Perhaps it is unfair to pick on England. But it so happens that when I began to think recently of the most appalling statements I can remember that have been made about the elderly and the disabled, I thought immediately of statements made by Englishmen. There is Martin Amis, advocating suicide booths for the elderly on every corner, Baroness Warnock telling us that those with dementia have a duty to die, and most recently Virginia Smother-your-child-with-a-pillow Ironside.
And just as it may be coincidence that all of these horrific statements about the death of those who are a "burden" and "unwanted" come from the UK (I'm sure equally bad things have been said by Americans), it may also be coincidence that the country song I just heard tonight is an American product. In which case, I suppose it is unfair of me to point that out.
But on either side of the Atlantic, the answer, and the only answer, to the culture of death is love. There's a lot of that in this song.
"Ellsworth," sung here by Gospel singer Jason Crabb. Lyrics here.
As a bonus, a very beautiful country song about dying, sung by Gordon Mote.
"Wake Up Dancin'"
Comments (5)
America has given the world Hefner, Flynt and the A-bomb. No cause for complacency.
Posted by Frank | October 18, 2010 1:30 AM
I so enjoyed listening to these two videos -lyrics and music brought a much needed smile...
Also- thank you for the post on surrogacy and abortion---
Carol-CS
Posted by Carol-Christian Soldier | October 18, 2010 2:44 AM
This made me think of a current country song...Here's a bit of it...
"500 Channels and there ain’t much on tonight
But reality shows about some folks so called lives
A pretty girl cries cause she don’t get a rose
But she’ll find love next year on her own show
And they call that real
Real, is the hand you hold 57 years
Real, is a band of gold trembling with fear
And it’s the first long tear down an old man’s face
Watching his angel slipping away
His heart so broke, it’s never gonna heal
I call that real..."
James Wesley, "Real"
Posted by Donna | October 18, 2010 10:39 AM
Oh my Lydia. Didn't expect to start my day in tears.
Posted by Gina Danaher | October 19, 2010 10:24 AM
I'm sorry, Gina. But they are really neat songs. I predict you'll come back to them again and again. I have to admit that my favorite of the two is "Wake Up Dancin'." I play it repeatedly and for some reason never feel depressed by it, even if I get the lump in the throat.
It seemed to me too that the obvious love in the context of the Gaither homecoming really adds something to the "Ellsworth" performance that helps draw the sting of the pain of it. It seems to call attention to the fact that the lyrics have a lot of love in them as well.
Posted by Lydia | October 19, 2010 11:36 AM