The Roadie Song

I go through phases where I will listen to different types of music for a period of time...then move on to a different genre. I have had country phases, pop phases, christian phases, r&b phases, hip-hop phases, alternative phases....you name it I have probably listened to it for some period of time. Here lately I have found myself drawn to "classic rock." "Classic rock" is actually a politically correct way to say "old rock." The thing is....it's now the music I grew up listening to....so what does that make me? Old? Once again, I will yield to the politically correct term and refer to myself as "classic." Hmmmmm, whatever!

Anyway, today I was listening to the local "classic rock" station when I heard one of my favorite songs of all time. "The Roadie Song / Stay" by Jackson Browne. I love that song....always have. It has to do with a lot of things I think....the piano (which is my instrument of choice) is very cool, the variety of instrumentation in extremely interesting, but the lyrics are what really gets me. From the surface, it seems like a song about the life of a traveling artist and what it is like going from town to town and performing, life on the road, etc. But it's not! It is a song about conviction and connection and that is what draws me in everytime I hear it. The singer, the band, the roadies all are doing a very difficult job, a job that is physically and emotionally draining. They sleep on buses and hotel rooms away from their families and friends. They lose track of where they are and where they are going next. But they love what they do so much because of the connection that they make with their audience. I love the line "We pass the time in hotel rooms and wandering 'round backstage. But when the lights come up and we hear the crowd, we remember why we came." That is exactly the way I feel about Sunday mornings. The way we do church at Foothills Community Church is a lot of work. It is physically and emotionally draining....but I wouldn't want to do anything else in the world. Because when we open the doors on Sunday morning and the people pour in, and the music begins to play, and God is glorified, and people experience life change....."I REMEMBER WHY WE CAME!" In Toccoa, we set up and breakdown our church every week. And many people have heard me say "It is kind of sad when it all gets taken down and the space is back to being a gym." I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS want to stay a little bit longer.

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