I plan to crawl outside these walls,
Close my eyes and see.
And fall into the heart and arms,
Of those who wait for me.
The month makes me think of the lovely duet between Johnny Cash and his daughter Rosanne Cash on “September When It Comes.” The song appeared on Rosanne’s excellent album, Rules of Travel (2003), and she wrote it with her husband and producer John Leventhal. The song is a reflection on mortality, and it is given extra gravitas by the voice of the ailing Johnny, who passed away on September 12, 2003, just months after the CD was released.
A video of the song was shown at the Johnny Cash Memorial Tribute concert held in November 2003 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Rosanne Cash’s website explains that many of the photos in the montage came from the family’s private photo collection and had never been seen by the public before this tribute.
The tribute concert is no longer on YouTube, but the following seems to be the same video used at the tribute concert. This official video from Rosanne Cash features amazing family photos.
I particularly love the song’s beautiful lines about aging and remembering one’s youth and recognizing that maybe it was not quite as one remembers it.
I cannot move a mountain now;
I can no longer run.
I cannot be who I was then:
In a way, I never was.
I often do not remember the dates that people died for various reasons. But because of Johnny Cash’s duet on “September When It Comes,” I cannot help remembering that he passed away during the month of September. Of course, September will always be a month that our generation of Americans associate with mortality because of the terrorist attacks that occurred in 2001. So, in honor of Johnny and others who passed away in Septembers past, lets resolve to enjoy these September days because you never know how many more will come.
What is your favorite photo in the montage of the “September When It Comes” tribute? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
