Grant Us Peace

I’m sorry, I’m sorry, this post was supposed to go up last night, and I crashed from a monster Easter sugar bender, I’m sorry sorry.

I wonder if maybe I should go back to posting on Monday nights. Maybe that would work better? Hmmmm.

My good friend Flora has been battling cancer. She’s younger than most people who battle it, and it took us all by surprise. Two months ago, it wasn’t on anyone’s radar. Last week, she went in for surgery, chemo and radiation to follow. She made it through like a champ, and is now back home resting.

Merriweather had a great idea that we should upload some of our favorite positive songs and create a kind of mix CD for her. And I’m going through my collection and thinking um, wow. Would I call this positive? I mean, I think songs like Halloween, Alaska’s “Drowned” are sonically uplifting to me. But then I look at the lyrics and think “Confidence and the crosswalk, not the cross. Not the dove” may not be what she needs right now.

But then I remembered Toad The Wet Sprocket’s “Pray Your Gods.” At first blush, the lyrics may not be exceedingly helpful: “i feel my body weakened by the years, as people turn to gods of cruel design, is it that they fear the pain of death, or could it be they fear the joy of life”

But I never listen to the whole song anyway, I just skip to the end, here ya go, start at 2:53 on the counter:



It's where they sing a phrase in a beautiful round. It’s a beautiful piece of harmony and melody, powerful and poignant all in its own way. It’s haunting and inspiring, the kind of music that you make life changing decisions to.

And as I was uploading that part of the song for Flora, it occurred to me that I never knew exactly what they were singing at the end, and maybe I should check it out first because for all I know it could mean “Eat the bullet now.”

So I googled it. Turns out they’re singing “Dona nobis pacem”

Which is Latin for grant us peace.

Wow.

Thank You God, thank You. Thank You God, thank You.