Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Song

I wonder what inspired the first song. I take for granted the fact that music is everywhere in our lives these days-- home, cars, restaurants, work, even if you don't listen to music yourself it's hard to make it through an entire day without encountering music of some sort. But I have to remind myself that sometime, perhaps even before language existed, some person was too happy, or too sad, or too full of inexpressible emotions to simply speak them to another human. I doubt it was pretty. It was probably out of tune and confusing, just a random progression of notes one after the other. But it must have sounded in at least some way beautiful to whoever heard it. Think what it would be like to experience something like that for the first time, whether you were the singer or the audience. I imagine it was quite freeing as well. There's something about stepping out of your normal speaking habit, even these days, that is liberating and emotive. The act of discovering the possibility of song must have been nearly life changing. I wonder what it is inside of us that brings us to the point where regular words just won't do it, and we simply must create art to satisfy our need to express emotion. I wonder if it has any connection to the desire for the divine in us. Have you ever heard a song that sounds like the singer needs even more than the song to express himself? Like there's just too much to be said and even the most emotional notes don't hold enough weight for what the artist is going through? I think that could be where we reach the next step, the step toward the divine. Regardless, I think that first song must have been something unlike any of us have ever heard in our lives.

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