Heart And Soul

My entry last night was about country music star, Patsy Cline. Our volleyball coach/media guru, Blair Moon, told me today she's a huge Patsy Cline fan! With that kind of positive feedback, I decided another musical post is in order! This is from June 10, 2009. By the way, I'm the founder and president of the Blair Moon Fan Club if you're interested in joining!

We began another week of camp on Monday. I am only working one of the two sessions- I never work the camp we have at night. As I was talking to the girls who make up my team (THE CELTICS!), I asked how many of them played a musical instrument. Half of the six young ladies do. The point I tried to make was the more you practice, the better you become. I never attempted to do anything musical growing up; I had no interest. Even though our folks played music of all types in our home constantly, there was no urge to produce any myself. I do remember thinking every girl I went to school with could play two pieces on the piano- Chopsticks was one and Heart And Soul was the other. I assumed both of them were simply warm up exercises, kind of like stretching before you played baseball or basketball. Last weekend, PBS promoted another fund raising campaign and ran a documentary about the Big Band era in American music. One of those highlighted was legendary composer Hoagy Carmichael, who wrote, among other classics, Georgia On My Mind. The program included an old highlight reel which proclaimed that of all Carmichael's hits, his most successful was Heart And Soul. A grainy film rendition followed with the 1939 original version played by the Larry Clinton Orchestra, featuring the beautiful Bea Wain on vocals. A little research revealed that Heart And Soul features only four repeated chords which are very compatible to teaching a novice how to play the piano. Once again, I was reminded of how little I know about many things. (And while looking up Heart And Soul, I also discovered that Chopsticks was also a full-fledged composition entitled The Celebrated Chop Waltz.) Here are they lyrics of Heart And Soul, penned by Frank Loesser, who often collaborated with Carmichael.

Heart and soul, I fell in love with you
Heart and soul, the way a fool would do, madly
Because you held me tight
And stole a kiss in the night

Heart and soul, I begged to be adored
Lost control, and tumbled overboard, gladly
That magic night we kissed
There in the moon mist

Oh! but your lips were thrilling, much too thrilling
Never before were mine so strangely willing

But now I see, what one embrace can do
Look at me, it's got me loving you, madly
That little kiss you stole
Held all my heart and soul

You know, that's not the first time the words heart and soul were linked. David, in passing on his throne and power to Solomon repeated the promise the Lord made to him concerning his family who would follow:
'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.' (1st Kings 2:4)
Sadly, we know that David's relatives quickly deserted his ways to their detriment. Jesus also stressed loving God with all our heart and soul, as well as our mind and strength. Full devotion is something we struggle with as humans. We are so easily fragmented and splintered in our pursuits. But if it's possible to give our heart and soul to another person, it's even more possible- and necessary- to give ourselves to the Lord. A member of the opposite gender might reject the offer of our heart and soul, but the Father? Never! It's why He made us n the first place.

To see/hear the lovely and talented Bea Wain's wonderful rendition of Heart And Soul, click below. (Bea is still alive and I would be in love with her, just based on this clip, if she wasn't ninety-two years old!)


Applicable quote of the day:
“He who, having lost one ideal, refuses to give his heart and soul to another and nobler, is like a man who declines to build a house on rock because the wind and rain ruined his house on the sand.”
Constance Naden

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com