Leaving Eden by Carolina Chocolate Drops
Carolina Chocolate Drops is this group from North Carolina that plays old-time music that sounds like it's from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The songs include a mix of blues, folk, and soul and the band has been described as a black-based string band who plays deeply historical music. The lead singer, Rhiannon Giddens, was classically trained and sang opera, which is an interesting departure.
Anay, love that you made this musical introduction to me! It gave me words for a feeling I had, which is such a gift.
I so enjoy classical music, and throughout time, I've also found deep solace in many other styles that get me on a soul level. I've mentioned this before, but as of lately, country and folk music do something for me in the more challenging of times. It's the storytelling... the poetry of the lyrics with the simple backdrop of the instruments. A metaphor for life? As Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Yes, simplicity can tell life's story in so little words.
There is this one song I've been playing on repeat for the last couple of weeks, "Leaving Eden." And the video below features the Carolina Chocolate Drops playing the song at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. The song has been described as "one of those timeless pieces." On surface level, there's a story of a family who has to leave Eden because of a mill that's closed. Below that is the poverty of an African-American family living in the United States during troubling times.
There's also another universal theme of not being afraid of death and of the unknown.
And the mockingbird can sing
Like the crying of the dove
And I can't tell my daughters
All the things that I am scared of
But I am not afraid of that bright glory up above
Dying's just another way to leave the ones you love
Those specific lyrics of the chorus resonated so much for me. "Dying's just another way to leave the ones you love." There's something beautiful in thinking about how death is just that, but wow, that's incredibly difficult to understand as a human! We connect to deeply to humanity and people around us.
Today, I want to dedicate this blog to all the people who have lost their lives to the Ebola outbreak. I can't help but think that when faced with such tragic circumstances where so many people of all different ages within your community are leaving this world, you start to think of life and afterlife in such profoundly different ways. I wonder if people soon are, "not afraid of that bright glory up above." And I wonder if the transience of life becomes normalized?
If you read this blog, here's to our collective prayer.hope.burst of love. from around the world to all facing this challenge. And to our brother out there in Sierra Leone, keep up the incredible work you do. Our hearts are thinking of you.
Leaving Eden:
Anay, love that you made this musical introduction to me! It gave me words for a feeling I had, which is such a gift.
I so enjoy classical music, and throughout time, I've also found deep solace in many other styles that get me on a soul level. I've mentioned this before, but as of lately, country and folk music do something for me in the more challenging of times. It's the storytelling... the poetry of the lyrics with the simple backdrop of the instruments. A metaphor for life? As Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Yes, simplicity can tell life's story in so little words.
There is this one song I've been playing on repeat for the last couple of weeks, "Leaving Eden." And the video below features the Carolina Chocolate Drops playing the song at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. The song has been described as "one of those timeless pieces." On surface level, there's a story of a family who has to leave Eden because of a mill that's closed. Below that is the poverty of an African-American family living in the United States during troubling times.
There's also another universal theme of not being afraid of death and of the unknown.
And the mockingbird can sing
Like the crying of the dove
And I can't tell my daughters
All the things that I am scared of
But I am not afraid of that bright glory up above
Dying's just another way to leave the ones you love
Those specific lyrics of the chorus resonated so much for me. "Dying's just another way to leave the ones you love." There's something beautiful in thinking about how death is just that, but wow, that's incredibly difficult to understand as a human! We connect to deeply to humanity and people around us.
Today, I want to dedicate this blog to all the people who have lost their lives to the Ebola outbreak. I can't help but think that when faced with such tragic circumstances where so many people of all different ages within your community are leaving this world, you start to think of life and afterlife in such profoundly different ways. I wonder if people soon are, "not afraid of that bright glory up above." And I wonder if the transience of life becomes normalized?
If you read this blog, here's to our collective prayer.hope.burst of love. from around the world to all facing this challenge. And to our brother out there in Sierra Leone, keep up the incredible work you do. Our hearts are thinking of you.
Leaving Eden:
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