Here’s another song that I feel deeply, again by The Highwaymen (see previous post about Highwaymen and Highwomen). To be honest, I don’t even find it too remarkable musically. But the lyrics touch something that I haven’t seen or heard expressed so beautifully anywhere else. Don’t we all love to give advice?
“Message” Songs?
I’m aware that “message songs” are somewhat frowned upon. Bob Dylan has repeatedly made fun of people asking about messages in his songs. There are good reasons why songs should “speak for themselves” (shoutout to Hans Niemann who lets chess “speak for itself”). Yet I believe songs can help us uncover a source of knowledge inside that is usually out of reach.
Giving Advice Comes So Natural …
It feels so natural to give people advice, regardless whether it was asked for or not. If we could internalize this song, we could live and work together with much less friction …
Willie Nelson sings the first verse:
There′s a young man in town,
Slip-slidin’ around.
He likes to roll free and easy.
There′s only his way,
He calls all the plays.
And he lives on his island alone.
To me, a gentle, polite way of describing someone as selfish, self-centered, unaware of the needs of the people around him.
Waylon Jennings continues with the second verse:
But the sea is for sure
To test all the moors
Dropping off treasures from places unknown.
Worth more than gold
To only be sold.
By this young man of stone.
Life has so much to offer – openness is required to perceive and value the treasures.
As someone more experienced – how do we react to seeing someone lacking awareness like this “young man of stone”? Shouldn’t we tell him? Let him know what we learnt? Help him, with our best intentions, maybe get emotional if he doesn’t immediately agree to our views?
Unconditional Support Or Elderly Advice?
The refrain, sung by all four Highwaymen, touches me. This is a demeanor to learn from: No trace of criticism, no rejection, no sense of superiority, no Know-it-all attitude. Instead, just empathy and unconditional support.
And we’re all in your corner tonight as friends.
Watching you stumble the path where we’ve been.
Hope your eyes open and you see the light.
We′re all in your corner tonight.
How much trauma could be avoided if parents, teachers, the older generation in general could grant every adolescent their space and their right to their own experiences … Not by leaving them alone, but by emphatically supporting them on their way.
Life’s Journey: Find Your Own Path
Kris Kristofferson carries on with the next verse:
The life boat we had was fragile and frail.
By the time we set sail life′s half over.
Water’s the view, drown out the truth.
He′s got to have proof that he’s grown.
Time, however, is limited. It takes courage to make decisions and embark on a path that yields the experiences necessary for inner growth.
Johnny Cash kills it, as usual, in the last verse. The last three lines here form a quote to be remembered …
There is no map to chart
A voyage of the heart.
The love is a journey you make on your own.
And if you don′t take the chance,
The angels won’t dance,
With an old man of stone.
The song finishes with a repetition of the chorus.
The Highwaymen, while accomplished songwriters, didn’t create this masterpiece, but helped spread the word. The song was written by Troy Harold Seals and Bobby Emmons.
Seals has been covered, among others, by Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, Hank Williams, Jr., Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison. Emmons played keyboards, among others, on Elvis’s Suspicious Minds and In the Ghetto, Dusty Springfield’s Son of a Preacher Man, Merrilee Rush’s Angel of the Morning, and Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. He also toured with The Highwaymen and played on numerous Willie Nelson albums.
The song is found here (note: paid link):