The Magic of a Song

     Have you ever thought about the impact that lyrics of songs can have on your life? They can affect your mood, making you feel happy, sad, or even melancholy. Hearing a particular song can stir you into  becoming more patriotic as well as causing you to become an emotional basket case.  For example, the lyrics of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America," can bring audiences to their feet with hats off and tears streaming down their cheeks. Recently, while visiting in Texas and attending a Ranger's ball game, I noticed that when the crowd was singing this song, all the people had risen to their feet, had their hats off, hands over their heart, and many were in tears, and even hugging each other. Obviously, these lyrics stirred this crowd of fans, and reawakened a feeling of patriotism.

   "Make the world go away, and get it off my shoulders," brings another feeling to bear. When the stresses of everyday life get to be more than a person feels they can bear, these lyrics can really express what a person wishes could happen. Of course, we all know that the world is going to go on and the troubles we are asked to bear will still be there, but by singing or listening to these words, we can feel some sort of comfort.

   In 1873, a well-to-do lawyer, Horatio G Spafford, was planning a trip to Europe with his wife and their four daughters. Knowing he still had an important court case to follow up on, he sent his family on, promising to join them in London at a later date. While sailing across the Atlantic, their ship was struck and cut in half by a freighter. Spafford's four daughters were swept to their deaths while their mother watched. She was thrown overboard and managed to swim to some flotsam where she was rescued. She wired her husband in New York and informed him of the tragedy. Spafford immediately set sail for London where his wife awaited. As his ship neared the spot where his daughters were lost, he was overcome by a feeling that God was near. He immediately set about writing the words to the now-favorite hymn, "It is Well With My Soul." His words, "When sorrows like sea billows roll" must surely describe the terrible grief that he must have been feeling as he sailed on past the watery grave of his loved ones. But, Spafford's lyrics also say that, "It is well with my soul" showing that he accepted what had happened and that it didn't hinder his faith.

   A contemporary American singer, Joe Cocker, recorded "You Are So Beautiful  To Me" in 1973. Cocker's scratchy voice and unique style of delivery has made this song one of the greatest love songs of our time. "You're every thing that I hoped for, you're every thing that I need, you are so beautiful to me," exemplifies a feeling of love that most men feel for their wives or sweethearts at some point in their lives. It says things to women that men often feel, but cannot express.

   There is magic in a song. Whether it is patriotic, a solemn hymn, or a love song sung in a scratchy voice, music has a magical way of getting to the feelings of human nature. It has a healing effect on the soul and acts as a catharsis for a broken heart. Listening to and singing music is God's way of saying that all is right with the world.

Until next time,
Peace,
JE