The liner notes from the very fine 2 CD anthology, "The Return of the Repressed," on Rhino Records, shed some valuable light on the life of John Fahey. The New York Times obituary and a companion article, both of which came out within a few days of his untimely passing, also have some useful information. To be sure, there is something inherently religious--in the sense of 'numinous' as used by Rudolph Otto in "The Idea of the Holy"--in a lot of his music. In addition to the majesty of some of his tunes, there is an undeniably light and joyous side as well, as in his "Hawaiian Two Step." His actual religious affiliation, if any, and whatever it might have been is, to me, less significant than his ability to discern the inherent majesty in a traditional tune like "John Henry" or "The Sea of Love", an old top forty tune by Phil Phillips that I remember from early high school. One tribute to his ecumenical spirit is his version of the old Episcopalian tune called "In Jesus Christ There is no East of West." He also did stuff from the Indian (as in India) tradition (Jaya Shiva Shankarah). I can easily imagine a Fahey service that consists of nothing other than folks getting together to hear some of his tunes being played in a house of worship with a good sound system and accoustics worthy of his music. He had his thumb on a deep and universal pulse, primarily, but not exclusively, as it manifested itself in a uniquely American form of music. There is a truth in his music that goes beyond words as well as religious denominations.

God Bless John Fahey, as he has belssed us with his music.

Tom Dowling