A Little Bit of Light

OK, I’m not an art critic. I do, however, have fairly strong emotional responses to visual art and especially music. My favorite musician, Phil Keaggy, gives his take on Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, Starry Night, in the song, A Little Bit of Light…another one of my five-star songs. Phil’s got more fives in my collection than any other artist. Click on the title if you want to listen along in another window. Use the best audio you can…big difference… My take is after the lyrics.

A Little Bit of Light

I lie here staring at the starry night
Vincent Van Gogh you really got it right
Your brush strokes paint the darkness in your life
Behind every brush stroke I find
A little bit of light

 The sound and the fury kept me up all night
Count no count – you got me all uptight
The struggle for the soul is a terrible fight
Behind every word I find
A little bit of light

It's a beautiful thing to see through the eye
Of pain and heartache laid into the night
You run from the darkness in this life
But if you turn around you'll find
A little bit of light

The blackest sea would tell a tale
Of journeys the chosen few have prevailed
The failing dream could reach the highest height
And love comes tumbling down in a little bit of light
A little bit of light

 Don't forget the sunflowers or the lilies fair
The spotted horses and that old black bear
Laughter turns the tears we often cry
And joy comes crashing in
In a little bit of light

It's a beautiful thing to see through the eyes
Of pain and heartache laid into the night
Don’t run from the darkness in this life
Cause if you turn around you'll find
A little bit of light

Lyrics by Keith Moore, Music by Phil Keaggy, c 1998 Bridge Building Music and Word Music

Mr. Hovi

Neil Diamond got the ball rolling with his TV concert in New York City tonight. The stroll down memory lane got me thinking about junior high at Lakewood School in Kenora, Ontario. I got to surfing tunes on Grooveshark and bumped into some Burton Cummings. Anyone remember Stand Tall?

Grace, The Beggar's Kingdom

Another quote from Blue Like Jazz, from Chapter 7, Grace, The Beggar's Kingdom: pages 83-85 – "Enlightenment came in an unexpected place: a grocery store. I was on my way over Mount Hood to spend some time in the high desert with a few friends. I was driving alone and decided to stop in at Safeway to pick up some provisions for the weekend.

While standing in line at the checkout counter, the lady in front of me pulled out food stamps to pay for groceries. I had never seen food stamps before. They were more colorful than I imagined and looked more like money than stamps. It was obvious that she unfolded the currency that she, I., and the checkout girl were quite uncomfortable with the interaction. I wish there was something I could do. I wished I could pay for her groceries myself, but to do so would have been to cause a greater scene.

Thumpin

It all started back in Kenora, Ontario. Some friends were getting a band together and the missing piece was the bass guitar. It was 9th grade and my family was new in town, with my parents moving there to pastor a church. I had piano lessons when I was younger, until my pushback finally got to be too much. I took guitar lessons for a while before we left Brandon and I kinda liked that. But now, a bassist was needed.

I remember the first bass, a starter model for sure, graciously provided by my parents. I had a couple of books but mostly it was "Somebody start playin' and I'll figure something out." Then it was mix tapes with band songs, over and over until it felt good. Not the worst way to learn an instrument: just get into the music.

Blue Like Jazz

Page ix – “I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Baghdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes. After that I liked jazz music.

Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened.”

*****

So here it is, my first book review. Actually, it's more of a book sample...hope that's OK. I love this book! I read it last summer on family vacation at a beautiful lake spot in northern Minnesota. I have this passion for what feels real inside of me to be presented credibly to people in my circles. I think Donald Miller does a lot of that in Blue Like Jazz. He's put words and stories to dozens of the deep things I feel.