"gather us" - comments
Summer in Denver, warm and dry. Rae flew home from Texas after visiting her sister Janet who was undergoing treatment for leiomyosarcoma. Janet was lonely, far from home, and not optimistic. Rae was deeply sad and didn’t talk much about the trip. Still it was clear that it had been important for both of them. Rae felt helpless and turned to music, deciding to write an upbeat song dedicated to her sister that she could share. I suspect that it was also important for Rae to express her emotions through a creative act. She struggled with the music and lyrics, repeatedly writing, rewriting, and recording different sections. Never satisfied with the chorus, she asked me to help with it. I worked on it for quite a while and we eventually did a rough recording or two of the song, but with many musical and lyrical gaps. Work stopped when the phone call came: Janet had passed away. Devastated, Rae put the song away and never listened to it again. Following Rae’s passing I found an old cassette tape that contained one of our rough recordings. Although there were numerous gaps, I decided to finish the song and do an arrangement - for Janet. To fill the lyrical gaps I turned to bits of letters that Janet had written to us and that Rae had saved. Though the letters were terribly sad they allowed me to use Janet’s own words in the part of the song that Rae had intended to be in her sister’s “voice." The meaning behind Rae’s lyrics and the emotions behind Janet’s letters - I can’t completely unlock those as such was between the two sisters. At the same time, some of the lyrics are applicable to many of our lives. For example, Life and love, They wait for you. I know that's true, Love waits for you. Oh my… What an amazing, encouraging, and loving thing to say to someone at risk of falling over the edge. On our rough recording the song’s chorus was a mess and didn’t feel right to me, so I wrote a completely new one. Rae’s original intent was for the chorus to be a positive affirmation, but older me felt it should be more than that. I wrote it as a contemplative prayer. The call is simple: Gather Us. Even now those we have lost can call us together. They can gather us… |
gather us (for janet)
oh I've never felt so all alone never wished so hard I could go home, but he will never feel for me, for me. for me… oh I’ve never been so mystified, never dreamed that I might really die, still he never feels for me, for me. for me… don’t you fear, sister dear, It’s not fair, but don’t despair don’t despair. that young girl, you’ve brought in the world, this is true, she’ll need you she’ll need you. gather us. gather us. gather us. gather us. so much strife, in your life, destiny, it need not be just be free. gather us. gather us. gather us. gather us. life and love, they wait for you. I know that’s true, Love waits for you. gather us. gather us. gather us. gather us. all instruments and vocals glenn
cover photo by rae all materials copyright © 2020 glenn wiggins |