A New Psalm for a New Year

Lord teach me to sing the blues

I wanted to learn to sing like some of the old blues masters,

And i sent my petition to the God of creation,

I prayed ‘God will you teach me how to sing the blues’ (guess i'm a fool),

And then God answered back... just about one second from being too late...

He said child, don't you already know how to sing the blues?

He said child, no one needs a reminder how to sing the blues!

… But if you really want to, well here you go…

 

… you just keep going on like your going,

Crawling and scraping in survival mode.

And when all the old pain comes back upon you,

And, when the old, and the new pain become one...

When you touch the heat, and the soul of the desert,

And drop down to your knees,

And when you think you've had enough,

Just when you wish you were dead,

When the pain is so deep and so real,

And the awesome strength, of the stress of life, becomes surreal…

... that's when you’ll meet an old friend of mine,

the one who tells you the same lies again and again,

he's the one that I banished, so long ago...

... And he'll teach you sing the blues...

And he'll tell you that I'm no where to be found,

And that you have to do life all on your own,

And he'll show you all of the things that you can't control,

he'll show you loss like you've never known,

And that what you once held dear,

Only exists where you can no longer hear...

And he'll show you all that you can't have,

Child that's when you'll know how to sing the blues...

Child i'm not the one who teaches to sing the blues,

I'm The One who says,

'Child welcome back, man it's great to speak with you…

… Now, let's get you cleaned-up and healthy again.’

So now that you've learned to sing the blues, I'm here to remind you,

That I'm The One that teaches joy,

And that it's yours to have once again.

Child, I'm The Source of that peace that floods your soul...

You see, I'm The One who restores your soul,

I don't teach how to sing the blues,

The blues will find you when you least expect,

I'm The One who guides you back to reality,

The One who guides you back out of the valley of the shadow of death.

The One who opens your eyes to what can't be seen.

And child, I was hoping you'd remember me soon,

I was hoping you would call for me once again,

I've been waiting for this moment to come.

You've embraced the world's false expectations,

And it's trivial rewards...

And you've tried to create some world of your own,

The only world that makes sense to you,

Learning that you’re not God, is what taught you the blues…

Child I don't teach how to sing the blues,

No, no, no... I teach the survivor's song,

And i teach it to those who already know the blues.

To those who learned how to express their pain...

Child you already know how to sing the blues,

and now that your through...

… I'll teach you a new type of song,

I’ll teach you a survivor's song, a redemption song,

a humble song, a simple song,

a thankful song, a joyful song,

a song with new meaning for life...

Child i know the blues,

And so do you,

i tried to tell the world,

about a redemption song,

a song of good news, for the weary soul...

Child i sang the blues,

but only few would even listen...

And now that you know how to sing the blues,

Tell Me child, how would you sing your song?

Well, I suppose mine’s a survivor's song, a redemption song,

it’s a humble song, a simple song,

it’s a thankful song, a joyful song,

and a song with new meaning for life...

Child, you know how to sing the blues,

Now ain't it about time, to get you healthy again,

So you can go on, and sing the rest of your song...

oh, yeah yeah yeah…

You see mine's a survivor's song, it’s a redemption song,

it’s a humble song, a simple song,

it’s a thankful song, a joyful song,

And it’s a song with new meaning for life...

… So what’s your song…

… Do you sing the blues…

… Child go write your song, and sing your song…

… May it have some new meaning for life…

… Now go on and sing.  --  ct

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… call it what you want, i’ll call it a long-ass blues-song… but really, really it’s just me articulating the spiritually epiphany that happens at the end of a depressive season… there is some peace, and joy waiting for you at the end of the nasty cycle… the end of that cycle might have a metaphoric hand of God out-stretched… grab that hand, it will evolve into a hug… i suggest you embrace it!