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Feeling Hopeful
Hearing Kansas "Dust In The Wind"
Sunday Rhapsody
“Music is the language of the spirit." Kahlil Gibran
Welcome to the first edition of Sunday Rhapsody! Make yourself comfortable and prepare to take a journey within my soul, to feel and learn of a place in time I once knew...
Before I begin please let me explain why Sunday Rhapsody is being written for your enjoyment. So many of you my dearest friends have noticed from previous entries and the way I talk about music it was once a focal point in my life...Losing my hearing was to witness the death of a loving friend - My music. Most of you know my story of having grown up with a strict Pentecostal mother who didn't believe in the enjoyment of such frivolity, as well as my escape from abuse and imminent freedom at the young age of 16. Needless to say I had a lot of catching up to do and craved music like you wouldn't imagine. Every song, every nuance had meaning to me, each one became it's own memory of a time and place. I was fortunate to have 23 years of melody and cadence to feed my soul before the silence would befall me.
I haven't lost my sense of that beauty and ethereal elegance within me. Yes, these days I can no longer hear it physically; I can however remember and still from time to time peruse the lyrics to bring it back to me in some form. The idea of Sunday Rhapsody came to me when I shared a book of lyrics I had collected with a friend of mine...Each song represents something to me and I want to share the only way I know how in my silence those memories with you here in my journal. Each Sunday if you tune in to Raven's Lament you will get a chance to walk back down memory lane and a chance to listen to something special the way I once heard it (winks). As I share various songs I will try to give you a glimpse of where I was in my life and why this song speaks to my soul.
It's fitting that I begin this edition with the song "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas..."Dust in the Wind" was one of the very first songs I remember hearing after leaving home at 16. I'll share the lyrics then explain why it's my first choice:
I close my eyes,
only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams,
pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind,
all they are is dust in the wind
Same old song,
just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do,
crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind,
All we are is dust in the wind
(instrumental break)
Don't hang on,
nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away,
and all your money won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind,
All we are is dust in the wind
(All we are is dust in the wind)
Dust in the wind,
(Everything is dust in the wind)
Everything is dust in the wind
Beautiful isn't it? It made so much sense to me coming from a poor home struggling to survive alone on the streets. In the end all those who walked by me and sneered or pitied me, would be no more than I was at that moment. All the money and the riches in the world couldn't save you from the same end I will eventually find. Nothing separates us in the end, the color of our skin, wealth, strife, pain or joy; we all turn to dust and blow across the land mingled one with another - grains of sand. This song taught me to enjoy life to the fullest, to live each day as if it were my last.
There is a little more depth to this...Alas I will tell that story another time. Safe to say...someone dear to me used to open their door and give me refuge when I needed it most. There was always room on the couch and food in the fridge. I used to wake up to the melody of "Dust in the Wind", listening to the gentle strands being played on his guitar from another room, as he tried not to wake me...Sad to say he would die before I made it to 17. He's the epitome and sadness that comes with the beauty of these lyrics. And that my dear friends ends the first edition of "Sunday Rhapsody"...tune in next Sunday for another musical treat from my spirit to yours.
"Our lives are like a candle in the wind." Carl Sandburg
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I like the Sunday Rhapsody concept. Dust in the Wind is such a classic. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and memories of this song and how you relate to it. :) Hugs, Kelly
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It's a beautiful song and I remember it very well :-)
xoxo -
I think I'm going to really like these Sunday Rhapsodies. I enjoyed this entry. This is one of my favorite songs, and I loved the video you provided, along with the insight into where you were, physically and emotionally, when you first heard this one.
Lori
http://journals.aol.com/helmswondermom/DustyPages/ -
While the melody of a song can always touch me, you've seen the bigger picture and understand that the lyrics are often the greatest measure of a song. Lyrics can speak to different people in different ways, and it can be very individual.
I enjoyed Sunday Rhapsody very much, and I look forward to the next installment. :)
Hugs,
Beth
http://journals.aol.com/luvrte66/nutwoodjunction/
5/1/08 9:30 AM
You and I were both Dust in the Wind it seems during the same time period.
You and I both had the same Pentecostal background, (which I didn't know until reading THIS entry).
You and I both were helped by a non family member when others would walk by.
I am thinking about collecting lyrics now for a lyrics journal.
Love,
Nelishia
http://journals.aol.com/nelis