Lift Every Voice and Sing!

This morning I could hear a voice outside my window. At first, I thought it was one of our young neighbors singing and happily unaware that the tune was drifting on the wind to my ears. Then, the voice became louder and more powerful. I realized that it was not a child, but an adult singing. How rare, I thought to hear a solitary and spontaneous song coming in my window. The voice came from a woman who was gardening. When I looked out the window, I could see that she was listening to tunes with a headset, unaware of the musical energy that she was creating for others to hear. Absorbed in the music as she dug into and pounded the earth, she seemed as if propelled by it. She was rejoicing in the moment and unaware of any outer or inner censor that might have told her to hush.

In my life, I have met two people who told me that they actually thought in music. One of these was a woman who often whistled or hummed songs aloud. In this way, clever listeners could actually read her mind by listening to what tunes came from her lips.

Most of the time the thoughts that drift through my head are in the form of words. Yet, often in the morning as I awaken it is with a song in my head. Music is often in harmony with my mood rather than my thoughts. When my mother was in the last weeks of her life, I heard music in my head that I had not heard for many years. The tunes were the lullabies that she had sung to me as a child and the music that had given me spiritual solace in times of pain.

When I was undergoing a strenuous medical regime a few years ago, I asked a friend to mail me a CD of healing songs. She had intended to use her own voice, yet she invited a child who was visiting her that day to participate. My friend’s songs were lovely and soft. The little girl spontaneously composed several tracks and these were tender even mournful at times. The refrain of the child’s song was, “Pretty blue sky, why are you blue?” The child, who was just reaching an age where she was becoming self-conscious, began to laugh with a mix of embarrassment and joy at her singing. The laughter was a clear note in the chords of the blues she sang.

My cousin B tells me that she believes the blues have the most meaning for her. One of her photos is inserted with this post. When I look at it, I can almost hear the music and it lifts my spirit.