Duke Ellington: 20th Century American Music Master

Duke Ellington at the KFG Radio Studio, November 3, 1954

Listening to Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) is akin to attending a lavish banquet featuring an array of fine courses, good wines and pleasant company. Very satisfying. For the past thirty years, it's been a joy to grow in the understanding and appreciation of Ellington as one of the nation's most innovative musical entertainers.

I discovered the diversity of Ellington "late" most likely because I was immersed in his '40's sound at an early age and grew up thinking there was nothing new. He was born in Washington, DC in 1899 and spent his early career there while learning his trade. He wrote what he called "American music," a unique blend of his creative genius and elements of jazz, blues, classical, swing, bop, and popular song. Ellington appealed to a wide audience, but the appeal was compartmentalized and so broad that you would be hard pressed to find someone who liked everything he composed. I think the one element that unified his work was elegance. Early on, that came from his training as a pianist and was bolstered later by impressionistic classical influences. Also, much of that elegance came from his long-time association with the classically trained composer, arranger and pianist, Billy Strayhorn.

I took a special interest in Ellington when I began listening to the music of the British composer, Frederick Delius. Delius's music left me spellbound then. It was rich, melodic, and complex. Later I learned it was so much that it is considered some of the most difficult music to realize in the classical catalog. As early as the 1880's, his compositions incorporated motifs and melodies from the songs of ex-slaves working on the orange plantations he managed along the St. Johns River in Florida. Those musical themes would appear frequently throughout his career. Ellington had similar interests and it would be quite natural that he would appreciate Delius. In fact the appreciation and influence was so deep that Ellington - with his arranger Strayhorn - composed and recorded a tribute to Delius entitled In A Blue Summer Garden. 

To commemorate the legendary Duke Ellington on what would have been his 122nd birthday, here are two of Ellington's finest moments. The first one is universally recognized and comes from the orchestra near its peak in the early '40s. The second, from 1965, is lesser known but still full of all the magic the master and his orchestra possessed.

Smooth, high brow, faultless, sophisticated, American. All of these words describe the music that came out of the world of Ellington as a composer, performer, and conductor. For fifty years he defined jazz in his own way with his superbly talented jazz orchestra, surviving the onslaught of bebop, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll. His discography includes over seventy hit records out of hundreds of releases spanning seven decades. Album sales remain strong four decades after his death.

We end with a historic moment in jazz history: Duke Ellington and his orchestra at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. Jazz was changing from a dance band to smaller ensemble format and at the same time competing with the rise of rock and roll. Ellington decided to link two compositions with a free-wheeling sax solo. Many jazz historians agree that this was a landmark performance that not only gave the band concept renewed life but also gave jazz a new and expanded direction in sound and listener experience.

Ella Fitzgerald: Her Song Never Ends

The incomparable jazz singer, Ella Fitzgerald, was born on this day in Newport News, Virginia, 104 years ago. When she was 17, Ella Jane Fitzgerald wanted to dance at an amateur night at the Apollo in Harlem, but was intimidated by other dancers and decided to sing instead. It was the beginning of a career that took her magnificent voice through the big bands, to jazz, bop, and the Great American Songbook. With a voice ranging from smoky to bright she put her signature on every note and sharp diction on every word. For people who like to immerse themselves in lyrics, Ella was unbeatable. And when she forgot those lyrics or let the spontaneity flow, the scat singing was priceless.

The First Lady of Song in 1960      Erling Mandelmann

Only once did I see her perform and that was in an overcrowded and hot venue in Washington. After a few songs, the crowd didn't mind the environment. She had us wrapped in music for over two hours and left us wanting more after several encores. Everyone had a great time that evening, especially Ella. Looking back on that concert, I realize how significant it was. She had turned 50 and completed her famous Songbook series a few years earlier. And though her peak years were coming to an end, what she had left exceeded the best of what most 20th century singers ever offered. She went on to perform another quarter of a century dazzling audiences everywhere. Ella passed away twenty-five years ago, but she's still entertaining fans through a huge discography and video record. In all, it is an immense if not iconic legacy.

Fitzgerald and President Reagan at the White House in October 1981

Throughout her very public life, Ella Fitzgerald remained a private, if not shy, person. Were she receiving a birthday cake today, I can envision a broad, approving smile and nervous glances from squinting eyes behind those big bottle bottom glasses. She'd respond with a heart-felt "Thank you, thank you," and move into the comfort and safety of song.

Here she is in 1964 performing two Johnny Mercer jazz standards for the last of her  now legendary Songbook albums - eight in all - produced by Norman Grantz and released over an eight year period. The series has never been out of print and remains a hot seller over fifty years after its release.

