This week's drawing I won't put up online, because I feel like it is still a work in progress. This was the week where I drew a bird flying into the air, inspired by "Since I've Laid This Burden Down." Tony thought it was an angel flying through the sky, and there were some mixed feelings about it tonight. So I won't put it up now, but later on I will work on it a little more, or maybe start something anew. Anyway, the message I was trying to send through the theme of the bird was in line with the feeling of letting go of a burden and feeling light enough to fly. Another song I'd like to comment on from this week is "Beulah Land." Tony told us the story of how when his brother passed, someone sang this song to him and it was the perfect song to sing in a time like that. When I heard that, I really felt touched by the significance this song could have on Tony, and later on when we sang it all together and I read the lyrics with closer scrutiny, I really cherished the power of the song even more. It is both sad and sweet, but most importantly very optimistic. Hurt sings about having a mother, father, and sister all up in Beulah Land, and to me I feel like he's saying how they are in a better place, somewhere that "outshines the sun," and soon you'll be able to see them again. It puts a softer tone to the subject of death, and it really has a healing effect on the person who is experiencing the loss to think of a loved one's passing as going somewhere better and happier. It is songs like these that remind me of how important music is to our lives, and how it brings healing and meaning that no words alone could bring to us.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Week 8: Mississippi John Hurt
My first thought on this week's music is that Tony's singing and guitar finger-picking style of playing sounds so much like Mississippi John Hurt's! And indeed, when I later asked him about it, Tony said that he derived his whole style of playing from this musician. This week's theme gave me such a happy jolly feeling from hearing the music of the songster tradition. It sounds so lighthearted and playful-- for example, "You Are My Sunshine" sounds so happy when the audience is singing along and the chords are syncopated and everyone sounds like a community singing as a chorus. I also really enjoyed Richland Woman Blues, Make Me a Pallet on the Floor, and Beulah Land (this actually sounds a bit like This Little Light of Mine).
This week's drawing I won't put up online, because I feel like it is still a work in progress. This was the week where I drew a bird flying into the air, inspired by "Since I've Laid This Burden Down." Tony thought it was an angel flying through the sky, and there were some mixed feelings about it tonight. So I won't put it up now, but later on I will work on it a little more, or maybe start something anew. Anyway, the message I was trying to send through the theme of the bird was in line with the feeling of letting go of a burden and feeling light enough to fly. Another song I'd like to comment on from this week is "Beulah Land." Tony told us the story of how when his brother passed, someone sang this song to him and it was the perfect song to sing in a time like that. When I heard that, I really felt touched by the significance this song could have on Tony, and later on when we sang it all together and I read the lyrics with closer scrutiny, I really cherished the power of the song even more. It is both sad and sweet, but most importantly very optimistic. Hurt sings about having a mother, father, and sister all up in Beulah Land, and to me I feel like he's saying how they are in a better place, somewhere that "outshines the sun," and soon you'll be able to see them again. It puts a softer tone to the subject of death, and it really has a healing effect on the person who is experiencing the loss to think of a loved one's passing as going somewhere better and happier. It is songs like these that remind me of how important music is to our lives, and how it brings healing and meaning that no words alone could bring to us.
This week's drawing I won't put up online, because I feel like it is still a work in progress. This was the week where I drew a bird flying into the air, inspired by "Since I've Laid This Burden Down." Tony thought it was an angel flying through the sky, and there were some mixed feelings about it tonight. So I won't put it up now, but later on I will work on it a little more, or maybe start something anew. Anyway, the message I was trying to send through the theme of the bird was in line with the feeling of letting go of a burden and feeling light enough to fly. Another song I'd like to comment on from this week is "Beulah Land." Tony told us the story of how when his brother passed, someone sang this song to him and it was the perfect song to sing in a time like that. When I heard that, I really felt touched by the significance this song could have on Tony, and later on when we sang it all together and I read the lyrics with closer scrutiny, I really cherished the power of the song even more. It is both sad and sweet, but most importantly very optimistic. Hurt sings about having a mother, father, and sister all up in Beulah Land, and to me I feel like he's saying how they are in a better place, somewhere that "outshines the sun," and soon you'll be able to see them again. It puts a softer tone to the subject of death, and it really has a healing effect on the person who is experiencing the loss to think of a loved one's passing as going somewhere better and happier. It is songs like these that remind me of how important music is to our lives, and how it brings healing and meaning that no words alone could bring to us.
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