I was freaking out as this week came to a conclusion, “I need another godless spiritual song?!” And then I found myself over at Target shopping for coffee and over the store speakers came, “Sometimes in our lives we all have pain…” Who better to be my savior than Bill Withers? But how could I have overlooked this song?! It is absolutely the perfect representation of the spirituality that I am thinking of.
According to Wikipedia, Withers wrote the song while in Los Angeles because he “found himself missing the strong community ethic of his hometown.” This song fits in rather well with the Sermon on the Mount. I think this is why most Christians don’t make a big deal out of the Sermon. They’ve been trained to think that Christianity is just a special pass into the joyous afterlife rather than the key to a joyous this life. I’m not saying that I’m right and they’re wrong. I don’t speak for their religion. But if that is all that Christianity is, it’s a pathetic religion.
Of course, the brilliance of the song is that it is ultimately practical. He explicitly says, “Lean on me because I know that someday I will need to lean on you.” It is also another part of spiritualism in that it is egalitarian and totally lacking in hubris. We are all together in this. Call me.
It certainly is in the spirit of the Sermon. How about the great Louis Armstrong singing What a Wonderful World. Music has such an ability to lift us up and give us hope. I can’t imagine life without it.
Your comment makes me think of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” and all the wondrous music that originally came from religious traditions yet was put to more practical use in the civil rights fight (not over, not by a long shot, but not hopeless, either!)
Maybe it would be good to do a series on hope. Maybe for Obama’s last week in office. But if a Republican wins in November, it’s gonna be hard.
I love the song. Also, the Joey Ramone version. But I wasn’t quite looking for that. I’m not sure this series ever really gelled. I’ll probably take another try in a few months.
If a Republican wins there is no hope for this country. If people can’t see through the shallowness of Trump and the rest, there is no hope. As for the music not jelling, it certainly did for me. Your presenting Brownie and Sonny and all the rest is awesome. Some music is pure entertainment and other music entertains while it inspires. Your doing great.
Oh, I liked the way that Brownie went. It was the spiritual week that didn’t work so well for me. But if I had worked on over a month, I think I could have made it gel more. Next week will be kind of a rehash. But after that I’m planning to do some more interesting things. But thanks for the encouragement. I like doing it.