What is it about good writing – really good writing – put to music and sung for all to hear that puts me in a pensive state of mind?
This is, after all why I go to the festival. For me, the festival is not about the music – although that is undeniably an important element. No, for me, the festival is about the weaving of stories – the passing of truths through poetry and verse.
My youngest son shares this love of the Festival with me, although I am yet to discover what he enjoys the most. If close observation renders any hints, it is the food, the organization of the schedule and the music – not necessarily in that order. He likes his music fast and energetic – a speed to which Bluegrass and Irish reels certainly cater. He spent hours reading and re-reading the schedule for names he knew and checking out the Festival map for the placement of the stages and the bathrooms. Finally, he spent an annoying amount of time marking the hours until it was time to purchase a funnel cake.
No matter what our motivations for attending, we both agree that the main reason to attend is, and always will be, Tom Chapin and Michael Mark. Tom, like his brother Harry, is a master at storytelling. He also just happens to be a Grammy winning children’s songwriter. When Tom and Michael pair up with John McCutcheon – another master at telling stories – it is pure magic.
This year, the song that hit me was called “Doing My Job” written by John McCutcheon. This song was written during the 1995 Festival shortly after Cal Ripken Jr’s record-breaking stretch of 2,131 consecutive games on September 6, 1995. John sang it at this year’s Festival during the show that Tom and John always perform together on Saturday afternoon. They were singing songs from their collaborative album entitled, “Doing Our Job.”
The song goes like this:
It was one for the ages, one you just had to see.
So we sat on the sofa, my two kids and I and we watched on TV.
It was in the fifth inning, the game had to be stopped.
The whole ballpark went nuts when the number was dropped.
My kids they clapped and they hollered. Me, I choked up with tears
Thinking back on the grace he brought to that place for over thirteen years.
And as he stood in the spotlight, he looked so awkward and shy
When they asked him to say a few words on that day, this was his reply.
Chorus:
“I’m only doing my job like folks everywhere.
Where I come from, it’s just how things are done, doing my share.
I did not love every part, still I don’t think it odd.
Give your best and to hell with the rest, doing my job.”
I’ve heard that song many times before at previous festivals. But this year, it reached out and grabbed hold of me like never before. And this, my friends, is what makes a good song great. This is why I keep shelves full of stories that I have read and enjoyed many times. This is why verses in the Bible continue to inspire no matter how many times you hear or read them.
The words of a song or a book are enduring, fixed letter combinations delivering their message to those who know how to translate them. We, the translators, bring to those words our rich and constantly changing context. And the context that I brought to this year’s festival was one of searching, of impatience, of frustration. And into this fertilized field, the words of this song added to some words from Philippians and a dash of the Holy Spirit fed my soul.
I suppose that some of the magic of the Festival is also in the music. For it was during those times – the times when there was just music and no words – that I allowed my mind to wander down new and narrow paths so that I could eventually sit back and study the map it drew for connections and new discoveries.
And finally, during one of these non-word times, I sat with a warm, peacefully sleeping child in my arms, the acoustic sounds of the guitar, violin, mandolin and banjo quenching my ears, my view overflowing with stars that only a Kansas night sky can hold and I received peace – God’s peace – and I was filled with joy.
“And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” Philippians 1:6
