Shaken And Stirred

Sometimes things just pop into your head…
A few days ago, I was listening to oldies on YouTube and I stumbled across a couple of old songs I really liked growing up.  Actually, they’re more words put to music, than singing-songs, but I guess they still count as “songs”.  Anyway, the first that popped into my head (and led to the second) was “Who Will Answer?” as sung by Ed Ames.
One of the verses goes:
From the canyons
of the mind,
We wander on
and stumble blindly
Through the
often-tangled
maze
Of starless
nights
and sunless
days,
While asking for
some kind of clue
Or road to lead us
to the truth,
But who will answer?
Interestingly enough, although the song has been “adopted” by many religious folks claiming it is about God or Christ or whomever, the song itself never actually answers the question posed:  “Who Will Answer?”  Personally, I believe we must each answer the question for ourselves, in our own way, with our own faith (or lack thereof).
The second song is “The Last Farewell“, which I remember not as a song, but for the chorus:
For you are beautiful,
and I have loved you dearly
More dearly than
the spoken word
can tell.
To me, this has always been a very romantic way of telling someone you love them.  It is particularly true if you (as I do) believe that real beauty is from the inside, is strongly enhanced by your love for the other person, and that the emotion can be so deep that words do fail.
The song was written and performed by Roger Whittaker.  To be honest (as mentioned above), I have no recollection of the song – only the verse / chorus.  It is only on rehearing that I’ve found it’s not so much a love song as it is a going-off-to-war song.  And, in it’s own way, it’s an anti-war love song…
Does faith sustain us when we are shaken by life’s seeming randomness?  Do the fears of war (injury and death) stir us even deeper in our appreciation for those we love and might lose?
I hope you’ll click over to the lyrics on my Poems page to check these (and all the others) out.  As always, once you’ve read the lyrics, go check out the actual recordings on you favorite music site.  And don’t forget, please support your local artists by going to their performances and seeing them live.
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