Linda's Literary Home

Tag: music

  • Original Song:  “Where You Are”  with Prose Commentary

    Image: Pacific Ocean – August 2015 – Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens – Encinitas CA – Photo by Ron W. G.

    Original Song:  “Where You Are”  with Prose Commentary

    This song “Where You Are” is one of my original compositions. The video accompanying it was created by landscape artist/photographer Ron Grimes.

    Introduction and Text of “Where You Are”

    My original song “Where You Are”is based on a simple premise: the singer is addressing her Divine Belovèd (God), asserting to the Belovèd the desire to be where the Ultimate Loved One is.

    Each verse features rhetorical questions and musings upon the actual location of the Divine Creator.  Because the Creator/Father of all creation is both within creation and outside of creation, the answer to all of the rhetorical questions is, naturally, yes.

    Nevertheless, being where the Divine Belovèd is cannot be the same situation as being where a human friend or beloved is.   Because it seems that God is playing hide and seek with his children, the singer asserts that her soul “soul tugs at the veil hiding You from me.”

    Where You Are

    First Verse

    Are You standing on top of a mountain?
    Are You sitting beside the vast grave sea?
    How can I ever approach You?
    Will You ever just come to me?

    Second Verse

    Are You speaking to me through my loved ones?
    Are You quietly whispering through the silver stars?
    Are You waiting to hear what my songs will sing?
    Do You listen to the rapid beat of my heart?

    Third Verse  

    If I offer You all in my stillness—
    If I silently listen to the hum in my mind—
    If I patiently fast from all my senses—
    Will You break Your vow of silence and just come to me!

    Chorus 

    Where You are is where I long to be.
    I cannot understand where else I could seek.
    My soul tugs at the veil hiding You from me.
    Where You are is where I long to be.

    Video: Linda Sue Grimes performing “Where You Are”  

    SoundCloud:  Linda Sue Grimes performing “Where You Are” 

    Commentary on “Where You Are”

    After much questioning, contemplating, and ultimately meditating, the devotee will find that the soul will remove the veil hiding it from the Over-Soul—the soul’s Creator, the Divine Belovèd, or any of the preferred name for the Ineffable (God).

    First Verse:  “Are You standing on top of a mountain?”

    Are You standing on top of a mountain?
    Are You sitting beside the vast grave sea?
    How can I ever approach You?
    Will You ever just come to me?

    The singer opens with four rhetorical questions to the Divine Reality.  The first two questions reveal earthly locations that are considered sanctuaries of sacredness, holiness, or just ordinary vacation escapes:  mountain tops and sea sides. 

    The next two questions reveal that the devotee is still walking the sacred, devotional path to soul-realization (also known as self-realization or God-realization).  

    Before final liberation, the devotee experiences the separation from her Goal to be a heavy burden.  That burden causes her to wonder if she, in fact, will ever be able to unite with the Creator/Father.

    In her melancholy and sorrowful mourning because of the seeming distance, the devotee often wonders if the Lord will ever appear to her and make her know that she is His own child.   Will she ever be able to attain the Sacred Goal of self-realization and experience unity with her Belovèd Divine Creator?

    Second Verse:  “Are You speaking to me through my loved ones?”

    Are You speaking to me through my loved ones?
    Are You quietly whispering through the silver stars?
    Are You waiting to hear what my songs will sing?
    Do You listen to the rapid beat of my heart?

    In the second verse, the singer/devotee continues with rhetorical questions.  Intuiting the answer yet not knowing the fullness of each answer, she inquires of the Divine Belovèd if He is communicating with her through her family and friends.

    The singer likely is aware that God is speaking to her through everyone she knows and meets.  But without that last step in the process of enlightenment, she does not know exactly what is being said or exactly what all that conversation might ultimately mean to her.

    Thus, she also wonders if the One Who fashioned the “silver stars” may be signaling to her through those heavenly entities.  Again, she likely knows it to be a fact, but that separation continues to prompt questions.  

