A Glimmer of Light In the Darkest of Times.

I came upon today's song through a very tranquil station that features the likes of Eva Cassidy, Norah Jones, and Sarah McLachlan.  The music was calming, and the lyrics were deep.  Listening to the song, I came to realize that there is grief in this song.  Also sudden loneliness, and some hope.

The song that I'm writing about is "Sand and Water" by Beth Nielsen Chapman.  It was a song that she released in 1997 about living past the death of her husband.  I've never been in the position of losing a spouse, so I can only comprehend some levels of what people have experienced.  Nielsen Chapman shares so much in this song, but I understand that feelings can't always be most accurately expressed (verbally or by guitar).  What she's presented is plenty.

With the calming sound of an acoustic guitar, she goes through four verses, repeating the second at the end.  The first is about suddenly being alone, without a particular partner in life.  There seems to be a sense of abandonment, wondering how to no longer take on the world as a team.  In the second verse, she examines how there are battles that one must usually faces alone, and sees some inevitability despite the misfortune of losing her husband at such a young age.  It's a view on life and death, and how our bodies will erode in time to other elemental compounds.  It's in the third verse that she finds spiritual relief, firmly believing that her husband is still watching over her, and that at some point, they'll reunite.  Verse 4 is where she thinks about those who depend on her.  Their son (who is named after her husband).  She stares boldly at the challenge of being a single parent, admiring all the potential and vitality in their child.  It's particularly in the boy's happiness that she sees her husband' legacy in the physical world.

As I said before, I can't begin to fully understand what it means to lose a husband or wife, but I can relate to at least some of the emotions.  I think it's a good thing that the singer-songwriter had this outlet for sharing her feelings.  It brings comfort to others as well as her.  As "Sand and Water" was becoming more closely woven into pop culture, she was beginning a relationship, and in 2008 she remarried.  With faith, strength, and the support of others, we are never fully alone.