A song for the journey

Oh my, it has been forty years. For a few decades now I have had a tradition of pausing on Easter morning to listen to Patti Smith’s song Easter, from her album by the same name.  Released in March 1978,  the album is a collection of poetry set to music. At various points, the songs convey rage against the system, existential-angst-inducing emotion, and transcendent spirituality. But, even with such a bold pallet of colors, the song Easter stands out. The sound envelops a room with a Leslie-speaker sort of tonality. It immerses listeners in a vibe that is like a warm bath on a cold day. The music has depth. Somehow it is positive and reassuring despite raising the issue of the finite nature of life as we know it.

As Stephen Webb put it in a 2015 blog post on the Theology of Patti Smith,

“‘Easter’ (1978) is a masterpiece of lyrical lament. Smith imagines Rimbaud walking to church with his siblings on Easter Sunday, trying to convey to them his own awakening into a dark, yet hopeful destiny.”

Over the years, Patti Smith’s writing, music and art have returned again and again to interconnected themes from history, theology, and the philosophy of life. (I have noted these points previously in a Q4TK blog post, here). And, the song Easter is emblematic of such linkages.

Now, that is saying something

Communicating a spiritual message via a lyrical presentation of a fictitious incident involving a poet who died more than 125 years ago, having spent the last 11 years of his life living in Ethiopia, and making the connection relevant to present day life in a post-punk song, one that has a sense of currency that persists over a few decades, well that is quite a remarkable achievement.

So, my hat is off to Patti Smith for this gift to the listener. Patti Smith’s song Easter has made a difference to me, delivering a helpful anchor point from time to time. It is a window that offers a helpful perspective into broader contexts. And, I say to her, “Thank you so much for sharing this all those years ago.”

Through a window (©Doug L., 2015-2018)