"When Words Fail..."
Music has always provided me with an outlet. I’m sure most of you can relate. They say that our music choices can tell our life story. For instance, when I hear The Beatles or the Allman Brothers, I think about my brother, Rob. When I hear Debbie Gibson or Tiffany, I think about my friend Kirsten from middle school. When I hear Phish or Led Zeppelin, my friend Natalie comes to mind. Rich Mullins and Twila Paris brings my old friend Alison to mind. Hymns remind me of my mom, Jim Croce and Peter, Paul and Mary brings my dad and our childhood road trips to mind. REM and Duran Duran reminds me of my harshest music critic, Leigh Anne, whom I have known for almost 35 years and who knows me better than anyone else.
The Indigo Girls, though, have provided the lyrics to many of the chapters of my life. I remember the first time I heard them. My brother had their 1990 album, “Nomads, Indians and Saints”, and I managed to sneak it out of his room whenever I got the chance. Man, I loved that album. It got me. All the feelings of adolescence encapsulated in that little plastic disc.
1990 marked my first year of high school. What a decade! the beginning of becoming who I am today. I remember driving around late at night with my friend Carrie, who also loved the Indigo Girls. We would just sing and talk and sing some more. Those songs were with me during the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and everything in between. I remember playing “Closer to Fine” for my dad in the car once and he loved it! He loved the acoustic simplicity and the ballads they composed.
Today, I’m working in the shop, building and creating and enjoying the beautiful weather and East Tennessee views from my backyard, and I’m listening to The Indigo Girls. It’s a simple Saturday, outside, sun shining, my family nearby, and a life full of memories to reflect on. The mistakes, the failures, the successes, the joys… they’re all there…. in the lyrics sung by Amy and Emily and the strumming of the guitar strings. I’m curious about the next chapters, but I know God’s in control of those.
I’m enjoying the quiet and the smell of sawdust and fresh cut grass blowing in with the breeze and realizing that the saying is true: “When words fail, music speaks.” The Indigo Girls, The Beatles, Jim Croce, Simon and Garfunkel, Rich Mullins, Duran Duran, Phish, Debbie Gibson, and many more… thanks for telling my story.
Bloom where you are planted.
