I grew up road-tripping to my dad’s favorites: Johnny Cash, Trio: Linda Rondstadt, Emmylou Harris & Dolly Parton, and AM sports radio mixed with a lot of static.
So it’s no wonder I’ve been smitten by The Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons. Though each band has its own distinct sound, there’s a grass roots folksiness about them that pulls me in, conjuring up the best of the music of my childhood and marrying it with a bit of punk and rock from my adolsescence.
I’ve seen both of them live in the past few weeks, performances that are an amazing almost spiritual experience for me. They play small venues, and it’s easy to get caught up in the joy of the performances. But it’s the lyrics that bring it home for me.
There’s the imagery of the darkness flooded with light in “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise” (the Avett Brothers) with some of the best advice for living:
When nothing is owed or deserved or expected
And your life doesn’t change by the man that’s elected
If you’re loved by someone, you’re never rejected
Decide what to be and go be it
There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I’ll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out
But most stirring to me are the references to passing through life to death. From the Avett Brothers’ “The Perfect Space”
I wanna have friends that I can trust,
that love me for the man I’ve become not the man I was.
I wanna fit in to the perfect space,
feel natural and safe in a volatile place.
And I wanna grow old without the pain,
give my body back to the earth and not complain.
And there’s this from Mumford & Sons “Awake My Soul”
Lend me your eyes I can change what you see
But your soul you must keep, totally free
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life
Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
You were made to meet your maker
There’s such a natural vibe from the idea of giving your body back to the earth and using your body to die as well as live, there’s an almost comforting sense of death being an expected part of life. I was surprised by the serenity the songs bring, since there’s no real mention of what happens after death, of the next life being better than this or of reuniting with our loved ones – things that have always brought me peace. But maybe the comfort comes from trusting the process and investing through love in life, or maybe it’s shared in the raw honesty I sense from the artists.
Is there music that feels almost like a religion to you, that offers unexpected advice for living and comfort in dying?
Van Morrison is my 13th Article of Music Faith. Every song of his was written for me. Here’s a random excerpt from “Enlightenment”:
Chop that wood
Carry water
What’s the sound of one hand clapping
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is
Every second, every minute
It keeps changing to something different
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is
It says it’s non attachment
Non attachment. non attachment
I’m in the here and now, and I’m meditating
And still I’m suffering but that’s my problem
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is
Wake up
Jane Siberry’s whole album “When I Was a Girl” does that for me, especially “Calling All Angels” and “Love is Everything.”
And the Beatles teach a lot of great truths too – “All You Need is Love” has a line (I’m paraphrasing) like “there’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be” that makes me feel grounded and in the moment.
And clearly, I need to check out Van Morrison, Ed!