Life always has a soundtrack for me, I’m never without a song in my head even at the saddest moments. That’s why this song “Dance with life” resonates with me.
Life is such a gift, sharing it with people we love is to be treasured, making memories for ourselves and others. Making a positive difference to the lives of others is a feeling like no other.
In my head sometimes the dance is a proper dance like a Charleston and sometimes it’s a waltz or a slow smooch. It’s maybe a foot tap or at our lowest times, the flow of our tears and our grief.
The song talks about love, it talks about “making every second your last” or making every day count. But above all, it talks about leaving a brilliant light behind.
In recent times we’ve lost a couple of wonderful people in our family, but their brilliant lights live on. Their dance with life has ended, but we will pick up the rhythm and dance on.
I have Andrew Wiggans to thank for my getting to know this song. He won’t remember who I am, and he certainly won’t know why he deserves thanks. And now comes the confession that I learned this song, word for word, so that I could sing it along to the jukebox in the Block 10 Common Room when he was in the vicinity, in the hope that he would notice me (him being a fan of The Style Council and all).
Yes. This song may be an eloquent and vibrant protest song, but I learned it in the hope of impressing someone who I wanted to notice me. Facepalm. I did get one tiny moment when the plan came together – at a party when we sang it together at the tops of our voices on the dancefloor and I got about a 5-second acknowledgment of my existence (and even a grin).
Anyhow.
The music of Paul Weller, especially in the form of The Jam and The Style Council has accompanied me through the years and I have to say that it never seems to age. In fact, earlier this week I declared that The Style Council seems to be providing the soundtrack to life at the moment. A ‘Long Hot Summer’ followed by the ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down’ anyone?
There’s a real sense of uncertainty in the world at the moment. What will Putin do next? Will we ever try to really address climate change? What on earth is going on with our government? Do our churches really want to deal with declining numbers or just pretend it’s not happening?
It’s all very unsettling and it zaps us of energy. We can’t see a way forward, or everything feels stuck. We start to question ourselves and our purpose. We throw our hands in the air and shout ‘what the …?’ or we pray.
I was half in mind, I was half in need And as the rain came down, I dropped to my knees and I prayed I said, oh, heavenly thing, please cleanse my soul I’ve seen all on offer and I’m not impressed at all I was halfway home, I was half insane And every shop window I looked in just looked the same I said now send me a sign to save my life Cause at this moment in time there’s nothing certain In these days of mine
I guess there are two simple ways we can go when things get this way. We can do nothing. Or we can do something. As Andy Dufresne says in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’, “you can get busy living or get busy dying.” Even though the thought of it is exhausting, I choose to get busy living. And we have the words of Isaiah 1:17 as a guide – “…learn to live right. See that justice is done. Defend widows and orphans and help the oppressed.”
That when you’re knocked on your back and your life’s a flop And when you’re down on the bottom there’s nothing else but To shout to the top
Shout to the top so I’ve sent a postcard to someone in Russia wishing peace and love.
Shout to the top – I’ve become a member of WWF to join in their action around climate change.
Shout to the top – currently writing a letter to my Conservative MP to encourage them to be concerned about the country more than their party.
Shout to the top by supporting work and initiatives that build communities and disciples.
I wonder what you’ll shout to the top about?
The Style Council may be no longer but Paul Weller continues to challenge us with his work. Find out more at https://www.paulweller.com/news/
Okay. So if you completed the title of this post with any of the following, then we think you might have a Friday Fix up your sleeve that you haven’t shared with us yet.
Linda
love
the One
the perfect beat
trouble
fun
So don’t be shy – just jot down some thoughts on a song that says something to you and email it to Gill at thomasg@methodistchurch.org.uk.
I thought it might be time to welcome those of you who have found your way here because you have followed the ‘Everyday Faith’ journey – ‘Striking a Chord.’
For those who aren’t aware, I was invited to put ten reflections together for our siblings in the Church of England as part of their Everyday Faith portal. I, therefore, tweaked the reflections that I have done for the Friday Fix to create the journey of daily thoughts and prayers.
The first reflection, however, is one that I hadn’t done for the Friday Fix and so I thought you might like to see how we kicked off the journey. Here we go:
Have you ever seen the film, August Rush? There are these great lines in it that go “You know what music is? God’s little reminder that there’s something else besides us in this universe, a harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere, even the stars.”
Popular music of any kind can help us to explore and question our beliefs, or it can help to shape our understanding of God and the world that we live in, or it can give voice to our passions and concerns about what it is to be human.
Music brings people together. It triggers memories and connections. It expresses thoughts and feelings for those who struggle to do so. It can change lives. It can be the best way of connecting with the Divine. Music is a gift from God.
One of the most well-known songs by the pop group, Abba, is ‘Thank You for the Music’. It could almost be a prayer for those of us who hear God speaking through music and lyrics. Any kind of music that is – not just hymns, choral songs and psalms.
‘Thank you for the music,
The songs I’m singing
Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing
Who can live without it?
I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance
What are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me’
Do you hear God speaking to you through music and lyrics? If you do, which songs are the ones that might have shaped or influenced your faith? If you haven’t, think about the songs that you like to play (or sing) when you’re happy, sad, angry or worried. Why do you play them? How do they make you feel? Might God be in there somewhere?
When I think of a lament, I think dirge – a combination of whinging, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, put to music. Not so with Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi’s collaboration with Bonnie Raitt, ‘Hear Me Lord.’
