Sunday Sessions: Waitin' on Mary
Advent: it is a season in the Christian year leading up tp Christmas.
That might not be your faith or part of your calendar.
The time leading up to the turning of the year is a good time for looking forward and looking back, though, however you may get there.
Change and uncertainty are in the air as much as are Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer this year.
At times, too, it seems as though everyone has an opinion and a solution to every problem and every unexpected outcome (US presidential election commentators and pundits of every persuasion looking at you there).
It’s true there is work to be done, and work that needs to be done quickly in service of protecting democracy in the United States particularly.
As with every decision and action, though, incorporating reflection and the long view of things is just as important as is decisive action.
What does all this have to with music, you may be asking?
Music is a gateway to reflection, and a companion through it, too.
There is a lot to think about in the song Waitin’ on Mary. It was written by Gretchen Peters.
You will find Watin’ on Mary recorded on Peters’s album called Northern Lights, which is filled with songs that’ll make good companions for your Advent reflection.
About Waitin’ on Mary: In connecting elements of the story of Mary and Joseph to the present, it seems especially timely -- or prescient.
Peters wrote the song some while back. One of the markers of a good song, that it lasts.
Peters is a master of songwriting. She is based in Nashville, which has found Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Shania Twain, George Strait, and Patty Loveless recording her songs. Artists from blues, jazz, and pop fields have also recorded her songs.
Peters in an accomplished performer herself, with a number of albums out.
Waitin’ on Mary is a song well worth more than one listening. As you listen again, take note of the work of Doug Lancio on guitar and David Henry cello, and those background singers, too: Matraca Berg and Suzy Boggus.
You may also wish to see
More about the album Northern Lights
You will hear a track from Gretchen’s most recent album The Show: Live from the UK as part of this story: Music for Autumn’s Changes, which is part on the ongoing Music for Shifting Times series at Wandering Educators
Learn about an album from Matraca Berg
An article with more music for your Advent listening
Another Sunday Session: Evergreen, from Alison Borwn
Thank you for reading Along the Music Road.
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