    The singer wonders if Divine Mother anticipates what she sings in her songs.  She wonders if her musical worship is reaching its intended Goal.

    The singer/devotee often becomes anxious with a rapid heart beat, knowing that that heart beat needs to become calm to achieve stillness.  She therefore wonders if the Creator Divine cares to listen to that rapid heart beat.  And she wonders if the Ultimate Physician will perform some medical heavenly magic to help her still her rapid heart.

    Third Verse:  “If I offer You all in my stillness”

    If I offer You all in my stillness—
    If I silently listen to the hum in my mind—
    If I patiently fast from all my senses—
    Will You break Your vow of silence and just come to me!

    The singer/devotee’s questioning becomes even more intense in the lyric of the final verse.    She has shown that she knows that she must still the rapid beat of her heart, but she also must still all of her senses as she offers her every atom to the Divine Essence.

    The devotee/singer shows awareness that she must listen the divine hum of the cosmic motor, the sacred AUM (Om) sound that upholds all of creation.  She knows that she must remove her attention from worldly things and events and place that attention upon the locus beyond the senses, where the soul resides.

    The singer/devotee remains certain that after she is able to accomplish all that is implied in her questions and musings, the Divine Belovèd Presence will, in fact, “break [that] vow of silence and [ ] come to [her].”

    Chorus:  “Where You are is where I long to be”

    Where You are is where I long to be.
    I cannot understand where else I could seek.
    My soul tugs at the veil hiding You from me.
    Where You are is where I long to be.

    The chorus, instead of offering mere rhetorical questions and musings, makes an affirmative statement:  the singer asserts that she wants to be where her Divine Beloved is.   She reveals her intuition that she cannot find love, peace, fulfillment on the physical, earthly plane.

    The singer/devotee insists that her soul is attempting to rend the cloth of separation from the Divine, as it “tugs at the veil” that keeps her from uniting with the Creator Belovèd. 

    The final line emphasizes as it repeats the important desire: “Where You are is where I long to be.”  The importance of the chorus is demonstrated by its repetition after every verse.

  • Original Song:  “The Paper Mill Bridge Song” with Prose Commentary

    Image:  Old Paper Mill Bridge, Brookville, Indiana – Built 1914 – Brookville Library Collections

    Original Song:  “The Paper Mill Bridge Song” with Prose Commentary

    My original song “The Paper Mill Bridge Song” was inspired by the beautiful Whitewater River in Indiana and its relationship to the beautiful relationship I have enjoyed for over half a century with my wonderful husband, native of the little town of Brookville, Indiana.

    Introduction and Excerpt from “The Paper Mill Bridge Song”

    My husband, landscape artist Ron Grimes, created the video featured in this article to accompany my original song “The Paper Mill Bridge Song.”  He wrote the following introduction to the piece and placed his video on YouTube:

    A celebration of life and love as witnessed by the Paper Mill Bridge over the Whitewater River in Brookville, Indiana.

    September 10th, 2022. Linda and I walked to the middle of the new Papermill Bridge. I wanted to capture some scenes for this video. As soon as I started videoing, this Canada Goose flew right over us and honked as it if it were saying, “I want to be in your video.” It was a gift.

    Innovative Chorus

    The song undergoes an unusual arrangement; instead of an ordinary chorus, it features an middle octave which behaves as a second octave and chorus that gets repeated at a the end of the song.

    The Paper Mill Bridge Song

    Here’s where people paddle canoes
    Down the Whitewater River.
    I stand here on Paper Mill Bridge.
    Watch the water and remember
    The day we walked along the bank,
    Sand so warm to my feet.
    We talked about cattails, rocks, and stars
    And the moss that grows on old trees.

    These are the things that fill my day,
    Things we’ve done together.
    Sunshine streaming down through the leaves,
    A storm in the clouds or snow in the fields.
    River water runs through my veins.
    The stars light up my eyes.
    Love for you turns in my heart
    Like the sun burns through the sky.

