During
the tumult of 1967 over an unpopular war and other issues plus the public
despair over the assassination of several political figures, Bobbie Gentry
released a recording of Ode to Billy Joe. It won the Grammy for best song of
the year probably, in part, because it was a cross over hit, played on both
country and soul stations. And while I make no claim to be a music critic I
find the song unexceptional and Ms. Gentry herself seems ready to fall over
from the weight of her eye makeup. But I also find the lyrics running through
my head like a haunting.
Today
we are living through massive technological changes, Muslim terror and
political violence. The Jeffersonian basis for America, a strong middle class,
is vaporizing as I write. In 1967, a simple song reminded us that we are all
just folks consumed with the joys, tasks and tragedies of everyday life. One
song didn’t turn the tide, but it helped.
For
many their song is prayer. To be humble before God reminds us who we are.
Another great awakening can be part of the strategy to save America’s soul. Must
watching the news maintain itself as a masochistic ritual? Will some people
around here consider me a white supremacist or worse for having God in my life?
Copyright
2017, Mark L. Bennett