In almost sixty years, few jazz vocalists - there are many fine ones performing today - can approach the significance and near-perfection of Fitzgerald's interpretation of the Great American Songbook. To me, nothing since has quite matched it and I doubt anything in the future will without some extraordinary changes within the music industry and jazz itself.

Though she left us in 1996, Ella simply "is." I can only imagine the look on the faces of the heavenly hosts when she waltzed through those pearly gates scat singing all the way. So here's a happy birthday wish going up to the First Lady of Song. Simply incomparable and yes, sometimes too marvelous for words.








Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Mandelmann photo, commons.wikimedia.org
White House, Item C4495-9A, President Reagan with Ella Fitzgerald after her performance for King Juan Carlos I of Spain in the east room, 10/13/81; Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Simi Valley, California.

Go Big Red!: Maryland Men's Lacrosse Concludes A Perfect 10-0 Regular Season

 

Maryland first played lacrosse with Johns Hopkins in 1895. It's been the biggest rivalry in the game almost from the beginning and the Terps' 14-13 victory today simply added more fuel to the fire. They now move on the "May Madness," when college lacrosse teams across the country play in a number of conference championships that will determine who plays in the NCAA Men's National Championship games over Memorial Day weekend. Go here for more schedule information and brackets as they are announced.  ESPN will provide coverage of the bracket selections and games beginning May 9.

So what is this game about? Lacrosse is an ancient American sport, dating from about 1000 C.E. In it's early days, the game had a religious significance. Sides could consist of as many as a few thousand players and the losing side sometimes paid with their lives. Fast forward to today and you could say the game still has that religious fervor if you live from Maryland to New England, that part of the country where three- year-old boys get little lacrosse sticks for Christmas. These days, the teams are a bit smaller - ten players to a side - and there's almost always some bloodshed of the non-fatal variety. For the who, how, what and why of the game, visit uslacrosse.org  the home of the game's national governing body.

An Indian Ball-Play            George Catlin, American, 1846-50

The game is furious and fast and it continues to be the fastest growing sport in the United States, even eclipsing the growth of soccer. Just a generation ago, the game at the college level was a virtually exclusive sport heavily anchored in the Ivy League and the Northeast. Today there are more than sixty Division I teams found on the East and West Coasts and at the flagship universities in the flyover country. Each year that number grows by two or three teams. Expansion in other college divisions and at the middle and high school levels is much greater. 

I'd say there is an outstanding future in store for lacrosse. That said, I hope there's also an outstanding future for Maryland lacrosse through May. And there's always next year too!

GO BIG RED!

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Catlin painting, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington;

Finding Nepenthe

 

The world is filled with magic places. The right nexus of site, scene, scale, and subject will leave deep and lasting impressions. Fifty years ago I discovered such a place sitting hundreds of feet above the Pacific Ocean between Carmel and Big Sur. Its name, Nepenthe, was taken  from Vergil's Aeneid, and interpreted as meaning "no sorrow." In the book it is a fictional pain-relieving elixir. On the Sur coast it is a stunning oasis of hospitality and breathtaking landscape. Nepenthe is the story of what happens when a family escapes from everyday life only to discover that their home site is so beautiful it demands to be shared with others. And so on April 24, 1949, Nepenthe opened to the public as a restaurant. Today, the original restaurant and terraces -designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright - have been joined by a cafe and The Phoenix Shop, a unique world-themed store. Every turn at Nepenthe is a discovery of human and natural landscapes both real and imagined.

Over the decades I returned to this special place at every opportunity. Sadly, it hasn't been nearly enough times, but I think there could never be enough experiences there to be sated. The solace comes in knowing that once you visit, you never really leave the magic. So "Happy Birthday" to Nepenthe and the descendants of founders, Bill and Lolly Fassett, who run the place and ensure that the hospitality and magic keep flowing.

Readers can learn more about that magic here. Be sure to click on the "Stories & Folktales" link to start. When the opportunity arises I hope you'll visit to experience "no sorrow" for yourself. The food is moderately expensive, rich but healthy, generous, and quite good for what has become an iconic tourist stop on Highway 1. Try the Ambrosia Burger, a choice that has become Nepenthe's most popular dish. The Nepenthe experience itself is free. And priceless.

The  cover photo is from a recent book about Nepenthe written by Romney Steele, granddaughter of the founders. It's filled with the Nepenthe story and recipes for those times when you can't be on the terrace. If you're interested but not likely to be traveling there anytime soon, I'm sure you can order copies from the Phoenix Shop website.

