Seems to be just you and me these days, Ron. But that's awright.

Last week at the Men's Chorus practice we did the ultimate overdone song: Jesus Loves Me This I Know. Just about everyone who was taken to church as a kid learned that song. It's kinda like a Christian Skip To My Low or She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain. By the time we're six or seveen years old and we are mature, we associate that song with little kids. Who wants to sing a BABY song? Certainly not a seven year old. And then the song sinks back into oblivian, along with all those other old staples, like Shortnin' Bread, Someone's In The Kitchen With Dinah, and the rest.

When I heard the piano introduction of Jesus Loves The Little Children, it caught me off guard. It was done very slowly and soulfully. And then when I heard the lead singer come in, I was darned near overwhelmed with the beauty of the song. I mean, here is a guy in his 70's singing Jesus Loves Me with all the power and spirituality of another song we're doing... His Eye Is On The Sparrow. The song sent chills down my spine. Afterwards, I spoke to the guy ... don't even know his name, and siad "I've sung that song all of my life, but when you sang it, I heard it for the first time."

Two other old chestnuts come to mind that have been miraculously transformed by a completely fresh interpretation... one moving, emotionally and one moving the hips. I think that Ray Charles has claimed America the Beautiful as his own and I am deeply moved whenever I hear him sing it. The most emotional experience I've had listening to his recording was on a boat cruise one night around the New York Harbor. Ruth and I were standing on the deck in a fine mist, with limited visibility and when we came close enough to see the Statue Of Liberty lit with flood lights, they played Ray's version of the song over the loud speakers. Whewww! What a rush of emotion!

The other song is Shortnin' Bread recorded by one of my favorite groups, The Tractors. They do it as a boogie shuffle... maybe the way that Canned Heat might have done it. They've taken another, old familiar overcooked song and made it fresh and new.

Anyone else think of a song that's been reborn?

I'd start a thread on this, but I'm not sure that I want to walk into the BS jungle that it's become.

Jerry