Many years ago, one of my first influences of traditional music came from a lovely album I rescued from a library sale in my new home near Chapel Hill NC.
I learned a song from it, and brought it to my first Getaway, not brave enough to sing in front of people, but hoping to hear it. Where the first workshop I went to was led by Caroline Paton, who of course already knew the song because it was a Folk-Legacy album.
Naturally.
And as you can imagine, she gracefully encouraged me to sing it.
Tonight I met with a group of people with whom I now often sing, mostly traditional music. We sang song after song of love and devotion, and redemption, the here and the hereafter. I though how different and difficult, and at the same time how amazingly healing the music will be for you, Caroline, and for Sandy, and for all the people you love.
Don't ever lose sight of the power and beauty you have brought to the world, including but not exclusively that of your beautiful grandson. All the sorrow and sadness cannot erase one speck of the grace, and love you have wrought, and which surrounds you tonight.
I sang this for you all tonight, sending love:
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We'll camp a little while in the wilderness in the wilderness in the wilderness We'll camp a little while in the wilderness then we'll be going home
Then we'll be going home, oh! we'll be going home We'll camp a little while in the wilderness then we'll be going home. ____________________________________