Before I announce the winner of “The Inaugural Rich100Award” allow me a moment to say this. If I had an orchestra of French horns, violins, and a timpani, I would conduct them in a rousing rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.” Since I don’t, I’m going to cheat and use this rousing rendition from youtube to announce the winner, and yes, I know I used the photo again, but it is edited with the winners name.
And the winner is…Mr. Osama Iftikhar at poemsandpeople.wordpress.com. Please join me in a hearty congratulations to Mr. Iftikhar on this remarkable achievement. And while you are at it, you must visit his blog. He has a remarkable voice that beckons to us all.
Thank you sir for visiting and following this little blog of mine.
For as long as I can remember, I have listened to and loved bluegrass and gospel music. I’m sure a lot of my love for this music, especially gospel, is due to my mother. Although she didn’t have an angel’s voice, she sounded like an angel to me as she sang gospel songs while she worked around the house. She is gone now, but I’m sure if there is a heaven, she is there sweetly harmonizing with the angels.
I am on the downhill side of fifty-eight years old with fifty-nine clearly in sight and sixty only a New York city block away. While I can’t speak for everyone my age, I can speak about me and my observations from hanging around and speaking to others that are also fast approaching sixty.
Many of us are facing our mortality head on. Unlike when we were young, dumb, and stupid, we no longer think that we are invincible and immortal. Waking up to new and unusual pains in parts of the body that shouldn’t hurt provides a daily reminder that we are just frail humans; not superheroes. Staring straight on at my own mortality has me reflecting a lot about my life; people I’ve known and places I’ve been; the joys and pains that have enriched me; my deep abiding love for my sweetheart, my soul-mate, and my three wonderful sons; and my passions.
Over the years, as I read and studied writing, on my own and in classes and workshops, “…write about your passions” was something I heard over and over. Facing my own mortality is helping me find and embrace the things I am truly passionate about. One is my passion for bluegrass music. As I continue to write and post to this blog, one of my goals is to share this passion with anyone who cares to read, learn, and listen to what I share.
Many bluegrass musicians play spiritual numbers. Now, don’t hold me to this as a fact, since I haven’t actually researched and verified this, but I believe some of the propensity to play spiritual songs is partly due to the roots of bluegrass in the mountains of Appalachia and the Scots-Irish mountain folks singing old hymns mixed with the harmonies, instruments and styles they brought with them from their homelands.
The song I am sharing this morning is just such a spiritual number. Realizing that WordPress represents a global audience with differing religious beliefs, please try to disregard the fact that this song is from a Christian point of view. The belief is not important – the song is. Listen to the singing and the music, especially the sweet harmonies of Ricky and the boys from Kentucky Thunder.
“Hurt so bad……….You don’t come around here anymore…..
Worse than that………..
Nothing’s really helping I’ve been thinking ’bout drinking again”
Twenty-one words, that’s all, just twenty-one; words that rank easily in the top one hundred song openings of all time. Within the last three or four weeks, as I listened to more of their music, this band fast became one of my all time favorites.
It all started with these twenty-one words.
Sit back, grab some joe or a brew, strap on your favorite headphones, crank it up to 11 and enjoy this awesome performance.
The Avett Brothers Perform “Morning Song.” Original writing Copyright (C) 2014 R. A. Richardson. First publication on writesomethingtoday.com. Other content protected by the respective content owners. All Rights Reserved.
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