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I am missing your smile babe
Your smile is far away
Call you up on the telephone
Just to say
Don’t forget that I love your smile
Like honey to the bee
That’s just like you are to me.
I am missing your voice babe
Your voice is far away
Call you up on the telephone
Just to say
Don’t forget that I love your voice
Like sugar to my tea
That’s just like you are to me.
I am missing your moves babe
Your moves are far away
Call you up on the telephone
Just to say
Don’t forget that I love your moves
A precious commodity
That’s just like you are—
Don’t go so far away
Don’t go so far away
I am missing your love babe
Your love is far away
Call you up on the telephone
Just to say
Don’t forget that I love your love
Like water to the sea
That’s just like you are
That’s just like you are
That’s just like you are to me.
Written and recorded for Mellie, Dec 07. Hooray for Mellie!
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Slow summer nights and old fashioned lullabyes
Underneath a blue, blue moon,
Voices in union, a sweet perfume,
Holdin on like a juniper root,
Feelin fine, just to know you’re mine.
Standing shoulder to shoulder, arm-in-arm to uphold
The strength of our love—just you and me up against the world.
Looking forward to getting older,
The warmth we share won’t never, never, never grow colder,
I’m gonna love you til the day I die.
So bring on those days of slow change, those years of age,
I’m falling for you like a fool, like when my youth was young,
Let’s make a melody of you and I,
Making love in sweet slow time,
Like an old fashioned lullabye.
I went dreaming last night, of a lullabye,
Dreaming…
Dreaming last night, of a lullabye,
You were there, just dreaming by my side,
And we went dreaming all through the night.
Dreaming of those days of slow change, those years of age,
I’m falling for you like a fool, like when my youth was young,
Let’s make a melody of you and I,
Making love in sweet slow time,
Like an old fashioned lullabye.
Time gonna change us, take liberties outrageous,
Make mockery of vanity and pride,
Oh but love lingers on,
Young and strong.
So bring on those days of slow change, those years of age,
And someday, baby when all our youth is gone
We can look back upon the melody of you and I
Making love to last all our lives,
Like an old fashioned lullabye.
Written and recorded for Mellie, Dec 07. Hooray for Mellie!
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I’ve seen the stars in your eyes
We’ve slept out under a sky-blue sky
We’ve heard the sound of angels all around
And we know the way back home.
We’ve drunk a taste of the sea
We’ve painted purple mountain majesty
I’ve whistled a tune with you beneath the moon
And we know the way back home.
Oh, ain’t it hard
Learning how live with love
Is bound to break your heart
Don’t be afraid
Don’t give up, don’t give in
Don’t be ashamed
Let’s bring a little bit of heaven to this side of Revelation
I’ve seen the stars in your eyes
That steady constellation has been my guide
And with you by my side, I know that I know
We know the way back
We know the way back
We know the way back home
Written and recorded for Mellie, Dec 07. Hooray for Mellie!
Joining a Sacred Harp singing is now on my short list of highly recommended, along with New Zealand and guacamole. The physical power of this strange, haunting, apocalyptic music is not captured at all by this video (sorry Richard). Mellie and I stumbled across Sacred Harp a few years ago through this great documentary. We’ve been waiting for the west coast convention to arrive in San Diego ever since. Very nice folks took us in and even let us lead a song or two.
Places featured in this vid: San Diego, Big Sur, Mt Whitney, New York City, Mt Shasta, New Zealand, Montreal, Alabama, Mt San Jacinto, camping in a Chic-Fil-A parking lot (for 1 year of free food!), Honopu Ridge in Kauai, and my parent’s house.
Act 1, Scene 1. 2AM, a darkened bedroom in the Gray household.
Me: [startled awake by creepy dream] Ah! Mellie: [groggy] What’s wrong? Me: [shaky voice] Ick. Bad dream. Mellie: Mmm. Me: [snuggling closer] It was really bad. I need to be comforted. Mellie: Well don’t tell it to me. I don’t want to be scared. [falls asleep] Me: [lies awake, staring at the partially-opened closet door]
Mellie Mix, April 09!
A collection of tunes to make her ears happy.
Chariot, Page France. Let’s Stay Together, Al Green. How I Got Over, Mahalia Jackson. La Vie En Rose, Louis Armstrong. Blindsided, Bon Iver. In Spite Of All The Damage, The Be Good Tanyas. Way Back Home, Husband. Just a Lady, Kutiman. You Send Me (The very cool demo version), Sam Cooke. Little Martha, The Allman Brothers. J’irai La Voir Un Jour, Patty Griffin • Divine Romance, Phil Wickham. Falling Slowly, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova. C’mon C’mon, Jon Foreman. Jesus, Page France
iMix available for your iTunes browsing pleasure. A few of the songs didn’t show up. Noteably, Just A Lady by Kutiman, and C’mon C’mon by Jon Foreman.
Today we went to the unveiling of Jeremy Wright’s incredible mosaic. The project covers the outside of God’s Extended Hand Mission, wrapping around the entire front of the building at 16th and Island in downtown San Diego. I say it’s Jeremy’s mosaic, but it is actually an amazing community project, created by over 90 people over the past four years, including homeless, students, neighbors and friends. It is truly magnificent to behold, and it was super cool to see it finally completed. Jeremy was on hand chatting it up, taking pictures and telling stories from the last four years of this project. He’s already making plans to expand to the intersection’s other three corners.
I stumbled across the work-in-progress about a year ago and immediately knew Mellie would dig it. We came back together and it turned out that she knew Jeremy’s mom from her north county days! Small world. We were super stoked when Jeremy invited us to join in. We went back a few times to add our little bits to the project and even brought Nate and Sarah along. It’s fun to think that the pieces we contributed will probably last longer than we do.
God’s Extended Hand is the oldest rescue mission in San Diego, and has been providing meals and shelter to homeless folks since 1925. Over the years the building had fallen into serious disrepair. When Jeremy showed up the city was threatening to declare it a blight and give it the wrecking ball. You know you look bad when you’re declared an eyesore in that neighborhood. I love the fact that this beautiful community art project adorns the ugliest building around, and has brought new life and hope to a pretty hopeless place. What a picture of grace.
Just got back from the endocrinologist. Mellie is officially benign!
We are relieved, joyful, stunned, a little confused. The original biopsy was highly suspicious for cancer, but the final pathology report came back completely clear. It is much more likely that surgery confirms a suspicious biopsy, or the biopsy is negative but surgery reveals cancer. The doctor said that in her 11 years of practice she has only seen it happen this way twice.
I knew Mellie was special.
So we are stoked. But confused. Mellie is now down one thyroid and has to take a pill for the rest of her life. What was all this about? Was there ever any cancer? What are we supposed to take away from this episode?
I believe God is sovereign, which means among other things that nothing random happens. I also believe he is good. I don’t always know how those two fit together.
But I know Mellie is cancer-free. She’s on the mend. Thank you God. Thank you family and friends.
