A Song for Today

    I had a recommended song this week, that I hope to get to next week.  So, do not give up yet, song proposer:>)  Most of you have probably heard this old tune by the Eagles, but for the last several years I have heard it, not as a song from one person to another, but a love song of sorts from God to his errant children.  Here are the words:

"Desperado"

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now
Oh, you're a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow

Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet

Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can't get

Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the night time from the day
You're losin' all your highs and lows
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you, before it's too late


    Notice the first verse.  The loner who has been out in the cold for too long...come on in, son, see things as they are, no need to be alone.  The second stanza I've seen as offering the trade off between love and money.  Don't go for the diamonds, hearts, that's where your hope really lies.  Of course, if we put this in a broader sense, it is a call to relationality and mutual inter-dependence over "stuff."  I find it a powerful metaphor.
    Even though we all find many "fine things" within our grasp, how often is it that the thing we want is just b e y o n d our grasp.  Reminds me of Spock's words to Ston, the Vulcan who ends up with Spock's betrothed.  After giving her up, Spock says, "She is yours, Ston, and while it might not be logical, I think you will find the having not nearly so compelling as the wanting."  Never enough...just a little more.
    What is it, ultimately, that drives us back home?  In this case, it is our "pain and our hunger."  We could go on for some time on that one, but I'll leave it for you to fill it in.  But, the next two lines may be as powerful as any in the song--freedom?  what is that?  Well, the kind of freedom he wants is really rugged individualism, which leaves you to walk the world all alone.  Finally, the emptiness begins to get expressed in terms related to weather, reminds me of CS Lewis' view of hell in the great divorce.  But, at the end, rain or not, there is a rainbow above....come on in, son, before it's too late.....

Comments

[zero]

ah! wonderful, chuck. both the song and analysis. freedom and being anchored at once. that's precisely child development theory....very young children, who have learned to walk and have some autonomy, in studies, are videotaped playing on their own for awhile and then returning to their mother seated nearby. this pattern repeats itself over and over. the anchor, mother, is present as the two year old has freedom. but only freedom based on an anchor. the kite that flys can only soar if attached to the string, held firmly on the ground. beautiful for a saturday morning. thank you.

[zero]

it's sunday morning and there's cspan2 booktv playing on tv. just a half hour ago, an author was interviewed. just listening while being busy, i was struck by the compassion and understanding of the author to the point that i got chills! he is john hubner. his book is "last chance in texas--the redemption of criminal youth".
along with this song's posting and our previous discussions about the prisons in this country, this came at just the right moment to hear. this book is definitely one to read.

[chuck]

Thanks, Zero, for your additional insights and for connecting with this book and author.

[zero]

you are welcome, chuck.
enjoy your time with friends and colleagues.