Diamond in the Rough

Lyrics to a song I wrote ...

In that moment

All you are is now

The past disappears into the shadows

The future is but a dream

Here is all that matters

Her smile reveals the title

Her touch weaves a story

Her eyes are clear and open

Her soul is bared to you

Feeling, knowing, twisting, being.

In these rare moments, you own soul

Is mirrored on all sides

For she reflects all that you are.

She’s the words and the expression

You … are … the … story.

Your own depth goes deeper

still deeper

And you know your own brilliance

A diamond in the rough

That isn’t so rough anymore

Sparkling, loving, shining, living.

Another layer is gone

And another new beginning

A diamond’s journey is never through.

In that moment

All you are is now

The past disappears into the shadows

The future is but a dream

Here is all that matters

Listening to Levon

Mark Cohn sings a song titled ‘Listening to Levon.’ It’s about a young man on a date with Mary (her name in the song) and while he remembers a few details, he’s elsewhere, listening to Levon (Levon Helm). The chorus is this:

I was lost
I was gone
Listening to Levon
In another place
In some other world
I was was lost
I was gone
Listening to Levon
I was looking at the girl
But I was listening to Levon

I suppose I can relate. I remember dating a woman a while ago who clearly saw I was more interested in cycling than in her. Maybe it might be more precise to say at the time I was more interested in proving something, and cycling was the way to do it. So as the song continues:

Sorry if I hurt you
Mary if you’re out there
You know who you are

I believe we all have activities that pull us in, where we’re lost in another place. It could be fishing, online gaming, church, or any pursuit which truly feeds us. Our deepest interests have their own sacredness and fulfillment to them.

For a long time cycling was it for me. More recently it’s been running, meditation, and yoga. Each one offers a stillness, peace, depth, connection. It’s not unlike listening to Levon. Engrossed and absorbed seem more relevant to what I feel than lost or gone. Truly being in the run, or on the mat – being present and nowhere else. The result being a similar vein of captivation and experience. In that sense, I feel the resonance of Cohn’s chorus. I feel the want for the magnificence and simplicity of those places deeper than being human.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a passionate kiss, a heartfelt embrace, the twinkle in a lover’s eyes, the deep blessings of a woman’s heart. Those truly reflect some of our most profound desires as humans - wanting to be loved, yearning to be connected, being in relationship with someone close. I feel that pull as well.

The truth is we need both and to find a balance of both. We need those places that bring great joy and satisfaction, an inner pace; and we need to acknowledge and meet our human state of being. We need to support this in each other so that each person blossoms in their own interests and then returns with renewed energy for those he loves.

Done well, this is truly having our cake and eating it too! I’m off to bake my cake and then enjoy the delight of human senses!

Hallelujah

You might think this post would be about Handel’s Messiah being that it’s near Christmas, but no, this is about the song Hallelujah penned by Leonard Cohen. It’s one of my favorite songs, and while I like Cohen’s version my favorite covers are by Brandi Carlile and Jeff Buckley, both of which give me goosebumps. Brandi Carlile sang it with the Seattle Symphony live – I wish I could have been there for that.

Below are 5 verses most often sung. I believe there are at least two more common verses and I’ve even read there are another 20 verses somewhere, but I’ve never found them. The lyrics are like poetry – just beautiful, full of imagery. Still they don’t seem to make much sense on the surface. Supposedly it took Cohen a year to write these lyrics, which makes sense as the song reveals itself over time for the song covers time.

Then you hear the song on the radio, or a CD, and you start singing along. The music reverberates through you and the meaning reveals itself.

For me it’s about faith – having it, keeping it, losing it, discovering it again and again, having it tested, having it return, rejoicing in it, knowing/feeling it’s real. It can be sung as hopeful, sorrowful, joyous – it depends on the artist, the mood, the musicians.

For a short while I did some singing and this was my favorite song to sing, especially backed up by the amazing pianist I worked with. And when I sang it for an audience – wow, what a feeling. What a feeling inside and it was clear I had reached everyone listening.

Regardless it’s always beautiful and profound. Find your favorite version and sing along, let it sink it and light up your day.

Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

I've heard there was a secret chord

That David played, and it pleased the Lord

But you don't really care for music, do you?

It goes like this

The fourth, the fifth

The minor fall, the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof

Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you

She tied you to a kitchen chair

She broke your throne, and she cut your hair

And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before

I know this room, I've walked this floor

I used to live alone before I knew you.

I've seen your flag on the marble arch

Love is not a victory march

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time when you let me know

What's really going on below

But now you never show it to me, do you?

And remember when I moved in you

The holy dove was moving too

And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there’s a God above

But all I’ve ever learned from love

Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you

It’s not a cry you can hear at night

It’s not somebody who has seen the light

It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah