I got into the car on Friday night to go get Chinese food
for supper and when the Christmas music came on as I turned the switch to the
car, I just sat and smiled. As I was
driving though, WHAT was played but that annoying version by Clay Aiken of
“Mary Di-you know”!! ARG….DID has a D on
the end of it…I appreciate his attempting to NOT say “Mary DID JEW KNOW” like
most every other version does, but COME ON…did you not LISTEN to the final cut
before releasing…heavy sigh…(sorry, you are going to find that version really
annoying now that I have pointed that out…)
Mother did her best to teach us proper grammar and the
pronunciation of words, and when I would say, “DID JEW KNOW…” she would say
that she was not Jewish…I looked at her and would try again…FINALLY, me being
the smartie pants that I have always been, I got a come back to her comment. I
informed her that Christ was Jewish and I was simply trying to honor our
heritage! …silence…laughter…whew…I didn’t get punished this time for “sassing”!
Tonight, as I watched the children singing LET
THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH on
TV, it brought tears to my eyes to THINK of the horrible things that are
happening in our world. I prayed for each child as they showed them
with their smiling faces and thought that somehow, music seems to make
things better. I wondered how music had possibly changed the lives of
some of those children. I HOPED that somehow, someone would hear their
message and it would start a change in their heart...I prayed for safety
for those children...
Music has always been an important part of my life. I started piano lessons in the 3rd
grade and then piano/organ and then voice lessons…I am somewhat of a music
snob, but the funny thing about me is how I love LIVE bluegrass music…No, I
don’t want to listen to it on the radio or as a recording, but I love to watch
the musicians and how they seem to know EVERY bluegrass song ever written.
For several years, we would travel one weekend to Norris Dam
and stay in the rustic cabins (ok, that meant there was no remote control for
the TV~~the NERVE!!) and would attend 2 days of the Appalachian Homecoming
Festival. We would meet our friends, Mr.
Mack and Miss Stella and Mr. Mack’s sister and brother-in-law, John Bruce. I
would usually fix one meal at our cabin for the “old folks” to sit and visit
and then one night, we would go to the local restaurant, Golden Girls.
The musicians would come to the restaurant and after they
ate, they would gather in each of the rooms and would play and sing…it was
AMAZING.
When you attend events like this, you will often see the
same people year to year and will usually strike up a nice little chat with
them. While we didn’t ever speak to this
lady, she would appear each year, wearing a flour sack dress…I am not sure of
the significance of that, but ALWAYS she wore a flour sack dress…AND she drove
a Mercedes…hmmmmmm….no judgment…just strange!
I think it was the last year that we attended, we ended up
in the same little room that John Hartford was in. He wrote GENTLE ON MY MIND (made most popular
by Glen Campbell) and won about 4 grammys…read about his fascinating life if
you aren’t familiar with him. He was an
amazing musician and a fun character.
Being raised close to Music City, we were always taught to
leave musicians alone…I can’t count how many famous people I have sat next to
and simply smiled at them so they could enjoy their time with friends or family
without being bothered.
On this night, as John Hartford and LeRoy Troy were jamming,
in walked FLOUR SACK LADY. She would not
leave them alone. She kept asking for a
song and would try to give some words and on and on and she would NOT go
away. It was OBVIOUS that she was
annoying Mr. Hartford, but he remained kind and tried to get rid of her…What is
funny about the song she was describing, I am CERTAIN that he knew it, but for
whatever reason, he kept insisting he didn’t know what she was talking about…
As we were watching this unfold, and go on too long, Daddy
leaned back, crossed his arms on his chest and said to me where our table could
hear it, “I KNOW that Song, but I AIN’T gonna help her or sing it!!” WE immediately burst into laughter. Being inquisitive, I asked Daddy what it was
and he told me, but I had never heard that song, but I FILED it away for future
reference.
A couple of weeks later, I was to play the piano at church
by myself since the organist attended a yearly reunion. I picked my songs carefully, as I often tried
to do and I found a VERY SPECIAL SONG for the Postlude. As the service came to the end, and the
Benediction had been delivered, I started playing, “Life is Like a Mountain
Railroad.” I saw Mother stifle a laugh
as the choir left the sanctuary. Daddy
came up to me after the service with that silly grin of his and said, “Whatcha
playin’, Gal?”
It became a great joke with Mother and Daddy and me. I played it several times from then on to
remember the fun times we shared. We had
this song played when they brought Daddy’s casket into the funeral. I KNOW he was smiling in Heaven. If you haven’t heard this song, go to You
Tube…I like the Stephen Curtis Chapman version that is there.
I shared on my Facebook post a few days ago, that Daddy’s
Favorite song was “Give the World A Smile Every Day”. He would sing this in the car many times as
we would be going somewhere and he would attempt to sing all 4 parts~~it was
hilarious and he would get that silly grin of his as we watched him giving us a
smile…We had this song played when they took the casket out at his funeral…WHAT
better testimony to his life!! Again, go
to You Tube and watch The Cathedrals sing this song if you haven’t heard
it! You WILL smile.
I wonder how I got so blessed to have the parents I had
while others got crappy parents…I don’t understand WHY I was given the BEST
that Life had to offer while others didn’t…It took me a long time to realize
that not everyone had parents like mine.
Oh, how blessed we were!
I am giving THANKS today for the GIFT of Music…to be raised
in a home with meaningful SONGS is truly a gift that I do not take for granted…
BE the MUSIC for someone today…Sing your LIFE in perfect
harmony with the qualities that are
pure…honorable…kind…loving…beautiful…supportive…Make a JOYFUL NOISE!!
I wish blessings for you…~charlotte
Music is so awesome! I wish that i had pursued it further. But hindsight is always 20/20. I am just thankful that i had the privilege to lead the singing at the little church that Brian was pastor at. BTW - if i HAD to pick only one Christmas song as a favorite, i'd probably have to say "O Holy Night".
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