American icons
“I’m a rhinestone cowboy…” so goes the lyrics to a famous tune by the late Glen Campbell, an American folksinger and music icon. When our son Scott was a preschooler, that song was one of the favorites he’d sing for us as he strummed his small guitar given to him by Grandma Wood. We loved it, and we liked Glen Campbell. His long goodbye from Alzheimer’s disease was awful. The “Wichita Lineman” is no longer on the line. I think death by Alzheimer’s makes dying by heart attack look… not so bad. An American minstrel has flown out of our open hand.
The same was true for “country roads, take me home, to the place where I belong…” written and sung by folk singer, John Denver. “Rocky Mountain High” made my heart soar. Didn’t yours? His smile and his ability to capture in music what was verbally inexpressible by us ordinary untalented singers was amazing. His accidental death while piloting a small experimental plane in California was tragic. John Denver was an American treasure.
When Johnny Cash died, the Man in Black slipped off the stage he had once commanded. With his gravelly voice and his honest heart, he left us to join another man on a different stage, the Man in White, the Savior whom he loved and worshipped, the Lord Jesus. Johnny Cash was not perfect but he believed in a perfect Savior who washes away sins by his blood sacrifice and justifies the ungodly by their faith in him. Johnny wrote and sang “Ring of Fire” and many, many other country classics, like Folsom Prison Blues.” I liked one of his lesser-known songs, “Don’t Rock the Boat.” America lost its only real Desperado when Mr. Cash rode into the sunset taking his guitar and his “Nine Inch Nails” lament along with him.
America has produced some amazing artists who have been a source of musical pleasure to me. Country music is authentic to our nation. I appreciate it and I enjoy its honesty. When I want Christian music, I tend toward worship songs from the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, the gospel sound of the Gaither’s, or Scriptures set to music from Hosanna. I enjoy the high praises of New Zealand’s contemporary worship by Darlene Zschech.
Music and song mirrors the culture of the moment. It predicts the culture that’s arriving tomorrow. Art is a preview of society’s course. Many of God’s prophetic voices are singers. Some are more famous outside the church than in, like U2 and Bono. We need to have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying or singing to the church. Michael W. Smith makes my heart thrill with joy. Who is your favorite singer of Psalms? My wife and I purchased one of Smith’s CD’s while living in South Africa only to discover that it had been recorded live in our home church — Carpenter’s Home Church — in Lakeland, Fla. In the middle of one of his haunting ballads, you can hear a spontaneous exclamation from someone, “Praise the Lord!” It was uttered by pastor Karl Strader. I treasure that holy moment, so characteristic of him and a verbal reminder of the spiritual environment that shaped my values when I was a young man.
The music you listen to and sing from memory reflects the inner voice of your heart. What lyrics, what melody, is being heard in your heart? Is it holy or sinful?