Weed in the Garden

Lyrics

I have a garden where I grown my songs for you
Green when the sun is shining, but sometimes they're blue
It feeds me when I'm hungry. Oh the food of sound.
And everything I have to give you is harvest from this ground

Here I hide inside these gates
You can't find me only what I create
I hope you're with me on that lonely day
When the flowers grow no more
And the nightingales fly away

There was a weed growing. It killed the taller trees
So that I couldn't get as high as I used to be
I couldn't climb those branches and look out at the view
But most of all I couldn't sing the love I have for you

Here I hide inside these gates
You can't find me only what I create
I hope you're with me on that lonely day
When the flowers grow no more
And the nightingales fly away

But now the trees are growing, and I can see beyond the day
The birds have come back for springtime
So we can dance and sing and play

Here I am inside these gates
Come look for me and I will wait
I know you'll be there on that lonely day
Because I spoke to the nightingales
And they said for you they would stay.

Reflections

Sometime in the early 90's I had to have half of my thyroid gland removed.  That is because in the early 70's, as an infant, I had a very malignant form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma in my shoulder and my neck.  The radiation from the cancer treatment had made the thyroid not function properly.  Jump forward again to the 90's, there was what the doctors called a "cold nodule" growing on my thyroid gland which had to be removed.  That was the "weed." The doctor explained to me the risks of the surgery, and one possibility was that if during the operation they were to accidentally sever my vocal chords there was a chance that I might never be able to sing again.  Well, that would have been terrible.  I was a little concerned, but the surgery was a success, and I continue to have the ability to sing.

I wrote this song about that experience.  It starts out a little sad and worrisome, but ends on a note of hope and joy.  The nightingale is a literary allusion to the mastery of song.  There is a famous poem by Keats called "Ode to a Nightingale" that uses this same metaphor.

I am enjoying this re-listening.  I forgot how rich and ambient my lead guitar playing was on this recording.  I also surprised myself with the slow walking bass line in the chords.

I try to appreciate the gifts that God has given me and not take them for granted.  There are so many things that we take for granted, like our hearts beating, or the way our bodies heal or our ability to sing and talk in a way that strengthens bonds among other people.  We get so caught up in what we want that we forget to appreciate what we already have.  Life is so precious even when we do not possess a single thing.