March 10 Remember When The Music

Some gifts are important because of what they mean to you, some gifts mean more to you because of who gave them to you. This satellite radio was a gift that accomplished both of these. Walt, who is the definition of a great friend, gave me this radio for Christmas because he knew I would love the wide range of music on satellite radio. As good friends should be, he was right. I can't imagine not having this radio. Here's today's example of why. There is an all Springsteen channel on Sirius. My favorite, not Walter's, but hey I grew up on the east coast(Springsteen territory), Walt grew up in Canada (Gordon Lightfoot territory). Anyway, the Bruce station plays bootleg concerts and today had Bruce covering Harry Chapin's "Remember When The Music". Now, I'm a Harry Chapin fan, sure you know "Cat's In The Cradle". So as I child I remember "30,000 Pounds Of Bananas" (about a truck full of bananas crashing) and "Taxi" (I'm sure I didn't understand as a kid, but my mom liked the song). Bruce tells the story about meeting Harry back in the 70's, then goes on to talk about Harry's work to end hunger in America. Then he get's back to the lyrics of the song "Remember When The Music" and how they seem corny now. Bruce says that his (and Harry's) generation really believed they were going to change the world. And music was the means to the end. So whether or not you really believe in the lyrics, honor Harry's memory and "just do something" to make the world a better place. One of my favorite charities, The Chicago Food Depository. Thanks Walt, Bruce and Harry.

Remember When the Music
by Harry Chapin

Remember when the music
Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire
And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire,
For we believed in things, and so we'd sing.

Remember when the music
Brought us all together to stand inside the rain
And as we'd join our hands, we'd meet in the refrain,
For we had dreams to live, we had hopes to give.

Remember when the music
Was the best of what we dreamed of for our children's time
And as we sang we worked, for time was just a line,
It was a gift we saved, a gift the future gave.

Remember when the music
Was a rock that we could cling to so we'd not despair,
And as we sang we knew we'd hear an echo fill the air
We'd be smiling then, we would smile again.

Oh all the times I've listened, and all the times I've heard
All the melodies I'm missing, and all the magic words,
And all those potent voices, and the choices we had then,
How I'd love to find we had that kind of choice again.

Remember when the music
Was a glow on the horizon of every newborn day
And as we sang, the sun came up to chase the dark away,
And life was good, for we knew we could.

Remember when the music
Brought the night across the valley as the day went down
And as we'd hum the melody, we'd be safe inside the sound,
And so we'd sleep, we had dreams to keep.

And I feel that something's coming, and it's not just in the wind.
It's more than just tomorrow, it's more than where we've been,
It offers me a promise, it's telling me "Begin",
I know we're needing something worth believing in.

Remember when the music
Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire
And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire,
For we believed in things, and so we'd sing.