A Safe Place to Land

I've written before about songs that I've been introduced to in the Cummins Diversity Choir.  This week, we were introduced to a phenomenal piece.  A song called A Safe Place to Land, written by Sara Bareilles three years ago in reference to the refugee/immigration crisis.

The song cuts through the politics and other issues surrounding the crisis and focuses on the humanitarian aspects.  Making us identify with those facing difficult decisions.  When letting go is safe than keeping.  When holding your breath is a safer choice than the sound of your breathing.  Or being told when standing in a room on fire, to remain still.

The call is for us all to be a safe place to land.  A safe harbor.  A refuge.

The very least we as human beings can be to each other.

You can read the song as a broader call for us to be a help to anyone, to everyone in the depths of their need.  To be a support structure to those who are in the worst of their hurting.  To come along side during their struggles.

I pray we can all be that at times, and find it when needed.

Bring tissues.  I sure needed it.

Til the sun comes up…

I Get Along Without You Very Well

Last night I got to practice with the Cummins Diversity Choir.  It's so great to participate in choral singing again.  We've been able to practice since last summer and have been able to perform at the Ethnic Expo in Columbus last fall.  I've written before about how much I enjoy this group and the sentiment remains the same.  

We're currently preparing for a Black History Month event at the Indy office, and are working through several pieces.  One piece is one of my favorite songs that I've ever performed.  

I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes), by Hoagie Carmichael

Written in 1939, the song is a haunting exercise in the bravado of love and loss.  Carmichael based the lyrics on a poem by Jane Brown Thompson, and the main melodic theme on the Fantaisie-Impromptu in C Sharp minor, Op 66, by Frederic Chopin.  The singer tells of how well they are able to get along without their last love.  Of course they can.  Except when soft rain falls, to hear their name, or when someone's laugh is the same.  And especially not in spring.

I first was exposed to this song as a Brightleaf Scholar in 2000.  It was one of the most beautiful and touching songs we sang as a group, accentuated with very tight vocal harmonies and surprising lines for each vocal part.  It remains one of my all time favorite songs.

And on a rainy day like today, I'd like to share it with you all.  Below, find one of my favorite performances of it.  Diana Krall's version from her album, The Look of Love.