    Through the years my heart has filled
    With love for this old river.
    I stand here on Paper Mill Bridge.
    Watch the water and remember
    The day we paddled down the stream,
    A cool breeze on my shoulders.
    The sun shone bright over Paper Mill Bridge
    And I knew I’d love you forever.

    These are the things that fill my day,
    Things we’ve done together.
    Sunshine streaming down through the leaves,
    A storm in the clouds or snow in the fields.
    River water runs through my veins.
    The stars light up my eyes.
    Love for you turns in my heart
    Like the sun burns through the sky.

    © LINDA SUE GRIMES 2004

    Prose Commentary on “The Paper Mill Bridge Song”

    My original song—”The Paper Mill Bridge Song”—focuses on one relationship that progresses from good friends to life partner.  In the opening verse, the friends experience a quiet walk and talk along the river.  In the final verse, the life relationship is solidified.

    First Octave/Verse:  The View from the Bridge

    Here’s where people paddle canoes
    Down the Whitewater River.
    I stand here on Paper Mill Bridge.
    Watch the water and remember
    The day we walked along the bank,
    Sand so warm to my feet.
    We talked about cattails, rocks, and stars
    And the moss that grows on old trees

    The singing narrator is standing on a bridge, which turns out to be the subject of the song, the Paper Mill Bridge.  She begins to report on the activities that are locally common to that bridge.  The bridge spans the Whitewater River—a river in mideastern to southern Indiana—and from its perch one can from time to time see canoers paddling their barks down the river.

    The narrator then focuses on a memory that is important to her regarding her hike along the riverbank with a friend.  During that pleasant stroll, the two friends casually conversed about river-related entities such as water reeds that look like “cattails” and other features of nature such a “rocks and stars.”

    The narrator recalls that her feet enjoyed the luxury of the warm sand.  They also held forth about the fact that moss grows on old trees—likely that the moss grows mostly on the north side of those arbolian creatures.

    Second Octave/Chorus:  Recurring Images

    These are the things that fill my day,
    Things we’ve done together.
    Sunshine streaming down through the leaves,
    A storm in the clouds or snow in the fields.
    River water runs through my veins.
    The stars light up my eyes.
    Love for you turns in my heart
    Like the sun burns through the sky.

    The chorus has an usual placement, standing the middle of the song and containing an equal number of line as each verse, instead of following each verse with fewer lines.  Essentially the piece offers three separate octaves, even as the middle octave performs as a chorus.

    In this innovative chorus, the narrator has placed a heavy emphasis.  While she has offered some concrete details in the opening verse-octave, in the chorus-octave she is stating a general take on what she may likely be thinking about during this particular time period in her life.

    She thus has been focusing mentally on things that she and her friend have enjoyed together.  But then she adds two images in the first quatrain of the chorus-octave that allow her thoughts to show their natural influences as she experiences weather conditions—specially the warmth of spring and summer and the cold of fall and winter.

    The second quatrain of the chorus-octave becomes even more generalized: she is a creature of the river, so closely attuned to river culture that it seems that the very waters of the river flow “through [her] veins.”

    The narrators suggests that her happiness is enhanced as if by starlight.  She then asserts that she loves her friend with the same intensity that causes the “sun” to burn “through the sky.”  The hyperbole serves to suggest the strong emotion that this narrator feels for her friend, their relationship, and the natural features that they have experienced together.

    Third Octave/Verse:  The Passage of Time

    Through the years my heart has filled
    With love for this old river.
    I stand here on Paper Mill Bridge.
    Watch the water and remember
    The day we paddled down the stream,
    A cool breeze on my shoulders.
    The sun shone bright over Paper Mill Bridge
    And I knew I’d love you forever.

    The third octave/verse again focuses on the narrators thoughts about her friend, and now it becomes apparent that they are indeed life partners.  But first she places that river into her affections; she has come to love the river, and again, she is standing on the same bridge with pleasant memories coming to the fore.