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:

photo of view north from Highway 1 near Nepenthe entrance is from  

family archives

St. Georges Day: ". . .Nor Shall My Sword Sleep In My Hand. . ."

 

Today is St. George's Day, a festival day in much of the Christian world and in many places, including England, where St. George is recognized as a patron saint.  We're happy to acknowledge his connection to England by flying the St. George's Cross - the flag of England - a dominant element in Great Britain's Union flag.  

We know little about St. George's life other than his Greek origin, service in the Praetorian Guards under the Roman emperor Diocletian, and martyrdom for his Christian faith. Safe to say, he never set foot in England and his battle with any dragon remains legendary but his place as one of the most venerated saints in Christianity goes without question. In terms of his connection with England we must return to the time of the crusades and the veneration of George as a warrior for the faith. Over the centuries his association with military units and memorial organizations grew large as England took its place in the Age of Empire. Although that age has passed and England now shares it identity of sorts in the United Kingdom, St. George and England remain inseparable. 

The finest expression of this fabric of faith, martyrdom, and love of country was heard across England as part of today's celebration, It comes from William Blake's preface to Milton and is a fitting concluding image for remembering a legend.

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Family archives

Text:

Title taken from Milton: A Poem in Two Books, William Blake, 1811
Saint George's Day in England,  wikipedia.com
St. George's Traditions, https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6118639/st-georges-day-2020-traditions-flag/

John Muir , A Man With Nature: ". . . Going Out, I Found, Was Really Going In."

Yesterday, April 21, marked the 182nd birthday of the great American naturalist and conservationist, John Muir. Through his personal efforts and the movements he supported with such fervor - he founded the Sierra Club - we can enjoy the spectacular wildness that is Yosemite National Park. His efforts also help establish the national park movement that today provides us with more than 400 units administered by the National Park Service. And modeled after the national park idea, there are more than 6500 state parks and thousands of local parks and preserves to enjoy. Although Muir focused on the preservation of wilderness his work provided a structure for cultural resource preservation and management. That movement originated largely with Civil War commemorations late in the 19th century and accelerated through the benevolence of industrialist including Henry Ford (The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village) and John D. Rockefeller Jr. (Colonial Williamsburg).

Muir in his beloved Yosemite Valley in 1890

Muir was a wanderer both physically and intellectually building upon his studies in botany and geology as he traveled. In 1868 he saw Yosemite Valley for the first time and soon realized he had found his calling in the world of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This is how he described the revelation in his autobiographical notebook:

There are eight members in our family....All are useful members of society - save me. One is a healer of the sick. Another, a merchant, and a deacon in good standing. The rest school teachers and farmers' wives - all exemplary, stable, anti-revolutionary. Surely then, I thought, one may be spared for so fine an experiment.

. . . the remnants of compunction - the struggle covering the serious business of settling down -gradually wasted and melted, and at length left me wholly free - born again! I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot...As long as I live, I'll hear the waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm and the avalanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can.

Muir lived to see the creation of Yosemite National Park in 1890 and the consolidation of control of the park - California had retained management of the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove - by the federal government in 1906.

John Muir, seated, reading a book                ca 1920 May 29

Two years following his death in 1914 Congress created the National Park Service to manage the preservation and use of the growing number of natural areas under federal jurisdictions.


To learn more about John Muir. Visit the John Muir Exhibit at the Sierra Club website. Yosemite National Park also has a fine tribute to Muir at this link.













Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
public domain photos, Library of Congress, Washington

Text:
wikipedia entry, John Muir
title quote, John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir, ed. Linnie Marsh Wolfe, University of Wisconsin Press, 1979

 

World Earth Day 2021

Today we celebrate our planet, our earthly home. At our home in the woods a celebration of the planet takes place in some way every day. Perhaps it's a seed order, a letter about water quality in the creek that crosses our property, admiring a blooming orchid or slicing into an amazing tomato harvested a few yards from the kitchen. More often these days I simply watch nature flowing through the seasons. Our appreciation of nature persists in spite of the full-on politicization of environmental themes by the left throughout the world. It's so unfortunate for such a universal theme. And now even our information technology isolates us from the outside making it more difficult to experience, understand, appreciate, and protect our planet. All of my adult life, I fought hard to dissolve the barriers between people and nature. Whether we like it or not we live IN nature. The sooner we recognize it the better off both we and the planet will coexist.

