Like a Sad Song (John Denver)
I'm not even going to acknowledge the fact I'm posting yet another John Denver song. You knew I was going to do it. And it probably won't be the last time. He just got it right so often, it is ridiculous. So many of his songs are masterpieces of words and sounds and feelings, put together in a way that puts modern musicians to shame.
Like a Sad Song is another masterpiece. It is a love song, of course, so I feel it. You've probably heard this song a million times, though you may not have realized it. The same for me. It has always existed for me because it was released in 1976 on his Spirit album.
Structurally, the song is robust. You can take it and do anything with it. In this version, it is so stripped down, it is barely a song. It is more like a heart's cry with a symphony and guitar accompaniment. I don't think the actual music could be more sparse unless it was acapella. And that's the beauty of so many of John's songs. They are so completely honest they are nearly naked. I like this version. I hope you do, too.
What does it mean to me? Sometimes I am like that sad song. Life goes on just fine most days, as John says, but sometimes when I think of what could have been with that girl, I am the saddest man alive. What could have been ... would have been everything I wanted. John understood that, somehow. I understand aloneness, but the aloneness of losing someone you love dearly is beyond any other aloneness.
Sometimes I think my heart will always be sad. What could possibly lift it? It's impossible to know my own heart, so I leave that process to God. Only He knows what I need. I get the feeling John was much sadder than his stage persona let on. His songs lead me to believe he let go of someone very special, and that is hard to live with. I know, John. Sometimes we don't do ourselves any favors.
John Denver was a caring man. He cared greatly about his audiences and the message he was promulgating. I don't agree with all of it. But no one asked me. He also cared about the natural world and was a spokesperson for creatures that had no voice. Clearly, he also cared a lot about a woman, enough to write songs that still echo through time. He wasn't a perfect man. He made mistakes. You can hear the pain in his music when he touches on that fact.
Regardless of the pain from whence it came, John left the world another beautiful love song. This album was released at a time when albums were albums. They weren't soundbites on television. They weren't being digitally distributed to be played on inferior devices. Condensing music to ones and zeros is one of the biggest travesties of our time. Music is alive. A computer's reproduction of a song is a pale comparison of the original. I know that. Yet, somehow, this song comes through just fine, even 45 years later, and in spite of the technological decline.
The lyrics say everything I want to say about this song. No need to add more. It's a touching and honest song about losing someone irreplaceable. I know because I lived that song.
I don't want to live the rest of my life as a sad song. That's why I stay so close to God now. I will leave with the thought that there is always hope, and something wonderful could be just around the corner.
***
And everything is beautiful to see
Even when it's raining, the sound of heaven singing
Is simply joyful music to me
Like I'm all alone without you
Life is so incredible to me
Especially to be near you and how it is to touch you
Oh, paradise was made for you and me
And everything is just the way that it should be
Still, there are times when my heart feels like breaking
Anywhere is where I'd rather be
To hold you close and say I love you so
To have someone to share with
And someone I can care with
And that is why I wanted you to know
Like I'm all alone without you, without you
Like I'm all alone without you, without you
***
Thank you for reading. And God bless.
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