“Here are your waters and the watering place./Drink and be whole again beyond confusion.” - Robert Frost “Directive”
I DO not know if you know Andre Gagnon. He is composes almost divine instrumental music. I do not need to tell you more of his music, just listen to him. I think you will like him if your taste of music is sublime soothing and even spiritual. My favorite Gagnon piece is Bobichon. That song always gets me. I have heard it so many times before but the effect is still the same. When I hear the first few notes my mind goes automatically to a place untouched. I go where I find only myself. It is my secret place, my hideaway.
I go there when I am weary and the world is wearisome. I go there to find answers and to seek questions. I go there where there is a break from all the turmoil of this tired world and this body. I go there where every day is Christmas. Or when old friends gather and laugh and reminisce about the days past. I just go.
Every person needs a secret place, a hideaway, a place of solace and serenity. And the fastest way that I can go there is through music. Bobichon is one of those songs.
"Gentle on My Mind" by Allison Krauss is one of my favorite songs. I have always liked the freedom and acceptance of Gentle of My Mind. (Frank Sinatra has a great cover of that) But it is Allison’s that I like the best. It makes me smile, the song speaks of an understanding rooted in love. It sounds selfish on the surface but listen carefully and one will discover the depth of the love.
Then there is Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission. If ever there was a song made in heaven that would probably be it. The melody rises from nowhere like the scene from which it was taken, in the middle of the jungle. A melody that resonates and pierces, that lingers. Ennio Morricone is a genius.
If there was a perfect song it would have to be When I Look At You from the musical Jekyll and Hyde. The original version is a quiet but highly emotional piece. The version of Linda Eder is a towering example of the best of Broadway songs. That song always hits me because of its sheer strength and grace. A desperate yet hopeful song that has brought me to tears so many times.
You want a love song of the ages? Try The Story of My Life by Neil Diamond. The first time I heard that song I was literally speechless. The lyrics and the melody are just beautiful because they are so simple and yet they touch the very part that it was written for.
Recently I discovered a song that has been there for a lot of years but that is the nice thing about music isn’t it? One of the best feelings I have is when I discover a new song and that happened when I heard On A Bus to St. Cloud. The first version I heard was the Bernadette Peter cover which was good. And then I heard the one by Trish Yearwood and I was hooked.
Let me end with a happy note literally. And let me end with Breaking Up is Hard to Do. That oldie with a new twist sung by Sissel and of course Neil Sedaka. That song makes me smile, it lifts me, it makes me think that there is still good in this weary world.
I have secret places and music makes me go there. But there is much more. Oh so much more.