Back to school after Spring Break and sleeping in for a week (well, some of us slept in) — I think this song might be needed to get boys moving this morning!
The Breakfast Song (by The Newsboys)
[lyrics by Steve Taylor, music by Peter Furler]
Hold the milk, put back the sugar
They are powerless to console
We’ve gathered here to sprinkle ashes
From our late friend’s cereal bowl.
Breakfast Clubbers, say the motto
That he taught us to repeat:
“You will lose it in your gym class
If you wait ’til noon to eat.”
Back when the Chess Club said our eggs were soft
Every Monday he’d say grace and hold our juice aloft
Oh, none of us knew his checkout time would come so soon
But before his brain stopped waving, he composed this tune:
[Chorus]
WHEN THE TOAST IS BURNED
AND ALL THE MILK HAS TURNED
AND CAPTAIN CRUNCH IS WAVING FAREWELL
WHEN THE BIG ONE FINDS YOU
MAY THIS SONG REMIND YOU
THAT THEY DON’T SERVE BREAKFAST IN HELL
Breakfast clubbers, drop the hankies.
Though to some our friend was odd,
That day he bought those pine pajamas
His check was good with God.
Those here without the Lord,
How do you cope?
For this morning we don’t mourn
Like those who have no hope
Oh, rise up, Fruit Loop lovers –
Sing out sweet & low
With spoons held high
We bid our brother, “Cheerio!”
When my kids were young, they assured me that they weren’t white. They pointed out that they were “beige” and some of their friends had “light brown” or “dark brown” skin.
We are all Colored People.
I love this video — both the music and images. (Unfortunately, you’ll have to click through. EMI and Vevo make things a bit difficult.)
Colored People
Pardon me, your epidermis is showing
I couldn't help but note your shade of melanin
I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement
Cause I see (the) beauty in the tones of our skin
We gotta come together, and thank the maker of us all
We're colored people, and we live in a tainted place
We're colored people, and they call us the human race
We've got a history so full of mistakes
And we are colored people who depend on a Holy Grace
A piece of canvas is only the beginning
It takes on character with every loving stroke
This thing of beauty is the passion of an artist's heart
By God's design, we are a skin kaleidoscope
We gotta come together, aren't we all human after all?
We're colored people, and we live in a tainted place
We're colored people, and they call us the human race
We've got a history so full of mistakes
'Cause we are colored people who depend on a Holy Grace
Ignorance has wronged some races
And vengeance is the Lord's
If we aspire to share this space
Repentance is the cure
Repentance is the cure
Well, just a day in the shoes of a color blind man
Should make it easy for you to see
That these diverse tones do more than cover our bones
As a part of our anatomy
We're colored people, and we live in a tainted place
We're colored people, and they call us the human race
We've got a history so full of mistakes
'Cause we are colored people who depend on a Holy Grace
We're colored people and they call us the human race
We're colored people and we've all got to share this space
We're colored people and we live in a tainted world
(red, yellow, black, and white)
We're colored people, every man, woman, boy, and girl
The group I sing with on Sundays has been practicing this song for a few months. We sang our version this morning, just one week and one day shy of the day we –as a nation– set aside time to remember and honor the contributions of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The song actually ends at the 4-minute mark; after that, JT takes time to introduce his band. I wish I had a video of our group singing, but I don’t.
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What we didn’t know when we picked this song was what was going to happen in Arizona yesterday. We didn’t know that our pastor was going to preach about, didn’t expect to hear a message specifically about a faith-based perspective on how to make sense of such a horrific tragedy. Being one week prior to Martin Luther King Day, I didn’t even expect to hear his name mentioned. But much like Diana Butler Bass wrote in her blog post yesterday, these things were all addressed from the pulpit (in fact, the pastor quoted some of what DBB wrote). And then we sang this song that we had been practicing and planning on singing for the past several months:
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Let us turn our thoughts today
To Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women
Living on the Earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together
In our desire to see the world become
A place in which our children
Can grow free and strong
We are bound together
By the task that stands before us
And the road that lies ahead
We are bound and we are bound
There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest
Shed a little light, oh Lord
So that we can see
Just a little light, oh Lord
Wanna stand it on up
Stand it on up, oh Lord
Wanna walk it on down
Shed a little light, oh Lord
Can’t get no light from the dollar bill
Don’t give me no light from a TV screen
When I open my eyes
I wanna drink my fill
From the well on the hill
(Do you know what I mean?)