    This time she remembers that like the other folks one might see canoeing down the Whitewater River, she and her partner did such paddling.  That day she recalls that she felt a breeze on the skin; it was a “cool breeze”—indicating that it was likely early to mid-spring.

    However, she then asserts that over that bridge the sun was beaming down in bright rays.  And suddenly, her heart told her then as it is telling her now that she would continue to hold her partner in her heart “forever.”  

    Second Octave/Chorus:  Recurring Images Again

    These are the things that fill my day,
    Things we’ve done together.
    Sunshine streaming down through the leaves,
    A storm in the clouds or snow in the fields.
    River water runs through my veins.
    The stars light up my eyes.
    Love for you turns in my heart
    Like the sun burns through the sky.

    The purpose of the repetition remains the exact same purpose that is held for all choruses in songs: to emphasize the sentiment expressed in the verses and perhaps add an extra image or two. 

    Linda Sue on the new Paper Mill Bridge – Constructed 1977– Photo by Ron W. G.

  • “Dreaming of You Again” with Prose Commentary

    Image: Original Painting by Ron Grimes “Morning at Red River Gorge”

    “Dreaming of You Again” with Prose Commentary

    This love song “Dreaming of You Again” features an individual who is musing on his continued feelings for and thoughts about a loved one from whom he has had to separate. 

    Introduction with Lyric “Dreaming of You Again”

    The chorus of “Dreaming of You Again” features a sequence of statements regarding the visions that appear to the individual in his dreams about his beloved: first, he envisions “what could have been”; next, he sees “what would have been,” and finally he insists that he envisions “what should have been.”

    Clearly, the individual’s feelings remains so strong that he feels that the two former partners do belong together, although they likely never will again unite. Still, he has his dreams.

    Dreaming of You Again   

    Written by Ron Grimes and Linda Sue Grimes.  Performed by Linda Sue Grimes.

    Introductory Note by Ron Grimes:  This is a song I wrote in 2003. Linda put the song to music. This video was created on January 1st 2023. The scene of us walking along the river was captured January 1st 2023 at Henry Horton State Park in Tennessee. We walked along the Duck River.

    Chorus

    Dreaming of you again, making up what’s true again   
    Seeing now what we saw then
    Visions of what could have been—Dreaming of you again

    First Verse

    Growing quite accustomed to these crazy little dreams of you
    Just a way to pass the time
    These crazy little dreams of mine—Dreaming of you again
    Your face lights up my darkest night, stay with me, hold me tight
    Show me now what we knew then
    Help me find that joy again—Dreaming of you again

    Chorus

    Dreaming of you again making up what’s true again 
    Seeing now what we saw then
    Visions of what would have been—Dreaming of you again

    Second Verse

    We both knew you had to leave, you had to grow, you had to breathe
    It hurt me so to see you cry
    The night you said your last good-bye—Dreaming of you again
    Wish you peace and happiness, hope you’ll always have the best
    And me I’ll have these dream of you
    Dreams I’ll always hold on to—Dreaming of you again

    Chorus

    Dreaming of you again, making up what’s true again  
    Seeing now what we saw then
    Visions of what should have been—Dreaming of you again

    Commentary on “Dreaming of You Again”

    Dreams figure widely and often in love songs. One of the most popular love songs of the early Rock and Roll movement of the late 1950s and early 1960s was the Everly Brothers’ “All I Have to Do Is Dream.”  This song “Dreaming of You Again” offers a unique twist on the dreaming function, as it makes an affirmative claim held by the composer of the lyric. 

    Chorus:  What Could Have Been

    Dreaming of you again, making up what’s true again   
    Seeing now what we saw then
    Visions of what could have been—Dreaming of you again

    The singer begins by offering a chorus that sets the stage for the rest of the piece. He has been dreaming about the individual he is addressing, creating mental pictures about what the couple felt and did with some speculation about what could have become for them in future.

