Music Tuesday: In Memoriam, Dolly Parton

As you all probably know, Dolly Parton, the great country singer and songwriter and even sometime movie star, passed away two weeks ago now on August 25^th.  Sassy, traditional, revolutionary, feminist without the negative aspects of feminism, wife to one husband for decades, philanthropist, believing Christian, and all-round good person, she was one of a kind.  She grew up poor, became rich from her talent, but always understood those that struggled to make ends meet.  From ABC News:

Dolly Parton, the beloved country music superstar known as much for her philanthropy and theme park business as she was for her chart-topping hit songs, has died at 80.

Parton's death on Tuesday was announced by her publicist, who said the singer "died peacefully" in Nashville. No cause of death was initially provided, but a later statement provided by her publicist said Parton died at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones after "bravely facing a brief battle with cancer."

A small private service will be held for immediate family, the publicist said.

"As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures," Parton wrote on Instagram in September 2025, though she never specified the nature of her health issues. Nearly six months later, at the seasonal opening of her Dollywood theme park, she said that she was still dealing with "a few little health issues" from which she was taking time to recover.

Parton also shared that she was still navigating her grief over the March 2025 death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, saying that she had been taking time since to rebuild herself "spiritually, emotionally and physically."

I did not really know Dolly Parton’s work that well.  Her music wasn’t exactly in my catalogue of listening titles, but I did like what I heard.  The thing that surprised me the most as I learned about her life is that she was a great songwriter.  She wrote her own songs and songs for others.  I can’t recall the exact number but the songs attributed to her are in the thousands.  AP devoted an article to her music legacy and said this.

Parton’s legacy starts with the immortality of her music: songwriting as solace, an exercise in creativity and an unwavering ability to write experience into art. Across her career, Parton wrote and performed perennial hits (“Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “Little Sparrow,” take your pick) and others that took on a life of their own (most famously, “I Will Always Love You,” made immortal by Whitney Houston ).

Parton grew up in poverty, one of 12 kids in East Tennessee’s rural Sevier County, where she started writing songs as a toddler. By 10, she was on the radio and TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. By 13, she had made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. At 21, she joined “The Porter Wagoner Show,” her star power quickly eclipsing its host.

The accomplishments — and the trials and tribulations that came with them, which she let roll off her shoulders with enviable resiliency — came fast and furious, as they do with once-in-a-lifetime talents. There are the 10 Grammys, the numerous Hall of Fame inductions, and the fact that she revolutionized the world of country music for women alongside Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, creating a path for crossover artistry. But there are also her Hollywood forays. It’s telling that her first feature film, “9 to 5,” celebrated women in the workplace and messed with their devious bosses.

The other aspect of her life that I learned was her philanthropy.  PEOPLE magazine had an article on her charitable giving. 

Beyond writing and performing hits like “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “Coat of Many Colors,” the legendary country singer-songwriter — who died on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at age 80 — dedicated much of her life to helping others at home and abroad.

From starting her Dollywood Foundation in the 1980s to help children in Sevier County, Tenn. — where she grew up — achieve educational success, to funding COVID vaccine research, Parton’s philanthropic efforts, like her career, were wide-ranging.

“I’m kind of addicted to the feeling of giving,” the country star told PEOPLE in 2021 for a People of the Year cover story. “Knowing that I’m doing something good for someone else.”

The following year, she was recognized with the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for her decades of charitable efforts, which also include her foundation’s Imagination Library, a monthly book gifting program for children under five.

“I’m proud of the Imagination Library as much as anything I’ve ever done in my life,” Parton told PEOPLE while receiving the award in 2022. The same night, the country icon also shared how she finds causes to support, revealing that she has a team of staffers to help out in between her other work. She also said she followed her heart.

“I always want to do things that I can be proud to talk about, things that I believe in,” Parton told PEOPLE at the time. “I cannot be a hypocrite and just say I’m going to donate this money for a tax write-off. I’d really like for it to mean something to me — something I can take pride in.”

So after spending a week exploring her music, I came up with these seven songs which I think capture various aspects of her body of work.  First, let’s go with one of her first hits, “Jolene” of 1973.

