Follow me

Follow me by John Denver was released in 1970, a full seven years before I was born and 50 years from writing this post. Some songs are timeless. This is one of them. Written about his first wife, Annie, John Denver penned a simple folk song that continues to make sense today. At least to me. I admit I have odd taste in music, but this one seems to have universal appeal. It is, of course, a love song. And people will always fall in love. The lyrics are below.

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It's by far the hardest thing I've ever done
To be so in love with you and so alone

Follow me where I go what I do and who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me
Follow me up and down all the way and all around
Take my hand and say you'll follow me

It's long been on my mind
You know it's been a long, long time
I've tried to find the way that I can make you understand
The way I feel about you and just how much I need you
To be there where I can talk to you
When there's no one else around

Follow me where I go what I do and who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me
Follow me up and down all the way and all around
Take my hand and say you'll follow me

You see I'd like to share my life with you
And show you things I've seen
Places that I'm going to places where I've been
To have you there beside me and never be alone
And all the time that you're with me
We will be at home

Follow me where I go what I do and who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me
Follow me up and down all the way
Take my hand and I will follow you

 

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One thing people say about love (and they have said a lot over the years), is it tends to last about three years, then the effect starts to wear off. After that, something else takes hold. Or it lets go. The idea is you fall in love, get married, have a kid (all in three years, I guess), and then your reality has changed and you begin to wonder ... or something. I don't know. But what if the relationship ended more than three years ago and you are still in love and pining? What is that called? Hopeless devotion? Desperation? Tenderness? What is that person? Infatuated? Besotted? Doting? Demented? Oh, I hope not the last one. Many people continue to love someone long after the relationship ends. I'm one of those decidedly hopeless cases. 

I tried to move on. Every time I tried, something in me violently revolted. It was awful. I gave up on that long ago. Even now, I get sick — literally physically sick in the stomach, my head suddenly woozy — when I think of being with any other woman, physically or any other way. I still want only one woman. If she was any other woman or, I suppose, if I was any other man, things may have played out differently. But she is unlike any other creature I've ever known, and in all the good ways. And I am perpetually stuck on her. I decided long ago it would be better to live the rest of my life alone than to fight whatever this is and try to be with a different woman. I figured that would happen anyway.

Though John Denver wrote this song while on tour because he missed his wife, I can identify with the same themes. Though I don't consider myself as "needy" as the songwriter, when those feelings spike, it is as though this song was written by me. No one can ever be there all the time (well, except God), as well as many things mentioned in the song, but love is a hyperbolic emotion at times. Love is sometimes unrealistic in how it expresses itself. But what a beautiful notion! I love this song. How I long to share things — big or small — with that girl. To be a part of her life would be a dream come true. The last line of the song dispels the idea that John simply wanted a woman to follow him around. It is a mutual following when one is in love. It is sharing and caring that goes back and forth. This isn't a one-sided following.

I hope you all enjoyed this song as much as me. It is a true gem of a love song. I post it here for no other reason but because I am in love. It is safe to say this blog is dead (which is fine because I don't need to expend as much energy here as I used to), but if I silence these thoughts and feelings, they will roar in me. If I stifle the whimperings of love, they will leak out somewhere else. This is my only outlet for these feelings, and it is so inadequate. 

Sure, I can say more about this simple, little song, but I've already said so much in these pages. I could extol the virtues of the girl I love again, too, but we all know how special she is. Though our relationship ended years ago, I have continued to follow her, though from a distance.

Thank you for reading. And God bless. 

 

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In July, I posted A simple love letter, which was just that, a note I sent to the girl I'm in love with. In it, I asked her if she would move forward with me. She said she would reply to my letter. I said it wasn't necessary, that I felt I already received her reply over the previous 3-plus years. A few weeks ago, she told me she was still going to reply, but she was going to pray about the answer. And that answer made me happy because I don't want to be with a woman who isn't willing to pray about a relationship first. I don't have anything else to add to that. A long time ago, I submitted the whole thing — including my own thoughts, feeling, and actions — to God. So, whatever the outcome (it is, after all, already decided), I will accept it.

 

Also, today is my birthday. If God blesses me with another 43 years, they will be spent following Him.