Afterglow

I wanted to skip forward. The song I wanted to hear came after the first, and all it would take would be to push a button to get there, but I didn’t. I listened to the whole clip and found an important lesson in doing so.

Afterglow, by Genesis, is one of my all-time favorite songs. It spoke to me enough when I first heard it to have it played in church before my ordination, and, in many ways, speaks to me now more than ever. But this morning I am enamored by the connection between the two pieces of music because they point to what has been true for my life, and maybe yours as well: The music played first is not the only music to be played. In fact, the song that comes at the end might well have a different beat, a more appealing melody, and more poignant lyrics.

Too often, we think we’re here to play one song. Fortunately, God has an infinite number of songs and we get to perform many in our lives. We sometimes judge the different songs, choose one over the other, but the wonder comes when we let the different songs sit beside one another, when we let the early songs lead to the later ones. 

I once played a lively, some might say frenetic, tune. It had many moving parts and pushed as many people away as it did captivate. It’s a tune I no longer play, or at least I try not to, and I’m tempted to divide it from the one I’m playing now, but something important would be lost if I did. When I listen to the songs together, I can hear a transition and the melody and lyrics that come later are all the more pronounced.

Thanks be to God, the great composer and abundant song-giver.

(Ok, I’ll just say it, I have a man-crush. As a drummer-want-to-be, and a lead-singer-want-to-be, you can see why I love this clip, but my point lies in the transition and in the lyrics that come later.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rme3YsGvwUM

Afterglow (by Genesis)

Like the dust that settles all around me
I must find a new home
The ways and holes that used to give me shelter
Are all as one to me now
But I, I would search everywhere
Just to hear your call
And walk upon stranger roads than this on
In a world I used to know before
I miss you more

Than the sun reflecting off my pillow
Bringing the warmth of new life
And the sounds that echoed all around me
I caught a glimpse of in the night
But now, now I've lost everything
I give to you my soul
The meaning of all that I believed before
Escapes me in this world of none, no thing, no one

And I would search everywhere
Just to hear your call
And walk upon stranger roads than this one
In a world I used to know before
For now I've lost everything
I give to you my soul
The meaning of all that I believed before
Escapes me in this world of none
I miss you more