Here’s something odd...

I really love music in a lot of ways even though I don’t talk about it much. There will be long stretches of time where I don’t listen to music that much, spending hours with my eyes glued to the idiot box but then I’ll return to it once more and discover anew that deep love for the way music can move my emotions.

Over time, I find songs that I liked now affect me in different ways than they once did. It’s likely the consequence of carrying more baggage that makes this happen but today... songs that didn’t have the same effect can now reach deep within me and elicit some of the most powerful emotions they were not at all able to generate previously.

This is one of those songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjFzw8AxSBA

When I was a little boy (When I was just a boy)

And the Devil called my name (When I was just a boy)
I’d say, “Now who do (who)
Who do you think you’re fooling?” (When I was just a boy)

I’m a consecrated boy (When I was just a boy)
Singer in a Sunday choir
Oh, my mama loves me, she loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me
Oh, she loves me like a rock
She rock me like the rock of ages
And loves me
She love me, love me, love me, love me

When I was grown to be a man (Grown to be a man)
And the Devil would call my name (Grown to be a man)
I’d say “now who do (who)
Who do you think you’re fooling?” (Grown to be a man)

I’m a consummated man (Grown to be a man)
I can snatch a little purity
My mama loves me, she loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me
Oh, she loves me like a rock
She rock me like the rock of ages
And loves me
She love me, love me, love me, love me

And if I was President (Was the president)
The minute the Congress called my name (Was the president)
I’d say “now who do (who)
Who do you think you’re fooling?” (Who do you think you’re fooling?)

I’ve got the presidential seal (Was the president)
I’m up on the presidential podium
My mama loves me, she loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me
Oh, and she loves me like a rock
She rock me like the rock of ages
And love me
She love me, love me, love me, love me (Loves me like a rock)
She love me, love me, love me, love me (Loves me like a rock)
She love me, love me, love me, love me (Loves me like a rock)

(Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock, oh baby), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock, oh baby), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock, oh baby), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock, oh baby), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock, oh baby), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock, oh baby), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock), (Loves me like a rock, oh baby)

Here’s a live performance of the song back in 1973, really great to watch.

  

 

Now, the thing of this is... these days I can’t ever hear the song without thinking of my own mom and it starts to bring me to tears because no one can love you the way your mother can and when your mom is gone it’s a terrible loss and you aren’t even aware of just how much it will impact you until you’ve lost that. I think of how lucky I was to have such a mom and that I never once doubted just how much faith she had in me and how much love she had for me.