Found A Gem

Digging through my piles of CD's yesterday morning, came across "Across The Borderline" by Willie Nelson.

What an unbelievably, achingly beautiful and truthful album.

It was co-produced by Paul Simon and features two songs written by him. It also includes songs written by T.S.Burton, John Hiatt, Peter Gabriel, a song co-written and sung by Willie, and Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, James Dickinson, Lyle Lovett, Willie Dixon (old tymey blues dude).

It doesn't matter if you don't recognize all the names; I don't even know who James Dickinson is. What matters is that you know these are the types of guys who write songs about life. Straight ahead gut truthful songs based on experience from men who have truly lived their lives.

I brought Willie for the ride in, and David Bowie for the ride home. Bowie never made the cut. I emoted to Willie to and fro.

I imagined a difficult scenario. Imagine a guy driving to work on a Sunday morning. Driving to a place he doesn't want to be on a day he doesn't want to be there. Knowing that he will be missing something important to him, something he wants to watch, something he loves.

Imagine he hears these words, written by Paul Simon, sung by Willie Nelson, from "American Tune":

"Many's the times I've been mistaken and many times confused, yes, and I've often felt forsaken and certainly misused, oh, but I'm all right, I'm all right, I'm just weary to my bones, still you don't expect to be bright and Bon Vivant so far away from home, so far away from home.

I don't know a soul who's not been battered, I don't have a friend who feels at ease, I don't know a dream that's not been shattered or driven to its knees, oh but it's all right, it's all right, for lived so well so long, still when I think of the road we're travelling on, I wonder what went wrong, I can't help it, I wonder what's gone wrong.

And I dreamed I was dying, and I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly, and looking back down at me smiled reassuringly, and I dreamed I was flying and high above my eyes could clearly see, The Statue of Liberty sailing away to see, and I dreamed I was flying.

Oh we come on a ship they call The Mayflower, we come on the ship that sailed the moon, we come in the age's most uncertain hour, and sing an American Tune, oh, it's all right, it's all right, it's all right, it's all right, you can't be forever blessed, still, tomorrow's going to be another working day, and I'm trying to get some rest, that's all, I'm trying to get some rest."

I imagined, this guy on his way to work, might become emotionally invested. Feelings and confusion might bubble to the surface. It might become even more difficult for this guy to accept his reality. His mind might begin working overtime, trying to figure things out, trying to separate illusion from truth.

I would feel bad for that guy.

I hope it never happens to me.