The last two songs that were entered were Man in the Mirror and Lucky One. I already talked about Man in the Mirror on a previous chapter. I want to share the behind the scenes thoughts that went with the song Lucky One.
It is written about a friend of mine that died of pancreatic cancer. Raymond was a good guy. I worked with him at the grocery store. He was the assistant grocery manager and we worked many an evening together stocking and cleaning up the backroom. Raymond was a storyteller. He told me about fast cars, crazy women, getting shot at, being a concert promoter, owning a mechanic's shop and running an illegal gambling house. He would shake his head and say, "Its a wonder I lived through it all."
He loved slow pitch softball. He was the shortstop on a top notch tournament team. He enjoyed playing and spending time hanging out with his buddies. He was as passionate about softball as I am about songwriting.
I went to Raymond's funeral at Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist church. I had to work that day so I decided to go on my lunch hour. It was a long lunch hour. I was gone for a couple hours and I didn't go to the graveside service. I have been to funeral's where the preacher calls the service a celebration of life. This was definitely true at Raymond's service. The organ player made that organ dance. The music was a mixture of blues and boogie woogie while playing Amazing grace. The singers on the stage sang strong and loud just like the friends and family sitting in the pews. Raymond had two preachers and about thirty people come up front at talk about their friend, brother, and teammate.
The preacher told stories about Raymond. How that Raymond had come to know Jesus as he was battling cancer. The change it had made in his life. Raymond's teammates told stories of his pre-Jesus finding life. The carousing, the trouble he got into, the crazy women who loved him (at the same time), etc. One man with two different sides of him that was loved by all. I can picture Raymond smiling and laughing as they are telling the stories about him.
As I left the service that day I knew that somehow their was a song there. Lucky One is the song title I chose. Sitting in that pew I knew that Raymond was in heaven. I wasn't the Lucky One because I was still alive. He was the lucky one. He was in heaven and I am still here. Here are the lyrics,
Give me a weekend, a softball and a glove.
green grass in the outfield, a sun up above
I'm sprinting turning triples into runs
doing what I love.
Chorus- and I think, Oh I'm the lucky one
I know, oh, I'm the lucky one.
Like a desert soaking up the rain,
Yeah, I'm the lucky one.
Give me a guitar and a chair on a stage
a room full of people, a promise to get paid.
I'm sharing feelings in the write
in the songs I play tonight.
Chorus- and I play, Oh I'm the lucky one.
I know, oh, I'm the lucky one
I'm like a desert soaking up the rain
Yeah, I'm the lucky one.
Tonight as I cuddle neath these covers
it dawns on me how much I love her.
Chorus - and I cry Oh, I'm a lucky one
I know, Oh, I'm a lucky one.
Like a desert soaking up the rain
cause I'm the lucky one.
It is best not to tell people what songs are about. If you have to explain it, you haven't written a very good song. Sometimes we all look and get different things out of a song. It all depends on our own perspective, where we are in life, old or young, blessed or bitter, etc. I don't like the word luck or lucky. I believe that God is in control and luck is thrown out the window. I do feel lucky as in being very fortunate and blessed and am very thankful for that. We are all Lucky ones.
Lucky One was not a Walnut Valley Festival winner. That's okay, I'm still the lucky one.