 

 

The intensity of expression is captured in the ever increasing desperation in the singer’s voice with each successive “Jolene.”  Dolly makes this song with her articulation, and it feels so honest.  I also love the interweave of three acoustic guitars. 

Even before “Jolene” was “Coat of Many Colors” (1971) which combines her story of growing up in poverty with nostalgic family love rooted in Biblical values.

 

Much later in 2001 she wrote and recorded “Little Sparrow.”  She was a great performer, so I’m going to select a live rendition to show off her voice and showmanship.

 

Of course, the little sparrow, who feels no pain, contrasts with singer.  This is wonderful songwriting. 

“9 to 5” (1980) is probably her most well-known song, and she captures perfectly a woman’s hardship in a male dominated work world.

 

The video uses excerpts from the movie and hopefully also captures her foray into movie acting.

From 1975, Doly wrote “The Bargain Store” for the album by that name.  Yes, this song is country, but there is such a folk song element to it.  It crosses genres.

 

Again such great songwriting.  A hurt, perhaps emotionally damaged woman, compares herself to a store of reduced priced items.  The song strives to be hopeful but the tension of the passed hurt belies the hope.

A brighter and more joyous song is the 1974, “Love is Like a Butterfly,” where Dolly makes another comparative leap.

 

And I love her articulation in that song as she flutters from word to word.  That’s two minutes and twenty-five seconds of perfection!

Finally I want to capture Doly’s faith as expressed in song.  Christianity Today also wrote on her passing and covered religious side.  Here’s an excerpt.

She wove religious themes and imagery into her songs and, like many other country artists, frequently recorded and performed covers of sacred songs. Her 1971 hit, “Coat of Many Colors,” blends her story of growing up in poverty with the biblical story of Joseph. One of her first original songs, “Letter to Heaven,” is written as a child’s petition to God after the death of her mother. Her 1994 album Heartsongs: Live from Home includes a cover of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” and Precious Memories (1999) features an array of familiar hymns like “In the Garden,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Power in the Blood.”

The article quotes from Dolly’s autobiography.

One day as I prayed in earnest, I broke through some sort of spirit wall and found God,” Dolly Parton wrote in her 1994 autobiography. “Not as a chastising, bombastic bully but as a friend I could talk to on a one-to-one basis. He is our father, after all.”

They also quote her as to why she doesn’t belong to an organized church. 

Parton described herself as “very spiritual” but not religious. She grew up going to the Pentecostal church where her grandfather preached, but said that after being shamed by fellow churchgoers for the way she dressed, she chose to part ways with organized Christianity.

Still, I find her faith sincere.  Let’s end her retrospective with “When Jesus Comes Calling For Me.”

 

When I was a child I recall an old man everybody loved old Zeke

(He was all alone, his family was gone one day he said to me)

I'm just sittin' here thinkin' about Jesus, rockin' as my old chair creaks

Some glad day I'll fly away when Jesus comes calling for me

It might be today, it might be tomorrow, maybe one day next week

I'll soon be done with trouble and sorrow when he comes calling for me

When Jesus comes calling for me

When I die don't grieve and cry

Lordy, don't feel sorry for me

Oh what a day, what a mighty fine day

When Jesus comes calling for me

When he comes calling for me

 

Somehow I think she had these lyrics on her lips as the Good Lord came calling for her.

Eternal Rest give onto her, Lord,
And let perpetual light shine upon her.
May Dolly Parton rest in peace.
Amen.

 

Music Tuesday: Shame Shame Shame by The Rolling Stones

I haven’t had a “Music Tuesday’ post in quite a while.  If you have followed my blog you might remember that one of my guilty pleasures is my love of the music by The Rolling Stones.  Of course The Rolling Stones are not going to get an imprimatur from any Catholic bishop, and perhaps one could make an argument that some of their themes contributed to the decadence of our contemporary culture.  Nonetheless as artists of rock and popular music, they are among the greatest.