Father Mississippi      Walter Inglis Anderson, U.S., ca. 1955

Experiencing the earth and the built environment upon it has been the greatest teacher over the years. The written word provided significant guidance along the way. First came the foundation heard from childhood:

Psalm 104

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. 2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent 3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. 4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. 5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; 8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. 9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth. 10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. 11 They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. 13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. 14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-- bringing forth food from the earth: 15 wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart. 16 The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17 There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees. 18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys. 19 The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. 20 You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. 21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. 22 The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens. 23 Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening. 24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number-- living things both large and small. 26 There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. 27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works-- 32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD. 35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD.

And here, from 1971, are words that to me build upon that foundation:

If you think that the world is going somewhere, that there are certain things that are supposed to happen and there are certain things that are supposed not to happen you never see the way it is like music. Music has no destination. We don' play it in order to get somewhere. If that were the way, the best orchestras would be those who got to the end of the piece the fastest. Music is a pattern which we listen to and enjoy as it unfolds. In the same way, "Where is the water going?" Where do the leaves go? Where are the clouds going? There not going anywhere because nature understands that the point of the whole thing is to be here, to be wide awake to the now that is going on. So when you listen to music you don't try to hold in your memory what is past or to think about what's coming. You listen to the pattern as it unfolds and so watch it as it moves now. It's a dance. And dancing is like music for when you dance you dance just to dance. You don't aim at a particular place on the floor that is your destination of the dance. You listen to the music and you move your body with it [as if] your eyes are following the patterns of the water.

The secret of...life is to spend some time every day in which you don't think but just watch, in which you don't form any ideas about life but look at it, listen to it, smell it, feel it. And when you get rid of all the talk in your head, all the ideas about what I do as distinct from what happen to me or what's the difference between man and nature or between what's mine and what's yours it all goes. and it's just the dancing pattern, what the Chinese call "li," the word that originally meant the markings in jade, the grain in wood, or...the pattern on water. When you let go of the definitions, of the attempt to try to pin down nature, to pin down life in your mind so that you can feel you are completely in control of it, its all based on the idea that you're different from it, that you have to master it. When you don't pin it down anymore, when you don't try to cling to it as if it was something different from you then your whole life has about it the sensation of flowing like water. It always goes away. but it always comes back because away and back are two sides of the same thing. Let it go!

The formality of Earth Day 2021 will soon be over in my woods but these passages where East meets West tell me that every day is an Earth day. For me the celebration indeed flows like water. It is a joy to be immersed in nature.  Five generations ago the Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak, spent his last summer in the United States in the Czech settlement of Spillville, Iowa. In two weeks there immersed in the environment of fields, farms, and families under the open skies of the prairie he composed what has become known as the American Quartet. 

I hope this post encourages you to go OUTside and find your INside.

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Anderson painting, porterbriggs.com


Text:

The Holy Bible, New International Version, 2011, Psalm 104

Buddhism: Man and Nature, Alan W, Watts, Hartley Films, 1968

Earthquake And Fire

At one time San Francisco was one of my favorite cities and, as cities go, the museums, restaurants, and parks made it one of the best anywhere. Those features remain but the social and political climate these days make the city a far less attractive destination for tourists.  What also remains is that splendid natural setting, a combination of its bay, the coastal mountains, and Mediterranean climate. But there is a more subtle nature to that setting and one that was completely unknown on the early morning of April 18, 1906 when a great earthquake shook the town. On that date earth science was a very young science. The idea that San Francisco sat astride two massive and drifting plates, one of which was moving toward Alaska, would have been laughable. Fifty years later, such thinking was widely accepted in the theory of plate tectonics.

On that morning and in the days that followed, "theory" wasn't on the minds of San Franciscans. They wanted to survive. This is how the opening paragraphs of the National Archives entry describe the event:

On the morning of April 18, 1906, a massive earthquake shook San Francisco, California. Though the quake lasted less than a minute, its immediate impact was disastrous. The earthquake also ignited several fires around the city that burned for three days and destroyed nearly 500 city blocks.

Despite a quick response from San Francisco's large military population, the city was devastated. The earthquake and fires killed an estimated 3,000 people and left half of the city's 400,000 residents homeless. Aid poured in from around the country and the world, but those who survived faced weeks of difficulty and hardship.

The survivors slept in tents in city parks and the Presidio, stood in long lines for food, and were required to do their cooking in the street to minimize the threat of additional fires. The San Francisco earthquake is considered one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.

You can read the rest of the article and view scores of historic photographs and documents related to the event here. Below are several stereoscope cards from the family archives showing the scene following the earthquake and fire.

