Now I know most of you folks out there seem to like this new-fangled music with its drums and guitars and singers (some of whom don't even sing) with its repetitive words and funny-looking dance moves and I might admit that some of it sounds pretty interesting. But for my book you can't beat a guy like Beethoven - who was a true genius (as evidenced by the fact that he yelled at people a lot and walked around his place in Vienna buck-naked and played a piano with its legs cut off and wrote music). Last Friday I got to hear a guy play a Beethoven sonata (op. 109 for those interested - anyone . . . . anyone at all?) and it was pretty good, not as mature as it could have been but it showed promise and it inspired me to return to a sonata I had once learned (op. 110) and relearn it. It is heartrendingly beatiful. Honestly, I could die listening to that song right now and I would be happy. It's like that scene from the end of the Last Samurai where Ken Watanabe is about ready to die and he see's the cherry blossoms and says something like "It's perfect" and then collapse's into a lake of his people's blood that he had killed because of his senseless attack. But I digress.
I don't know how normal people live their lives - it seems to be a mish-mash of banal activities (getting a shower, cooking food, taking out the garbage, going to work, sharpening pencils, etc.) and frenetic attempts to be somebody (American Idol anybody?).
And in a lot of ways I wish that I could be like that. I wish it were ok for me to go into business and work a 9-5, hopefully get a little financial security, have a family and get old and fat and die. I wish it were possible to only dream of getting into American Idol, or of getting a career as a lawyer.
And then, I sit down and play music. I'm not the best pianist. I'm really not even decent by the music world's standards, but when I experience the creation of sound, color, timbre, emotion, knowledge, that is the piano; I realize that I can do nothing else but pursue this desire. I don't know if normal people can relate to that. To be able to feel the sorrow that Beethoven felt. To see the majesty of Kiev. To paint a masterpiece in time - gone the instant it was created is a feeling like no other. I hope in your life that you are able to experience something like that, to transcend the mundane into a glorious world. To see nobility and villainy, tragedy and happiness, power and mercy. This is a great gift - I am humbled that I have been given the opportunity to experience this.
I guess for some people its hard to understand why a person could live a life not knowing about his future, never any real financial security to speak of, and I guess its hard for me too. I rest in the belief that I'm where God wants me, and when my faith becomes weak . . . I am reminded anew of his provision by the gift of music.
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5 comments:
Your best post!! reflective and inspiring.
It's good because it's you.
whats that supposed to mean ruthann
amen, my friend. such a gift from such a Giver!
Oddly enough, your post doesn't seem to really be about the song, but more about the idea of being able to live out the American Dream, and yet knowing in your heart that would so totally not be the way that God wants you to live (hence, why you aren't).
Oddly enough, this brings to mind a song that I love the words to, but don't care for the style. If you'll permit, I would like to post them below. Feel free to edit if you don't care for it. The name of the song is, "American Dream."
All work no play
may have made Jack a dull boy
But all work no God
has left Jack with a lost soul
But he's moving on full steam
He's chasing the American dream
And he's gonna give his family
the finer things
Not this time son
I've no time to waste
Maybe tomorrow we'll
have time to play
And then he slips into
his new BMW
And drives farther and farther
and farther away
So He works all day
and tries to sleep at night
He says things will get better;
Better in time
And he works and he builds
with his own two hands
And he pours all he has
in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain
are comin' crashing in
Only time will tell
how long his kingdom stands
His American Dream
is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
'Daddy, can you come to my game?'
'Oh Baby, please don't work late.'
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away
'Cause he works all day
and lies awake at night
He tells them things will get better
It'll just take a little more time
And he works and he builds
with his own two hands
And he pours all he has
in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain
are comin' crashing in
Only time will tell
how long his kingdom stands
He used to say, 'Whoever dies
with the most toys wins'
But if he loses his soul,
what has he gained in the end?
I'll take a shack on the rock
Over a castle in the sand
Now he works all day
and cries alone at night
It's not getting any better
Looks like he's running out of time
'Cause he worked and he built
with his own two hands
And he poured all he had
in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain
are coming crashing in
Only time will tell
how long his kingdom stands
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