Rabbi Joe Black Music

Lyrics

When she called, her voice was quivering – I could hear it through the tears
She said: “Please come, there’s this thing I have to do.”
She sat amidst his memories acquired through 50 years
Then said: “This old guitar now belongs to you.
A 68 Martin – Double O-18
A work of art - Mahogany and Spruce
Each scratch and ding a memory of the places that it’s been
And a life filled with sadness and abuse

Lying still and silent in a 5-ply wooden case
Waiting to be polished up and played
Old strings wound tight with tension from treble down to bass
A handmade leather strap all worn and frayed
My son – he lived a life of hurt – he never found his peace
Only music could soothe his soul.
Take it now and sing his songs – let joy and love increase
Bring back the only thing that made him whole.”



CHORUS
Larry’s guitar sounds like a freight train
That’s just about to fall off the track
Each time I play it, I can feel the pain
Of a young man who’s never coming back

I left her house with Larry’s beat up Martin
I brought it home and strummed a chord – a G
The notes were ringing deep inside my heart and
Then I heard a voice calling out to me:

BRIDGE:
“Play my songs real loud so people hear them
Just don’t stand too close to the abyss
The Demons - yeah they’re real – but don’t you fear them
What starts out as a bite sometimes turns into a kiss.”

CHORUS

Sometimes I’ll sing a song and think of Larry
Other times his melody’s misplaced
Sometimes the burden’s just too hard to carry
But his legacy of pain must be retraced