    First Verse:  Crazy Dreams Repeating Themselves

    Growing quite accustomed to these crazy little dreams of you
    Just a way to pass the time
    These crazy little dreams of mine—Dreaming of you again
    Your face lights up my darkest night, stay with me, hold me tight
    Show me now what we knew then
    Help me find that joy again—Dreaming of you again

    The composer begins by offering a chorus that sets the stage for the rest of the piece.He has been dreaming about the individual he is addressing, creating mental pictures about what the couple felt and did with some speculation about what could have become for them in future.

    Chorus:  What Would Have Been

    Dreaming of you again making up what’s true again 
    Seeing now what we saw then
    Visions of what would have been—Dreaming of you again

    Again, the composer repeats the refrain, chant-like, revealing again his  visions as well as that they also belonged to his belovèd.  This time he claim that those visions would have been reality, if they had remained together to build a life together.

    Second Verse:  Had to Leave to Breathe

    We both knew you had to leave, you had to grow, you had to breathe
    It hurt me so to see you cry
    The night you said your last good-bye—Dreaming of you again
    Wish you peace and happiness, hope you’ll always have the best
    And me I’ll have these dream of you
    Dreams I’ll always hold on to—Dreaming of you again

    The composer then offers a glimpse into the reason for this couple’s split:  the one had to leave to grow and breathe.  The lack of specificity allows the listener to fill in the blanks.  But such a situation is not unheard of.  

    Sometimes opportunities do not exist for both partners in one location; thus, they have to separate to reach their goals.  It does seem that both partners are sad about the situation.

    Nevertheless, the composer has accepted the departure and now hopes that his partner finds the fulfilled life for which the individual had to leave.  He wishes his belovèd peace, happiness, and all the best in life.  Finally, he asserts that he will continue to engage in the dreams that bring his beloved back to him.   He makes peace with the simple enjoyment of dreams instead of reality.

    Chorus:  What Should Have Been

    Dreaming of you again, making up what’s true again  
    Seeing now what we saw then
    Visions of what should have been—Dreaming of you again

    Lest the composer demonstrate too easily the giving in to the way things are, he states that now his dreams are envisioning how things should have been—not merely that they “could” or “would.”  

    His affirming that they “should have been” is likely offered to rouse new thoughts in the distant former belovèd.  If the departed individual is made aware that the composer still thinks they should have remained together, what kind of fire might that thought kindle in the mind of the addressee?  Of course, the composer does not address that issue, so the listener can only speculate.

    Other Videos by Ron Grimes

  • Gary Clark’s “Mary’s Prayer”: A Yogic Interpretation

    Image:  Gary Clark  – Daily Record

    Gary Clark’s “Mary’s Prayer”: A Yogic Interpretation

    Employing the Christian iconic mother figure, the song “Mary’s Prayer” offers a marvelous corroboration of concepts between Christianity, taught by Jesus the Christ and Yoga, taught by Bhagavan Krishna.

    Introduction and Excerpt from “Mary’s Prayer”

    The song “Mary’s Prayer” is from the album Meet Danny Wilson by the 1980s Scottish rock band Danny Wilson. Lead singer of the group and the writer of the song is Gary Clark.  About the song, Gary Clark, the songwriter, has explained, 

    There is a lot of religious imagery in the song but that is really just a device to relate past, present, and future. It is basically just a simple love song. In fact I like to think of it as being like a country and western song.

    A Yogic Interpretation

    By quipping that his song “is basically just a simple love song,” Gary Clark is being overly modest; on the other hand, he could possibly have meant the tune to be a “simple love song,” but its use of imagery opens the possibility of a deeper interpretation than one traditionally  associated with a “simple love song.”  Thus, I offer my interpretation of Clark’s song, based on my primary method of poetry interpretation, which I label “Yogic Interpretation.”

    This yogic interpretation of Gary Clark’s “Mary’s Prayer” reveals the spiritual nature of the song.  The allusion to the Christian icon “Mary” alerts the reader to the significance of the song as it transcends the stature of a love song to a human lover, although it can certainly be interpreted to include that possibility.  The chorus of the tune offers a lengthening chant, which uplifts the mind directing it toward the Divine Goal of spiritual union.

