Summer Nights
I sit at the piano in my living room playing that wonderful old song "Summer Time". Something makes me want to walk outside and listen. Summer nights are full of sounds. I remember growing up in Michigan, I could almost not stand to go to sleep for fear I would miss some of the drama of that summer night. All those night birds, crickets and other creatures singing and croaking and talking all through the long beautiful, hot, humid, so alive summer night.
I walk outside. It is dark now but there is life all around me. The sound of
traffic is far away but the sound of various night creatures is very much with
me. It is a comfort to me. It makes me feel surrounded by a lavish company of
those who share the delight of this warm time. There are a thousand fragrances
too. Trees and flowers, bushes, and the ground itself all give away their
presence by sending up the most delicious of smells. I am surrounded by life and
it is so present right now and so abundant that my senses are almost
overwhelmed. I stand here for a long time before going back in. I think again
about that old piece from years ago "Symphony of Praise" written to celebrate the birth of my Son. It has that same sense of being surrounded by nature at it’s sensual best.
For a moment, I stop and stand completely still in the hallway when I think that soon there will be winter nights. And then I comfort myself by remembering that there are things about those late fall and winter nights that I dearly love as well as these summer ones. I’ll write more about those when the time comes. Right now, it’s enough just to stand out in the summer night and feel the life all around me.
Symphony of Praise
The sun on my face in the morning
Birds' wings beating nearby
Somewhere in the quiet of the first light
I hear a newborn baby cry
Life is a song my son, raise your voice and sing my son
Join in the symphony of praise
The touch of sand on my running feet
The ocean roaring nearby
Above the sounds of the surf and seagulls,
I still can hear the newborn's cry
Life is a song my son, raise your voice and sing my son
Join in the symphony of praise
Hallelujah sings the running water
Hallelujah sings the mountain
Hallelujah sings the roaring thunder
Hallelujah a wonder child is born
The sun on my face in the morning
The gentle sound of springtime rain
The touch of a hand on my shoulder
Gentle sleep to ease my pain
These are the songs my son
Raise your voice and sing my son
Join in the symphony of praise
Words and music by Ken Medema
Copyright 1998, BRIER PATCH MUSIC
Symphony of Praise is recorded on
25 to Life, double album available from www.kenmedema.com
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