movin' out

A friend,our wives and I saw "Movin' Out" last night, a performance of Billy Joel songs with a slight narrative imposed upon it by a very good dancing troupe. The story was almost nonexistent, IMHO, but I have such strong emotional attachments to many of the songs that the show still worked for me.

"Movin' Out" and "I've Loved These Days" seem appropriate, as we pack up and move from this to the next phase of our lives. I was once an "Angry Young Man" but Joel's song helped move me toward less anger and more engagement. Less autobiographical, I like the stories in "Piano Man" and "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant." I expect some day to preach on these songs, and several others, including "Summer, Highland Falls" and "We Didn't Start the Fire."

From the last: "We didn't start the fire...it was always burning, since the world's been turning...No we didn't light it but we tried to fight it." I am learning in my life that fighting my self is less useful than integrating those (my) Shadow elements. This is probably true of our world, too. Throw in some justice-making examples, and you've got twenty minutes easy.

After a Grateful Dead sermon series, a Billy Joel series might be in order. Then Chrissie Hynde, Mary Gauthier, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Holly Near, et al. Other suggestions welcome.