    The narrator/singer of the song “Mary’s Prayer” is revealing his desire to return to his path to Soul-Awareness, which he has lost by a mistaken act that turned his attention to the worldly thoughts and activities that replaced his earlier attention to his spiritual realm.

    The noun phrase, “Mary’s Prayer,” functions as a metaphor for Soul-Awareness, (God-Union, Self-Realization, Salvation are other terms for this consciousness).  That metaphor is extended by the allusions, “heavenly,” “save me,” “blessed,” “Hail Marys,” and “light in my eyes.”  All of these allusions possess religious connotations often associated with Christianity.  

    The great spiritual leader, Paramahansa Yogananda, has elucidated the comparisons between original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna.

    Danny Wilson – “Mary’s Prayer” 

    Mary’s Prayer

    Verse 1

    Everything is wonderful
    Being here is heavenly
    Every single day she says
    Everything is free 

    Verse 2

    I used to be so careless
    As if I couldn’t care less
    Did I have to make mistakes
    When I was Mary’s prayer? 

    Verse 3

    Suddenly the heavens roared
    Suddenly the rain came down
    Suddenly was washed away
    The Mary that I knew 

    Verse 4

    So when you find somebody to keep
    Think of me and celebrate
    I made such a big mistake
    When I was Mary’s Prayer

    Chorus

    So if I say save me, save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    And if I say ten Hail Marys
    Leave a light on heaven for me 

    Verse 5

    Blessed is the one who shares
    Your power and your beauty, Mary
    Blessed is the millionaire
    Who shares your wedding day 

    Verse 6

    So when you find somebody to keep
    Think of me and celebrate
    I made such a big mistake
    When I was Mary’s Prayer

    Chorus

    So if I say save me, save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    And if I say ten Hail Marys
    Leave a light on heaven for me

    Save me, save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    And if I say ten Hail Marys
    Leave a light on heaven for me

    Verse 7

    If you want the fruit to fall
    You have to give the tree a shake
    But if you shake the tree too hard,
    The bough is gonna break 

    Verse 8

    And if I can’t reach the top of the tree
    Mary you can blow me up there
    What I wouldn’t give to be
    When I was Mary’s prayer

    Chorus

    So if I say save me, me save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    And if I say ten Hail Marys
    Leave a light on heaven for me 

    Save me, save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    And if I say ten Hail Marys
    Leave a light on heaven for me

    Save me, save me
    Be the light in my eyes

    What I wouldn’t give to be
    When I was Mary’s prayer

    What I wouldn’t give to be
    When I was Mary’s prayer

    What I wouldn’t—save me—give to be
    When I was Mary’s prayer

    Commentary on “Mary’s Prayer”

    A yogic interpretation of Gary Clark’s “Mary’s Prayer” reveals the song’s spiritual nature.   The allusion to the Christian icon “Mary” alerts the reader to the spiritual significance of the song causing it to transcend the stature of a love song to a human lover.

    First Verse:   Declaring a Spiritual Truth

    Everything is wonderful
    Being here is heavenly
    Every single day, she says
    Everything is free 

    The narrator/singer begins by declaring a spiritual truth, “Everything is wonderful,” and that being alive to experience this wonderfulness is “heavenly.”  The following lines report that each day provides a blank slate of freedom upon which each child of the Belovèd Creator may write his/her own life experiences. 

    “She” refers to Mary, who has authority to make such judgments, as the narrator states. The historical and biblical Mary, as the mother of one of the Blessèd Creator’s most important avatars, Jesus the Christ, holds special power to know the will of the Divine Creator and dispense wisdom to all children of that Creator.

    Therefore, the prayer of Mary is dedicated to each child of the Heavenly Creator, and her only prayer can be for the highest good of  the soul, and the highest good is that each offspring of the Belovèd Lord ultimately know him/herself as such.