On November 14^th, the Stones will be releasing a remastered and expanded version of their 1976 album, Black and Blue.  Remastering is an enhancement of the audio sound using more modern technology so that the track on the medium sounds closer to the studio recording.  You can read about remastering here.  But this new release is also an expanded version of the original album which will include six tracks that did not make the final album.  The Stones like to say they have a vault full of gems that never made the final cut, and so, as with other new remastered albums, they have provided outtakes from the original recording sessions as additional material.  These outtakes aren’t necessarily finished, and so sometimes they will go into the studio and “finish” the song or even add to it.  But the finished song still should retain the aesthetics of that original session.

The remastered release will have six outtakes as new songs and depending on which version of the album (two disk studio songs, four disk includes live show, and five disk includes a Blu-ray video of the show) will have a recording of a live show from the 1976 tour, “Live at Earl’s Court.”  Of the six new songs, the Stones have released a single, “Shame Shame Shame.”  This is the song I want to share in this Music Tuesday.  First the song, and then I’ll talk about it.

 

It’s too bad this song did not make the original album because this song is fantastic!  Black and Blue was not one of the Stones’ great albums.  It probably would come in low on my ranking of Stones’ albums.  This is just a great cover of a song and would have most certainly improved the album.  The original song was written Sylvia Robinson and originally released by Shirley & Company in 1974.  The lead singer of Shirley & Company was the Shirley Goodman of the 1950s group Shirley and Lee, and who had a big hit in 1956, “Let the Good Times Roll.” Her “Shame Shame Shame” also hit number one on the charts. 

Shirley Goodman’s work is mostly in the Rhythm and Blues and Soul vein, but “Shame Shame Shame” has more of a disco dance feel of the 1970s.  It also uses a Bo Diddley beat that has been widely used in R&B and rock and is perfect for dance music.  Shirley has a naturally high pitched voice and in her original she does it as a duet between her falsetto female voice complimented with the male tenor voice of Jason Alvarez.  The original version uses a saxophone for the solo interlude played by Seldon Powel.  Here is the original “Shame Shame Shame.”

 

It’s a dance song with the first person narrator expressing her need to go out dancing and it’s a shame if her interlocutor, who I take is a male friend, can’t dance or doesn’t want to go.

 

Shame shame shame on you

If you can't dance too

 

Can't stop me now hear what I say

My feet wanna move so get out my way

I'm gonna have my say

I'm going to every discotheque

I'm gonna dance dance dance dance ooh

Till the break of day I say

 

CHORUS

Shame shame shame hey shame on you

If you can't dance too

I say shame shame shame

Shame shame shame

Shame shame on you

If you can't dance too

 

Don't stop the motion

If you get the notion

You can't stop the groove

'Cos you just won't move

Got my sun-roof down

Got my diamonds in the back

So put on your shaky wig baby

If you don't I ain't comin' back

 

REPEAT CHORUS

 

If you don't want to go

Remember one monkey don't stop no show

My body needs action ain't gonna blow

Yes I'm going out I'm going to find a dancin' man

If you really think you're fast

Try to catch me if you can

I say shame shame shame yeah (aah) shame on you

If you can't dance too

 

It's a shame shame shame

Shame shame shame

Shame shame on you

If you can't dance too

If you can't dance

 

This is an incredibly catchy song.  There is something that coordinates so well between the predominant lyric “Shame shame shame/Shame on you” with the Bo Diddley beat.  If you don’t know what is referred to as a Bo Diddley beat, listen to Matt Dwyer who provides blues guitar lessons on YouTube.

 

The catchy lyric has the meter of four stressed accents followed by two unstressed: / / / / u u.  The four stress words (“Shame Shame Shame/Shame”) mirror the first part of the Bo Diddley beat and the two unstressed words (“on you”) mirror the last two beats.   Now that you have seen the Matt Dwyer explanation and my metrical insight, go back to the Shirely version and listen to it again.  I think I’m correct there.

Now go back to the Stones version.  They just don’t copy the music, they enhance it.  First off, the Stones version weaves multiple guitars that overlay over the Bo Diddley beat.  It’s a much more complex sound.  The original song is joyous but the interplay by the guitars in the Stones version make it so much more joyous.  It’s as if the guitars are in a state of ecstasy.

Another difference is that the Stones version eliminates the sax and uses an electric guitar for the solo.  It fits so much better with the interweaving guitars.  It’s as if one of the weaving guitars stepped up and provided the solo and then steps back into the interweaving web of sound. 

