed from where we were, and yet, perhaps not so much...
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