If you want to see remnants of the earthquake first hand and learn a bit more about it, plate tectonics, and continental drift there's no better place in my opinion than the Earthquake Trail at Point Reyes National Seashore. [Point Reyes is a spectacular resource in the National Park Service. Plan two or three days minimum to explore all of it.] The Seashore is accessible from Highway 1 at Olema about eighteen miles north of the Golden Gate. The trail - an easy half-mile - is at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. The trail's focal point is the famous old fence displaced eighteen feet by the quake.

April 20, 1906 marked the third day following the quake. On that day the horrific fires that had caused far more destruction than the shaking began to decline in part because there was little left to feed the flames. Over 80% of the city was in ruin but a sense of community emerged and its citizens began to think about recovery rather than immediate survival.

Speaking of immediate survival, I have experienced only one earthquake - Alaska in 2000 - that really concerned me. It lasted about thirty seconds and was strong enough to keep me swaying in my seat in a dark theater while the sound of thunder and rock slides rumbled outside. Our guides told us not to worry because they happened all the time at the site. Easy for them to say. 

Easter 2021

 

Easter Changes Everything!

Christ is Risen!

The Angel Rolling The Stone Away From The Sepulchre     William Blake, ca. 1808 

Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;

endless is the victory, thou o'er death hast won;

angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,

kept the folded grave clothes where thy body lay.

Refrain:

Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son,

Endless is the vict'ry, thou o'er death hast won.

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;

Lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;

let the Church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing;

for her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.

No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life;

life is naught without thee; aid us in our strife;

make us more than conquerors, through thy deathless love:

bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above.

Christ As The Redeemer Of Man                    Blake, ca 1808

He is Risen, indeed!

Sources


Photos and Illustrations:

Blake images, collections.vam.ac.uk, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Holy Saturday 2021

 

Holy Saturday . . . is the sound of perfect silence. Yesterday's mockery, the good thief's prayer, the cry of dereliction - all of that is past now. Mary has dried her tears, and the whole creation is still, waiting for what will happen next.

Christ in the Sepulchre                                William Blake, 1808  

With the altar stripped bare and the Divine Service unspoken, the wait in silence resonates.

Sources

Text:

The opening quotation is taken from an excerpt from Death on A Friday Afternoon, by Richard John Neuhaus. 

Photos and Illustrations:
collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O74285/the-angels-hovering-over-the-watercolour-blake-william/

Good Friday 2021

 

For contemplation on this day...

Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus  Salvadore Dali, 1954

From the Passion of Christ According to St. John by the Estonian composer, Arvo Part:

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dali_Crucifixion_hypercube.jpg

Emmylou Harris: Fifty Years In Love

 
In fifty years singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris has won fourteen Grammy Awards including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. Her career first gained traction in small clubs and coffee houses in Washington and its suburbs. I was only a few miles from most of the venues but sadly never saw her perform. Still, it was impossible not to see and hear the advertising in and around Georgetown in DC and the Maryland suburbs of Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Silver Spring. By the early '70's she moved to Los Angeles to work with Gram Parsons and his band, The Grievous Angels. When Parsons died in 1973 the devastating event led her to focus on Parsons's search for the fusion sound he called "cosmic American music." The sound Harris and Parsons produced in their short time together , in addition to her life-long dance with experimental sounds in folk, blues and country music would have a significant impact on decades of American music.

Today, Harris continues to produce innovative and award-winning sound. In 2016 her album of duets with Rodney Crowell - The Traveling Kind - was her latest Grammy winner. Here is a track from the album:

Today Emmylou Harris turns 74. Fame has been kind to her given such a long and successful touring and recording career. She's brought quality entertainment to millions of people since the beginning in those early days with Graham Parsons. We'll never know where the two of them would have gone together in the world of music but it's safe to say it would have been far. Here is a song she and Bill Danoff wrote as a tribute to Parsons:

I don't want to hear a love song
I got on this airplane just to fly
And I know there's life below
But all that it can show me
Is the prairie and the sky

And I don't want to hear a sad story
Full of heartbreak and desire
The last time I felt like this
It was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire
And I stood on the mountain in the night and I watched it burn
I watched it burn, I watched it burn.

I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham
I would hold my life in his saving grace.
I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham
If I thought I could see, I could see your face.

Well you really got me this time
And the hardest part is knowing I'll survive.
I have come to listen for the sound
Of the trucks as they move down
Out on ninety five
And pretend that it's the ocean
coming down to wash me clean, to wash me clean
Baby do you know what I mean

I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham
I would hold my life in his saving grace.
I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham
If I thought I could see, I could see your face.

Sources:
Photo, emmylouharris.com
Lyrics: play.google.com