Another difference between the two versions is in the vocals.  On the original version, Shirley is mostly the lead matched with a duet of Jason Alvarez, but they do alternate stanzas.  Her high pitched voice is near falsetto and Alvarez is clearly tenor.  The image is clearly of two separate people interacting.  In the Stones version, Mick Jagger is singing in two voices, roughly a falsetto voice for the Shirley parts and in his natural tenor in the Alvarez parts.  While the voices are two separate vocal ranges, they still have the timber of the same natural voice, and it comes across much more naturally as one person.  Jagger has used the falsetto voice in quite a few songs, so this isn’t new for him.  On that very Black and Blue album, arguably the best song on the album is “Fool to Cry,” which alternates between falsetto and tenor.  The Shirley duet is not truly a duet.  The two voices aren’t replying to each other.  They are saying the same message.  The lyrics of the song don’t call for two separate statements.  Jagger’s one voice in two ranges makes it true to the lyrics.

Another difference is in the backup vocals.  When Shirley and Alvarez come together they come to a harmony where the two voices are blended into one.  In the Stones version, the backup vocals are descant (“a voice (cantus) above or removed from others”) from the lead to give it a sense of separation.  Just like there is a weave of guitars there is also a weave of voices.  As one listens deeper into the song there seems to be an ever so slight difference in timing (a 32^nd of a note perhaps?) between the lead singer and the backup vocals.  This gives the feel that the lead voice is running away, emphasizing the opening lines, “Can't stop me now hear what I say/My feet wanna move so get out my way.” 

The Rolling Stones released a clip of the song being overdubbed to the recording.  It features Mick, backup singer Chanel, and Ronnie Wood on electric guitar.

 

Mick is 82 years old, and he still delivers!  Amazing.

I love the Shirley & Company version of the song, but the Stones cover is an aesthetic masterpiece.  On the surface it appears they are just copying the original, but, when you look closer, they have put their stamp on the song and taken it to a higher level.  Too bad it didn’t make the Black and Blue album, but I can see how with the original being out just two years before it would not have given the original artist their due respect.

Finally I should mention that Shirley & Company put out a “Disco” version of the song that doubles the length to just over seven and half minutes.  The length is extended partly by repeating the verses but more importantly by giving Seldon Powell a second tenor sax solo.  That second solo is exquisite.  I can see that Powell was a jazz saxophonist.  I’m not going to embed that longer version, but you can easily find it on YouTube.

Personal Note: I got Covid, Urgh

Today is Monday the 10th.  So last Wednesday night (the 5^th) it felt a little funny in my chest.  I thought I might be coming down with something.  I woke up Thursday nauseous with dry heaves.  I even teleworked in the morning and took the afternoon sick.  Eventually I was just out of it.  It became hell.  The fever wasn’t high (less than 101F) but I wonder if I was even reading it right.  I was in a delirious state.  Waking up at one point I thought it was the next day. I noticed on Friday morning from my daily pill box that I had already taken Friday's meds.

It felt like my body was encircled by some electric charge and was just trying to survive.  He was ready to have me go to Emergency Room. My screaming out scared Matthew, who had come in the bedroom to check on me. Probably should have sent me to the ER. If it were me watching someone else in that state I would have too. I don’t think my wife ever realized what state I was in.  I had crawled into bed in the middle of the day and time seemed to vanish. 

I felt better on Friday morning but someone suggested I check for Covid. I had my wife pick up a test kit and sure enough I tested positive. I called my doctor and we set up a telehealth visit as they call it. He asked about my temperature (which was oscillating between normal and 101F), looked over my recent blood test on file, asked when I felt it come on, and prescribed Paxlovid.  Doctor said I should quarantine through Tuesday.  I still had recurring chills but after the first dose of Paxlovid that night I started to feel better. There was no fever on Saturday, Sunday, nor today, but a general weakness. 

Today even the nasal congestion seems to have let up.  I feel pretty well.  I happen to speak to a nurse today—about something else actually—and she said that today the flu might be harsher than Covid.  Hmm, I would agree except for what I experienced on Thursday afternoon.  When I spoke to the doctor on Friday, he seemed surprised this was my first time getting Covid.  Is it that common that everyone gets it now?

