Kite

I'm a lifelong lyric fanatic and God often speaks me through the word craft of songwriters. Bono of U2 often writes lyrics that blow my mind especially his songs that are rooted in the Bible (check out Bible references in U2 lyrics for more revelation). 

U2's stellar 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind is chock full of brilliant lyrics, but there's a line in "Kite" that stands out for me: Life should be fragrant // Rooftop to the basement. It sets this song apart from the rest of the album and even gave me the name for this blog. And since I can smell things of God, it has become my life's motto of sorts. Because when you think about it, our lives really should be fragrant from the rooftop all the way to the basement.

Something is about to give I can feel it coming
I think I know what it means
I'm not afraid to die I'm not afraid to live
And when I'm flat on my back I hope to feel like I did
And hardness, it sets in You need some protection
The thinner the skin

I want you to know that you don't need me anymore
I want you to know You don't need anyone or anything at all

Who's to say where the wind will take you

Who's to say what it is will break you
I don't know which way the wind will blow
Who's to know when the time's come around
Don't want to see you cry
I know that this is not goodbye
In summer I can taste the salt in the sea
There's a kite blowing out of control on a breeze
I wonder what's gonna happen to you
You wonder what has happened to me

I'm a man, I'm not a child
A man who sees the shadow behind your eyes

Did I waste it? Not so much I couldn't taste it
Life should be fragrant, Rooftop to the basement
The last of the rock stars When hip hop drove the big cars
In the time when new media Was the big idea
That was the big idea
#MonthfulOfMusic #HoodMom

Bridge Over Troubled Water

I know no tune in the great American songbook that speaks to my heart more than"Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel. It was released in 1970 when I was ten years old and is one of the quintessential songs of my childhood and teens.

However it wasn't until after I became a Christian that it turned into my constant inspiration. I went up to the altar of my church for prayer one Sunday and as I stood with my eyes closed, God spoke to me as clearly as I had ever heard. 

"Your time has come," He said. Honestly, at first I thought He was telling me I was going to die. But then I got this niggling idea that it might be a song lyric. When I googled the words, there they were: lyrics to one of my alltime favorite songs. But they took on new meaning and were being sung from Jesus to me.

"Your time has come...to shine," He sang to me. "All your dreams are on their way."

I was, for lack of a better word, gobsmacked. And for the first time I began to truly grasp how Jesus had continually pursued me using music and lyrics.

What is even more fascinating is the fact Bridge Over Troubled Water was Paul Simon's first attempt at writing a gospel song. Its inception was an experience he has always acknowledged as divine. "I have no idea where it came from. It came all of the sudden," said Simon. "It was one of the most shocking moments in my songwriting career...it was considerably better than I usually write." 

Little did Paul Simon know that the Eternal God would use the lyrics to raise the hopes and dreams of a silver girl and new believer on the Canadian prairies over 30 years later. 

And it started a conversation with Him through music that has never stopped. 

When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I'll dry them all (all)
I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water // I will lay me down

When you're down and out // When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard I will comfort you
I'll take your part, oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water // I will lay me downSail on silver girl sail on by // Your time has come to shine

All your dreams are on their way // See how they shine

If you need a friend // I’m sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water // I will ease your mind

#MonthfulOfMusic #HoodMom