I'm not going to heaven (wherever that is) if there's no Crowded House. Neil Finn is, without question, one of the finest songwriters of his generation. It's hard to choose one track when you love a handful of albums... Into Temptation might have made an interesting reflection on the clash between human desire and social rules, longing and promise. "into temptation, knowing full well the earth will rebel; into temptation, into the wide open arms of hell..." a sample of his brilliance
But in the end, Together Alone (From the album of the same name) made it to my list of songs that I would recommend to God, or think might reflect something of what GOd is like. WHy? Because a) it is a beautiful piece of music, brilliantly fusing Maori drummers with western melodic rock, and b) a song about friendship between lovers. The moment of passion may ebb, but the friendship is there forever, is the underlying theme of the song. He describes a love so sweet, so deeply reaching into two souls, that it must last forever in some form, whatever else happens.
I have been through the usual ups and downs that any thinking person would about the existence of God, the relevance (or not) of various doctrines and practices of the CHurch. But ultimately the love of God is made real via the love we experience through people - the lovers and friends who look right into your soul and love what they find. As Joni Mitchell once put it, "love is touching souls". Together Alone nails that important truth (often lost on the Church) that love - both human and divine - is not just about rules or social contracts; it is wild and a little unpredictable, and not altogether easy to manage. But in the end, it is what makes us thoroughly human.
I've always wanted to play "Don't Dream It's Over" while clearing the altar on a Maundy Thursday. Such good songwriting -- I really need to buy some Neil Finn!
Posted by: Sarah Dylan Breuer | 07/09/2006 at 20:45