###

The story has more to it than my experience.  My wife had been sick before me and was still coughing and occasionally feeling run down.  I told her she should check herself for Covid, so she got herself a test kit and also tested positive.  So this was beginning to make sense.  Her mother has been in a nursing home for over a month and a half.  More on that below.  But the floor of my mother-in-law’s room had a Covid outbreak last week, and still does.  My mother-in-law didn’t get Covid but my wife must have picked it up in one of her daily visits.  Nursing homes are just germ magnets, depositories, and dispensaries. 

My wife’s symptoms were nothing as severe as mine, though hers seem to be lasting longer, probably because she has not been prescribed Paxlovid.  This makes me wonder why my body reacted so to the Covid initially.  It reminds me of my first reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine which I detailed here several years ago.  That post was titled, “Knocked on My Butt By the Vaccine.”  Perhaps I’m more reactive to Covid than others.

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My mother-in-law fell at the beginning of the December.  She fractured her skull, had a brain bleed, they resolved the bleed, but that developed into blood clots, blood clots got into her lungs which nearly killed her, but they resolved that.  You can see I've honed that story down to its bare elements from frequent retelling.  She was three weeks in the ICU.  The day before Christmas Eve she was discharged to a nursing home, and she's been there since.  As you can imagine, this was pretty challenging, especially for my wife, and it still is. 

As it happens, the nursing/rehab facility is very close to our house.  It's less than a mile.  We go back and forth regularly.  The first time she seemed out of it but in time her brain seemed to be getting sharper. Initially she responded very slow and deliberately but now seems to have total comprehension. It took her a while to get up out of bed.  There was nothing physically wrong with her body but perhaps atrophy from being in bed so long.  After a good month of rehab now she has been able to walk up and down the floor with a walker and a cane, go up and down stairs, and fully function as a solitary person.  Today we even got the great news she will be discharged from rehab facility at the end of next week.

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So let’s end with a song that came to mind as I reflected on my Thursday afternoon delirium.  It’s a song that came off the Rolling Stones’ album that came out last year, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” of the album Hackney Diamonds.   Many of you know I’m a big Rolling Stones fan, and, while I would agree their later years have been of mixed quality, this album is a glorious return to what I think is just short of their all time great ones.  I highly recommend Hackney Diamonds and perhaps one day I’ll have a post on it.

For now I’m going to highlight “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” a gospel tune that is uncharacteristically Christian in outlook for the Stones.  Featured on the record are Lady Gaga (vocals), Stevie Wonder (piano and organ), and saxophonist James King.  Wow is not nearly expressive enough.  Here’s the song first, but then I’ll explain why this song came to mind after.

 

Here are most of the lyrics as well.

 

Sweet Sounds of Heaven

(Jagger/Richards)

 

I hear the sweet, sweet sounds of Heaven

Fallin' down, fallin' down to this Earth

I hear the sweet, sweetest sounds of Heaven

Driftin' down, driftin' down to this Earth

 

Bless the father, bless the son

Hear the sound of the drums

As it echoes through the valley

And it bursts, yeah

Let no woman or child

Go hungry tonight

Please protect us from the pain

And the hurt, yeah

 

I smell the sweet scents, sweet

Sweet scents of Heaven, Heaven

Tumblin' down, tumblin' down

Tumblin' down to the Earth (Oh)

I hear the sweet sounds, sweet sounds

The sweet sounds, ooh, the sweet sounds of children

And they're praisin', praisin'

The land of their birth (No)

 

No, I'm not, not goin' to Hell

In some dusty motel

And I'm not, not goin' down

In the dirt (Yes, yes, yes)

I'm gonna laugh, I'm gonna laugh, I'm gonna cry, I'm gonna cry

Eat the bread, drink the wine

'Cause I'm finally, finally quenchin'

My thirst, yeah

 

You can't have a light without a little shadow, yeah

Always need a target for your bow and arrow

I want to be drenched in the rain of your heavenly love

Oh, yeah, c'mon (Oh)

 

Let the music, let the music play loud, play loud

Let it burst, let it burst through the clouds, through the clouds

And we all feel the heat

Of the sun, yeah

Yeah, let us sing, let us shout, let us shout

Let us all stand up proud

Let the old still believe

That they're young, yeah

 

Sweet, sweet sound

 

Sounds so sweet, oh, so sweet

Sounds so sweet, so sweet

Heaven, Heaven

Down

Fallin' down, fallin' down

To this Earth

 

That’s pretty religious for Mick Jagger.  You know he supposedly had converted to Catholicism for his first wife, though he’s never spoken about any religious upbringing, so I doubt it was much.

