Music

Sometimes when things start to get me down, broken water pipe, stopped up drain, etc., I go to the piano and play the old songs. I mean the really old songs, “I Was Seeing Nellie Home”, “Darling Nellie Gray”, “Mocking Bird Hill”, “The Tennessee Waltz”; then, the not quite so old songs, “Til I Waltz  Again With You”, “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” or maybe a song of my own writing. Not very lively songs, any of them. In fact, some of them are downright melancholy but somehow, they make me feel better.

I’m grateful to my mom and my brother who saw to it that I had piano lessons and gave me this wonderful outlet. In Best Left Buried, Darcy drives her red Ford Escape to see a friend, listening to the radio along the way. One of the songs she hears is “I Warm My Heart Around a Memory” by yours truly. That’s the fun of being a writer, you can put your song on the radio!

However, if I want to listen to music by someone else, my first choice is one of Matt’s CDs of 1930s music, the big band sound. A few years ago, he played bass with a group who recorded a couple of CDs. They set my feet to tapping and my heart to smiling. They are great to move to, and practice a few improvised dance steps.

In my private worship each morning, sometimes a hymn will pop into my mind and I sing it. Why not? The Lord doesn’t mind a rusty voice. I’m sure he looks on the intent of the heart. And, in the Bible, battles have been won by singers going in front of the army. Maybe it confused the enemy; I don’t know. I just know that songs can do marvelous things.

Music – it says things we can’t put into words; yet, it speaks to our hearts in powerful ways. No matter what time of day, there’s usually a background song playing in my mind. It helps put things into perspective!