Mtukudzi, the Zimbabwean artist known for his husky voice and commitment to justice, died in January 2019. As critic Terence Blacker notes, Tuku challenged realities such as AIDS and poverty with a knack for filling even the bleakest topics with hope. He was averse to analysing his own lyrics, but seemed able to articulate the universal ache of the heart and the longing for God. Mtukudzi’s directness, penned in the chorus of this song, may encourage our own prayers to be shorter, and our church liturgies less wordy.
Hear Me, Lord
Hear me I pray
Hear me, Lord
Help me now (Help me Lord, I’m feeling low)
Help me Lord, help me now (Help me Lord, I’m feeling low)
Raitt, the American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist, recalls a band member turning her on to Mtukudzi’s music. This particular song, she writes, “used to get so much play on our late night bus rides, I just decided to cut it on the next album, so we could play it live every night”. She teamed up with Tuku in 2002 to do just that.
The link below above the unlikely duo in concert at an Austin City Limits concerts some years later. One aspect of this live recording that I particularly appreciate is the way that the artists share the melody, lyrics, and spotlight. Even as they sing in the first person…
I am down on my knees (Help me Lord, I’m feeling low)
…they alternate voices, almost like passing the baton of honesty between them, and giving one another a breather in the role as cantor. Just when we envision lament as a solo and lonely cri di coeur, we are reminded that it can also rise from the combined effort of a band, a group of friends, or a community of faith.
I recently heard the Christian theologian Rev. Dr. Willie James Jennings talk about dismantling racism. He spoke of committing ourselves ‘to the great work of hope’. For Jennings, hope is not a sentiment. Rather, it is a discipline. The scriptures invite us to hope, even command us to hope. With disciplined marching orders like those, it is a gift when others can get us tapping our feet while doing it. And with the help of artists like Mtukudzi and Raitt, we might even find ourselves dancing.
My dad was 90 a few weeks ago, and my mum was 87 last month. They’ve lived happy and fulfilled lives, but I’m increasingly aware that we are all vulnerable and that they won’t be around forever. I’m trying to speak with them on the phone and see them as much as I can. I don’t want to have regrets about not spending time with them when they are no longer here.
I also want to keep doing the things that bring me life in all its fullness, recognising this is not a free pass to an entirely selfish existence. I’ve still got stories to write about. Music I want to play and listen to. Places I want to visit. Books I want to read. But time – and more often than not, energy – often seems in short supply. Money is not always available to do the things I’d like in these troubled economic times.
I’ve also got struggles I’d love to heal. Relationships I’d love to grow. Unfulfilled dreams I’d like to see become a reality. On top of that I’d love to spend more time and energy campaigning and acting on behalf of refugees, young people and those in need of a bit of help. I’d like to take more political action over the things I’m passionate about to see transformation in our broken world.
However, the pandemic has left a trail of trauma and loss which can sometimes lead to a paralysis of thought and action if I’m not careful. It’s too easy to end up sitting watching TV and doing nothing. I also need to balance my own wants and desires with those of others. All-in-all, life can be a bit of a challenge … and that leads me to the song I’ve been impacted by of late …
It’s a song from American Country artist, Cody Johnson, that talks about taking chances in life rather than waiting until they’re gone for good. The chorus has particularly spoken to me:
If you got a chance, take it,
take it while you got a chance
If you got a dream, chase it,
’cause a dream won’t chase you back
If you’re gonna love somebody
Hold ’em as long and as strong and as close as you can
‘Til you can’t
I’ve always believed that our best dreams come from God and my quest in the coming season is to try and line up what I want, with want God wants. For me, that means better following the advice in the song and taking every chance that comes my way, believing that God opens the doors, orchestrates great possibilities, and offers divine invitations. My part is to be on the lookout for when it’s God, and discerning in how I respond to what comes before me.
I need to do the loving and say the ‘love-you’s’ now. If I find something that needs fixing, I need to fix it now. Where I get things wrong, I hope that I can say the ‘sorries’ now. And even when I’m tired and grumpy – which can be often – I need to take and make the phone calls now, just in case there comes a time when I’m not able to. In the words of the song, I don’t want to kick things ‘further down the road’ and ‘wait on tomorrow’ …
If you got a chance, take it
If you got a dream, chase it
I like this live version of the song best – turn it up loud!
Turin Brakes are one of my absolute favourite bands. They have a great sound and they are equally good whether channeling their gentle rock style or their fabulous acoustic harmonious selves. They also write a mean lyric. What’s not to love.
You only need to begin to pay attention to the news, or indeed look outside your window at your scorched lawn and thirsty plants, to see the world is struggling with a changing climate. Floods and drought equally destructive to people’s homes and livelihoods. Melting glaciers falling on unsuspecting tourists. No snow where there should be some. Forty shades of green becoming forty shades of brown. No crops leading to the starvation of millions. I could go on.
This song speaks for itself. The wondering about what is ours to do and how many people have to struggle before we pay proper attention. When will it be too late and why aren’t we able to jump right in now.
Soon, it seems, there may be only one person left to notice the end of the world and by then it will be too late for humanity
God was careful enough to be a creator of a world where everyone and everything could flourish. Not simply exist but be the best they could be. I guess the question is when will we wake up and make a difference for the billions with their backs already against the wall and not wait til it gets to us before we act.
Maybe pay extra attention to the news this week. Whenever you see a story linked to the climate make some effort to act for good change now. Small or large. You know it makes sense. You know it will be a part of serving the God you love and loving the planet we live on.
The Friday Fix 