So why am I reminded of this song?  Well, lying in bed in a delirious state felt so isolating, so other worldly that it felt the end was a possibility.  The verses, “No, I'm not, not goin' to Hell/In some dusty motel/And I'm not, not goin' down/In the dirt” resonate.  If you’ve ever been a way alone (business trips for me) in some crappy hotel, the isolation feels overwhelming with perhaps a sense that if I died here no one would really know.  It’s actually a horrible feeling that I’ve had more than once.  Perhaps in that delirious state, eyes half open in a darkened bedroom, alone and feeling almost out of body, might be as close to a premonition of death as one gets.  At least as I’ve gotten.

But then the sweet grace, the sweet sounds, the sweet sense of heaven came down and revived me.  Thank you Lord.

Edit: It's unclear whether Mick Jagger converted to Catholicism or even had a need to convert.  From what I found on the internet, Mick Jagger's father, Basil Fanshawe “Joe” Jagger, had a Catholic funeral.  There are places that claim Mick was raised Catholic.  Still I doubt religion was a big part of his upbringing.

Music Tuesday: Tu scendi dalle stele

What song should we have at Christmas Eve but a Christmas Carol, and I’m going to post the most popular Christmas Carol in all of Italy, the beautiful “Tu scendi dalle stele.” 

There is a little back history to this song.  The melody and original lyrics were written by St. Alphonsus Liguori, a priest and eventually bishop who lived through most of the 18^th century (1696-1787).  He was a prolific writer and eventually made a Doctor of the Church.  He was born in the Campania region which is the region where I was also born.  In fact his Cathedral as Bishop was in the city of Benevento, which is not far from where I was born.  In addition he was the founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, commonly called the Redemptorists. He was canonized in 1839, just some fifty or so years after his death.  That’s quite a history.  

Most Catholics today know him for his Marian devotional books, but his noteworthy publications deal with moral theology.  It’s on that basis he was made a Doctor of the Church. 

But he also wrote songs.  Obviously he was a man of learning.  I can’t find the original lyrics but I will provide the ones that have been so popular in Italy with the English translation

 

1. Tu scendi dalle stelle,

O Re del Cielo,

e vieni in una grotta,

al freddo al gelo.

 

O Bambino mio Divino

Io ti vedo qui a tremar,

O Dio Beato

Ahi, quanto ti costò

l’avermi amato!

 

2. A te, che sei del mondo

il Creatore,

mancano panni e fuoco;

O mio Signore!

 

Caro eletto Pargoletto,

Quanto questa povertà

più mi innamora!

Giacché ti fece amor

povero ancora!

 

English

 

1. From starry skies descending,

Thou comest, glorious King,

A manger low Thy bed,

In winter’s icy sting;

 

O my dearest Child most holy,

Shudd’ring, trembling in the cold!

Great God, Thou lovest me!

What suff’ring Thou didst bear,

That I near Thee might be!

 

2. Thou art the world’s Creator,

God’s own and true Word,

Yet here no robe, no fire

For Thee, Divine Lord.

 

Dearest, fairest, sweetest Infant,

Dire this state of poverty.

The more I care for Thee,

Since Thou, O Love Divine,

Will’st now so poor to be.

 

First I’ll embed a children’s chorus, because it’s so made for children to sing.

 

That is such an endearing melody.  I’ll also post a more sophisticated rendition, the tempo slowed down just enough to give it a contemplative tone, sung by the incredible Andrea Bocellli.

 

 That brings tears to my eyes.  It must be the Italian.

Merry Christmas! 

