Had to drive to the bank on Tuesday to do some liquor store business.
On my way over, radio on, up pops "Soulshine".
"Soulshine" is an Allman Brothers song. One of my favorite Allman Brothers songs.
Although that phrase is meaningless. Favorite Allman Brothers song. Christ, if you tried to pin me down, tried to bully me into picking just one ABB song that I love above all others - I would give you a list of 10.
If you kept on pushing me I would give you a list of another ten ABB songs.
That's the best I can do.
But I do love "Soulshine" deeply. The lyrics resonate with me.
"When you can't find the light that guides you on the cloudy days, when the stars ain't shining bright, you feel like you've lost your way, when those candle lights of home burn so very far away, well you got to let your soul shine, just like my daddy used to say...............
He used to say soulshine, it's better than sunshine, it's better than moonshine, damn sure better than rain, hey now people don't mind, we all get this way sometime, got to let your soul shine, shine 'till the break of day"
This is what we ache for, to express our essence, to be who you are in defense against this nasty world, to just be you and feel safe and comfortable in that place no matter what is going on in your life.
Easier said than done. We are all actors and we even try to fool ourselves.
Here's the catch. I have always heard the song sung by Gregg with the band wailing behind him.
This version was Warren Haynes and an acoustic guitar. Alone.
Warren wrote the song and was a long standing member of the Allman Brothers Band until they split up in October of 2014.
This version was magnificent. I had never heard it before.
Conveyed the emotion in the most simplistic of renderings.
I sat in the bank parking lot until that song was done. The goddamn deposit could wait.
The surprises just keep on coming.
Music is an organism that keeps on adapting and evolving and finding different ways to open up our souls.
Thank Christ for that.
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