Two Songs

I heard John Denver’s “Country Roads” for the first time Sunday evening. Remember when I went nuts over Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York”? Well, it’s the same sort of feeling here, except completely different.

Same in the sense that they both move me dramatically. They make me want to take part in the bigger story about which each song communicates. Both call to me, though in radically different ways. But both call me to something wonderful.

“Country Roads” appeals to my desire for belonging, for a place where I am completely accepted, loved, and comfortable. When I hear that song I want to be from West Virginia, I want a place where I really belong, a familiar place that I can return to after traveling far and wide.

“New York, New York” calls me to the adventure and excitement and thrill of the unknown. I become enthralled with the glory and mystery of a place that is so expansive that it can never be fully explored, though it begs me to come experience it.

The same, but so different.

At its best (and these are two examples of music at that “best” level) music is art that touches you places otherwise untouched by our staid, practical world. Oh! Your heart feels in a way that’s incredible and indescribable.