Saturday, March 26, 2011

My Son Can't Belive It

I like Hawksley Workman -- well, let me qualify that.  I like some of Hawksley's songs very much.  The first time I heard him, I think, was on CBC Radio 2 (FM)...with "The First Snow of the Year".  It was so quintessentially Canadian that I bought it -- my first ever purchase on iTunes!  (Hey! I'm in my late fifties; this is a Big Deal for my generation, born before computers, touch-tone phones and God-Knows-What-Else).

Then someone on the CBC (Tom Allen?  Stuart Mclean?) shortly after Christmas this year played "Three Generations" -- about 3 generations washing dishes after a holiday celebration -- Thanksgiving, Christmas, Passover, Rosh Hoshana... I dunno.  But I've been there.  I've been the Youngest Generation, the Middle Generation...and now I'm the Oldest Generation.  Got me to thinking.  This past Christmas, 2010, my daughter put everything (almost) in her dishwasher.  In 2009, I let everyone go home before I tackled the dishes (I'm the Dishwasher).  I'm thinkin', Christmas 2011 -- we do some By Hand...me, and my son, and my duaghter, and maybe my sister...at least 2 generations.  And I am hoping someday that there'll be 3 here in my kitchen in my wee hamlet, washing dishes...


And then today, I found a new gold nugget from Mr. Workman's pen: "Safe and Sound".  It reminded me of me -- in the stories my mom told me, dozing off next to her (a widow, not yet re-married) on our way back from visiting my Uncle Don and Aunt Marge at their cottage at Lake Memphremagog (Eastern Townships, Quebec), no longer the chatty companion she'd hoped for on the way home.  



And most of all, next to my dear late Howard on the annual long drives to see my folks in Peachland and his in Vancouver, the kids in the back seat and me with a book or my knitting in my lap, Safe and Sound beside him....


"You slept through the last small town;
I'll wake you up when the next one comes around.
You're eyes are closed, like you truly believe
You're safe and sound with me.

No looking back, no turning into salt
The city was crumbling but baby we're not to fault
When things got too rough, I promised you we'd leave
You're safe and sound with me.

You're safe and sound with me yeah
Just like you always will
Just like you always will be

The wipers clear the windshield of the rain
My shirt sleeve dries your eyes the very same
We fit together like the ignition and the key
You're safe and sound with me.

The glove box light shines bright enough to see
You read the map like you're reading poetry
And it just might take you forever to see
That you're safe and sound with me"

-- Hawksley Workman

Note: You can find Mr. Workman's tunes for download in the iTunes store and, I expect, wherever fine recordings are sold.  :-)

P.S.:  Just thinkin'....This is likely how JC would like our relationship with Him to be, too...

1 comment:

Bee said...

I checked Hawksley Workman out on itunes. The way he sounds singing "Safe and Sound", reminds me a bit of Bob Dylan. I like the song.