Pass It On: The Civil Wars “My Father’s Father”

The Civil Wars have certainly become my favorite musical group.  There is a sort of wonderful dance between the eyes of these two while they sing.  When they harmonize, it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard, or saw.  See for yourself:

Mindy Smith’s Version of “Come to Jesus” Still Echoes from the Past

I remember first catching this video accidentally on CMT as I passed across on the Remote Control in High School.  For some reason, when I heard the voice, I stopped and listened.  Ever since watching the video (and being filled with chills at the message and vocals) this song comes back to me at seemingly random times.  Recently, with the invention of Youtube and all, I decided to see if the video was around and I was delighted that it was.  I think that I am a fan of the old folk music for a lot of reasons.  One – there is no sound like it.  Folk and Bluegrass have a soul to the sound that makes you want to stop.  Its not electronic or contrived.  It makes you want to dance, or it makes you sit and feel it in the soul.  Then there is the content.  Often these songs are spirituals.  Full of content for those who have lost much but are thankful for what they still have.  This song keeps pulling at my strings and I can’t seem to shake it.  “Worry not my daughters/worry not my sons/child when life don’t seem worth living/come to Jesus and let him hold you in his arms” fills me in a good way.  It affirms something in me and I do not have the words for it.  I become thankful that music can so beautifully convey something so inherently beautiful in its.  A message that people need to hear.  What people want to hear but often don’t.

Pass It On: Rue’s Lullaby from The Hunger Games

Rue, a character from The Hunger Games trilogy sticks with me like no other character since I read “The Catcher in the Rye”.  The connection after reading about her is intense.  This is her lullaby sung in the way I imagine Rue would have sung it (note of caution, watch out for auto-tuned youtube versions of this lullaby).  It is a bit long, but knowing the story, it resonates deeply.  If you haven’t read The Hunger Games yet, it is a powerful series.