Matthew Monday: Iceberg

Back in May, I posted an original composition of a piano piece composed between Matthew and his piano tutor, Mason.  That was titled “Untitled No. 1.”  So I expected his next composition to be titled Untitled No. 2.  He tricked me.  The next piece they composed they called “Iceberg.”  Why?  I have no idea.  But for your listening pleasure, here is Matthew performing his original composition, “Iceberg.”

 

I think I like the Untitled No. 1 a little better.  But the kid is learning!

By the way, as an aside, I will have a few Matthew Mondays coming up.  We’ve been going to a number of baseball games, and I’d like to document them.

Matthew Monday: Untitled No. 1

Matthew, as readers of this blog should know, has been taking piano lessons now for several years.  He has gotten pretty good for a fourteen year old if I can say so myself.  You’ll see his playing in this clip.  In addition he has built up a very good relationship with his piano teacher, Mason, and Mason has not only pushed Matthew’s ability to perform but Matthew’s ability to understand and create music.  Matthew here has composed, with Mason’s help, his own piano piece.  They didn’t give it a name, other than “Untitled No. 1.”

As a preface, you will hear Mason at the beginning introduce the piece.  Also you may hear stray voices from other music classes.  That is unfortunate.  The rooms are not exactly sound proof.

 

 

I think I caught a mistake or two in what I think is striking a wrong key but I don’t know if that’s how the composition was intended.  Still I think it’s pretty wonderful given it was mostly composed by a fourteen year old.  I’m proud of him!  What do you think, the next Frédéric Chopin?  

Music Tuesday: Imagine (by John Lennon) But the Fr. Francis Version

You know the John Lennon original, “Imagine.”  He and his wife Yoko Ono wrote it and produced it in 1971.  It’s a good song but one that irritates me.  While it imagines a world of peace and materiality, it also imagines a world without religion, as if religion were the cause of unrest.  It has become an anthem for atheists.  Here are the lyrics.

 

 

Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today... Aha-ah...

 

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion, too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace... You...

 

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

 

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world... You...

 

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

What’s silly about the song is to expect that peace and disparity can only come by the removal of religion from the culture.  While it’s true there are some religions that promote violence and selfishness, the only way that peace and prosperity can come is through Christianity, true and self-sacrificing Christianity.  We who are Christians know this.

Along comes Fr. Francis Maple OFMCap, a Franciscan Capuchin friar from England who has recorded many Christian hymns and written quite a few books which can be found on Amazon.  Keeping with good Franciscan humility, Fr. Francis doesn’t say much about himself on his website, which contains a wealth of Catholic information and his homilies.  If you go to YouTube and search his name, you will come up with a whole host of videos of his recordings. 

I came across Fr. Francis’s music from the Time for Reflections blog, authored by Victor S E Moubarak, who is a frequently comments on my blog and I sometimes comment on his.  I have highlighted a couple of Victor’s books on my blog: The Priest and the Prostitute and his collection of short stories, Feline Catastrophes.  Both are very funny.

Occasionally Victor, who has known Fr. Francis for a long time, embeds Fr. Francis’s song videos on Time for Reflections.  I never thought about asking if Fr. Francis was a real person.  Victor is great at creating characters (such as Fr. Ignatius, who is a fictional character in several of Victor’s novels and stories) and I jumped to the erroneous conclusion that Fr. Francis was another creation and that it was Victor himself singing in those Fr. Francis’s videos.  Well Victor set me straight when he posted Fr. Francis’s version of John Lennon’s Imagine, and I asked about Fr. Francis.  Fr. Francis Maple is real! 

So I want to share Fr. Francis’s version of Imagine.  Of course it is the opposite of an atheist’s day dream.

 

Father Francis changes are just in the first two stanzas.  Here is what Fr. Francis did with the lyrics.

 

Imagine there's a heaven

It's easy if you try

There’s a hell below us

You’d better choose before you die

Imagine all the people

Finding the right way... Aha-ah...

 

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

The love of God shines through

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace... You...

Now that is so much more appealing than the original version.  It eliminates the distasteful part of the song and makes God shine through!  Now whenever I come across the original Imagine, I will remember the Fr. Francis version.  Thank you Father Francis!