Microstory: The Grieving

I'm singing out a Hallelujah

I'm chanting an Amen

And the believers, enthusiastic, clap along.

I'm smiling, my head held high

And crooning the old words:

Comforting, revered hymns.

Yet my heart is keening

A funeral dirge,

The notes forever off kilter.

When You Sing, Sing From Your Soul

Soul-singing is singing from the very depths of your soul, the way that all music should be sung. Soul-singing is the joyous, radiant light of Life flooding through the body so powerfully that it flows into the bodies of your neighbors as well. It is the very Spirit of music taking you over and glorying in the sounds you are making. When you are soul-singing, you are transported, ecstatic, and there is no stifling you. It may not be a religious experience, but it very definitely is spiritual. There are no wrong notes in soul-singing because it comes from the heart, and the heart is never wrong about such things.

I know very little music which automatically pulls such glory directly from the soul. One very definitely is the Hallelujah Chorus. I have never heard that song without feeling goosebumps, and I have never sung that song without feeling as though rays of light emerge from my soul. When an entire choir is singing the Hallelujah Chorus, the entire room is exalted. The very air is electrified, it seems. If you speak to other serious vocalists(aka, not Justin Bieber), they will say similar things. Handel captured soul-singing perfectly as if he had experienced it himself. Even if it's a flash mob singing, you can still feel the energy.



I have been trying to think of individual vocalists who sing with their soul, but I'm not having as much luck, probably because I'm still hopped up on Christmas fudge. It's not about technique or skill, it's about something ethereal, so it's hard to describe. You know it when you hear it. So how about it? Anybody know any individual singers/vocalists who seem to sing their souls out, at least for one performance? Post them in the comments!

Sponge Bob Squarepants

Somehow, somewhere, my son found Sponge Bob Squarepants. At first he called him "Boo-Bob", and forget him saying anything about the shape of his pants. But as his speech has improved he's finally to the point where he says "Ponge-Bob Sarepants", and we know what he's talking about. (We are always happy when we figure out what the hell he is saying. It makes us feel less stupid than usual.) We even bought Zane some pajamas with that happy yellow face on them.

Zane ONLY likes the opening song, however. Initially he stood transfixed, mouth hanging open, while the sailor picture sang of Spongbob's absorbency. Eventually he started dancing along to the song, and now he knows the general tune and some of the words. So he makes my husband sing it with him as we are putting on his jammies.

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....lives in a pineapple under the sea?" And yes, my son with apparently the most powerful lungs in the universe, holds that opening note for what seems like hours. My husband tries to stay with that note, brave man that he is.

I told him that a blue face on a man just isn't that attractive.