Music is magic. It can soothe us, entertain, teach, or ignite us.
All of his students were called to the Dean's office to give a statement concerning our experiences in his class. I was the last to testify. The inquisitor was obviously exasperated and confused. How could most of his students express, "He was the best teacher I ever had"?
It was very simple: he cared and he used music as a teaching tool. I was hooked in the very first class session. He asked us to get out paper and pen. Then, he put a record on a turntable and asked us to close our eyes, really listen to the song and as soon as it finished, start writing whatever came into our minds without picking up the pen until he told us to stop. It was one of the most exhilarating things I had ever done in my life! The song he played was, "The Great Compromise" by John Prine:
"I used to sleep at the foot of Old Glory
And awake at the dawns early light
But much to my surprise
When I opened my eyes
I was a victim of the great compromise"*
I had heard the song many times before but I never really got it. I got it and it started a real, life long love affair with music and with the music of John Prine.
John Prine had been a postman before he was a famous songwriter. I would imagine that many of his songs are informed by his time delivering mail -- "Hello in There" must be. The U. S. Postal Service is under attack from corporate interests and lobbyists. I think it will diminish us as a people if we lose the Post Office. I know this would be a diminished place if John Prine had not written a song.
*"The idea I had in mind was that America was this girl you used to take to drive-in movies. And then when you went to get some popcorn, she turned around and screwed some guy in a foreign sports car. I really love America. I just don't know how to get there anymore." John Prine