Shed a little light, oh Lord
So that we can see
Just a little light, oh Lord
Wanna stand it on up
Stand it on up, oh Lord
Wanna walk it on down
Shed a little light, oh Lord
Shed a little light
There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest
Oh, Let us turn our thoughts today
To Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women
Living on the Earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood
I couldn’t get my family to budge from the house on NYE, but a friend kindly invited me to ride with her to a bluegrass concert, er… CD release party for one band, with another band as their opening act. I failed to video the event, but here are a couple of YouTube videos to enjoy featuring each band:
JAKE AND THE BURTONES
That banjo player? He’s 16 years old.
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And here is the band that headlined the event. They just released their 2nd CD titled “Soul Bucket”. Yes, I bought the CD. Now I’m itching to buy a harmonica.
This is The Acoustic Burgoo. They will be famous someday, and then you can say you heard them here first! 😀
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Musical Monday is a meme I discovered over at Thom’s place.
If you want to be an official participant, you can get the instructions by clicking on the badge.
This is the band I went to see in concert on Saturday night. They were recording for a live album. (Do we still call them albums?) Yes, there is a bassist there behind the mandolin player! He was home from college over the weekend and I saw him sing some backup vocals.
The young man on the right plays a variety of instruments, sings vocals and writes original songs. The mandolin player sings, plays guitar and banjo.
And the banjo player, who is only 15 years old, also plays the fiddle!
What a talented bunch of teenagers!
My family hopes I’ll outgrow my bluegrass phase soon, but I don’t think that’s likely… I expect these guys to be famous someday.
I’ve probably said this more than once before, but I cannot get over how incredible the colors are this Fall. With the first bit of cold weather, yellow tinged the green leaves. The rest of the color seems to come in waves: orange, rust, red, scarlet, and gold. A week ago, I was nearly a danger behind the wheel of my minivan, so arresting were the reds and scarlets.
The color I’ve been following these past few days has been a bit safer, since it perfectly matches the yellow lines down the center of the road, the caution lights of the school zone, and even the school bus that stops to pick the kids up for school.
Marc Cohn has a beautiful song called “She’s Becoming Gold” on The Rainy Season CD. I searched for a link on YouTube but since it never had the popularity of “Walking in Memphis” (from his first, self-titled CD) I’m unable to provide you with an easy way to hear it now. You can listen to a very short bit of the song here, and the complete lyrics are below:
She runs down the staircase
And into the yard
And she goes down to the end of the drive
With her friends on the phone
And her angels on guard
She’s just recently feeling alive
After all of the tears and the changes
Now there’s something that’s taken ahold
She’s becoming gold
She’s becoming gold
She thinks of a boy
That she knew back in school
And she wonders if he’s doing all right
The man of her dreams
Isn’t all that he seems
And the baby don’t sleep through the night
Something is moving inside her
And the weather is turning so cold
But she’s becoming gold,
She’s becoming gold
She’s becoming gold (I’ve seen her)
She’s becoming gold
She can hear in the distance
The sound of the cars
And she sees the snow falling down on the hill
Now the trees and the houses
Are white as the stars
And she doesn’t wanna cry
But she probably will
As she thinks about all of life’s mystery
And how slowly the answers unfold
She’s becoming gold
She’s becoming gold
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Is there a song that you connect with this time of year?
This is one of my favorite bands. Kutless hails from Portland, Oregon. [lyrics below video]
What Faith Can Do
Everybody falls sometimes Gotta find the strength to rise From the ashes and make a new beginning Anyone can feel the ache You think it’s more than you can take But you’re stronger, stronger than you know Don’t you give up now The sun will soon be shining You gotta face the clouds To find the silver lining
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains Hope that doesn’t ever end Even when the sky is falling I’ve seen miracles just happen Silent prayers get answered Broken hearts become brand new That’s what faith can do
It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard Impossible is not a word It’s just a reason for someone not to try Everybody’s scared to death When they decide to take that step Out on the water But it’ll be alright Life is so much more Than what your eyes are seeing You will find your way If you keep believing
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains Hope that doesn’t ever end Even when the sky is falling I’ve seen miracles just happen Silent prayers get answered Broken hearts become brand new That’s what faith can do
Overcome the odds When you don’t have a chance (That’s what faith can do) When the world says you can’t It’ll tell you that you can!
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains Hope that doesn’t ever end Even when the sky is falling And I’ve seen miracles just happen Silent prayers get answered Broken hearts become brand new That’s what faith can do That’s what faith can do!
Even if you fall sometimes You will have the strength to rise
Here is a short video that I shot a few weeks ago, with the song “Gravity” by Shawn McDonald.
Yes, I know my windshield needed cleaning. I’d tried to do just that at a gas station, but the water looked nasty and the squeegee looked even worse.
Kcinnova's World 
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