As 2020 draws to a close, sometimes I feel like I am weighed down by tweets, posts, emails, blogs, statistics, and information of all kinds. News about the pandemic, politics, and the state of the world is heavy. I was in this weighed-down state of mind when I listened to A Love Supreme with its Psalm, by John Coltrane, famous saxophonist of the last century. My twin brother sent me this gift. I paused and thought, '“Ah….music. Yes, music is what I need right now.”

As I listened to Coltrane’s music, I started wondering why music has always been such an important part of human existence. The musical elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and tempo are combined in limitless ways to create music that changes our brain, body, and soul in powerful ways. Music offers comfort or courage and it helps us grow, heal, and love. If you are interested in the science of music, check out this Discovery Magazine article.

In 1964 John Coltrane recorded A Love Supreme. Part IV is Psalm, a prayer that flowed from Coltrane’s soul to his lips—and to the ears of all who listen. This is Coltrane’s heartfelt declaration of faith and gratitude to God after his long struggle with addiction. Coltrane wrote the words to his prayer on a piece of paper, placed that paper on his music stand, picked up his saxophone, and spontaneously played the words on his instrument. It ends with:

“Thank you God. Elation. Elegance. Exaltation. All from God. Thank you God. Amen.”

Yes, thank you God and thank you John Coltrane.

Many spiritual songs deeply touch my soul, songs like “How Great Thy Art,” “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” or Andrea Bocelli singing Ave Maria. Do you have favorite songs that lubricate your soul and open it to God?

Later in life I tried swing dancing and was surprised to once again have that uncontrolled urge to move with the music when I heard songs like Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by the Andrew Sisters.

A practical application of this power of music is with exercise. Because of the pandemic I stopped going to the gym and found myself having lackadaisical workouts at home. After I started listening to Pop Fitness songs on Pandora while I exercise, my workout intensity and duration increased by at least twenty percent—and I had more fun.

Wouldn’t this be a great time to find and listen to a recording of your favorite love song? Maybe you have Spotify or your own music, but many songs are now available on U-Tube—just do a search. When I got married in 2006, our first dance was All I Ever Ask by Najee. Each time I hear it I get tingles. Classic love songs like Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers and the many others that you know and cherish can make us stop in our tracks and feel our hearts pulse. Glenn Gould, Canadian classical pianist said “The justification of art is the internal combustion it ignites in the heart…” Yes, I’ve felt it.

This leads us to music as the power and inspiration for solidarity and social movements. Think of the great Negro spirituals that served so many purposes for the oppressed and enslaved—Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hand. During my years working at Christ House, a medical recovery facility for the homeless in Washington, D.C., I heard for the first the Black National Anthem. It was Martin Luther King Day, and I was standing in a circle holding hands with the residents and singing “Lift every voice and sing, ’Til earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty, Let our rejoicing rise…” I felt the solidarity of my Black brothers and sisters who collectively have survived so much. You might have heard this song featured at major professional sporting events this fall as athletes joined to support the Black Lives Matter cause.

Pete Seeger’s We Shall Overcome fired up more than one generation to work for civil rights. The antiwar movement in the sixties and seventies was powered in part by “Blowin’ In the Wind,” originally by Bob Dylan. In the twenty-first century we continue with social movements promoting peace, justice for all, equality, the end of racism, gun control, and care of our planet. Music is playing a part—but here I must rely on the younger generations to name the songs that are touching and empowering them as I am out of touch with contemporary music.

Arthur Schopenhauer said that “…music is the language of feeling and of passion…” Others say music is the langue of the soul. However it works, I already feel better than when I started writing this blog. I listened to the songs I wrote about and now I feel renewed.

I pray that music will spur us to join our brothers and sisters in a great symphony of love and respect for ourselves, each other, and our world. Creating harmony will require each of us to do our part.

SUGGESTIONS:

1. If you don’t enjoy music as a regular part of your life, take this opportunity to listen to two or thee songs, all the way through. You can listen to the ones I mentioned or your own favorites. You can find many free songs on YouTube—just search for a title. Don’t do anything else while you listen … just enjoy and see what happens.

2. NPR has a great piece on John Coltrane if you would like to learn more about him.

3. Richard Rohr speaks of using the prayer practice known as Lectio Divina while listening to music. He uses Coltrane’s Psalm as an example.

4. I am also also eager to learn which contemporary songs might become the twenty-first century’s “We Shall Overcome.” Do you have any nominations?

God bless each of you. May Jesus come to you in a special way this Christmas. I will think of you as I listen to my Christmas favorite, Handel’s Messiah.

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Dr. Donna Chacko promotes health of body, mind, and spirit through her website (serenityandhealth.com), her blog, and programs at her church. She is the author of the award-winning book and Amazon best-seller Pilgrimage: A Doctor’s Healing Journey (Luminare Press, 2021). You can read her full bio here.