    Thus, Mary sends the faithful “every single day” and “everything is free.” Every creature, every human being, every creation of the Divine Creator’s is given for the nurturance, guidance, and progress of each soul made in the Creator’s image.

    Second Verse:  The Care and Feeding of the Soul

    I used to be so careless
    As if I couldn’t care less
    Did I have to make mistakes?
    When I was Mary’s prayer 

    In the second verse, the narrator, having established his knowledge of the stature and desire of Mary, contrasts his own status. He was not been dedicated to his own salvation; he hardly paid any attention to the care and feeding of his soul. It’s as if he could not have “cared less” about the most important aspect of his being. 

    But that is the past, and the narrator now realizes that he made mistakes that have led him in the wrong direction, and he now wonders if he really had to make such a mess of his life.  After all, he was “Mary’s prayer” — the Blessèd Mother had offered him the blessing of soul-union, but through his mistakes he had spurned that offering.

    Third Verse:  Losing Sight of the Blessèd Mother

    Suddenly the heavens roared
    Suddenly the rain came down
    Suddenly was washed away
    The Mary that I knew
    So when you find somebody who gives
    Think of me and celebrate
    I made such a big mistake
    When I was Mary’s Prayer

    The narrator then reveals that through some great and fearful event that caused the heavens to move and rain to pour down, his life had become devoid of the love and caring that had been bestowed on him by Mary.  He no longer knew how to pray or how to feel the grace and guidance of the Blessèd Mother.

    Fourth Verse:  Missing a Great Opportunity

    So when you find somebody to keep
    Think of me and celebrate
    I made such a big mistake
    When I was Mary’s Prayer

    The singing narrator then offers his testimony that having a soul guide, who gives as the blessèd Mary gives, must be kept and celebrated and not merely cast off as the narrator had done. He confesses again that he “made such a big mistake” at a time that he could have just grasped the heavenly protection, while he was “Mary’s prayer.”

    Chorus:  Introduction of the Chant in Four Lines

    So if I say save me save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    And if I say ten Hail Marys
    Leave a light on heaven for me 

    Turning to prayer can be difficult for the one who has deliberately left it behind and perhaps forgotten its efficacy. But the narrator is once again taking up his prayers. He is now calling out to the Blessèd One, even though he frames his supplication in “if” clauses: he cries, “So if I say save me, save me / Be the light in my eyes.” He demands from the Divine Mother that she return to him as the light of his eyes, which had left him.

    Furthermore, and again framing his supplication in an “if” clause, he cries, “And if I say ten Hail Marys,” but yet again demands that she “Leave a light on in heaven for me.” The “if” clause followed by a demand seems contradictory, but the narrator is in distress and is confounded by his failures and his former indifference. The chorus of this song functions as a chant as it grows from four lines to its final iteration of sixteen lines that complete the song. 

    Fifth Verse:  Rich in Spirit

    Blessed is the one who shares
    The power and your beauty, Mary
    Blessed is the millionaire
    Who shares your wedding day

    Still in supplication to the Divine Blessèd Mother, the narrator now simply voices what he knows to be the influence of the Divine One: anyone who accepts and transforms his life according to “the power and the beauty” of Mary will find him “a millionaire.” Not necessarily financially rich—but much more important, rich in spirit. The great wedding of the little soul to the Oversoul will be the richest blessing of all.

    Sixth Verse:  Emphasizing the Need to Celebrate and Remember

    So when you find somebody to give
    Think of me and celebrate
    I made such a big mistake
    When I was Mary’s Prayer

    The sixth verse is a repetition of the fourth. It functions to reiterate the importance of the narrator’s awareness of the need to celebrate those giving beings as well as the vital necessity that he realizes what a “big mistake” he made “when [he] was Mary’s Prayer.”

    Chorus:  Continuing the Chant with Repetition

    So if I say save me, save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    And if I say ten Hail Marys
    Leave a light on heaven for me

    Save me, save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    And if I say ten Hail Marys
    Leave a light on heaven for men

    The chorus again becoming an enlarging presence serves to direct the mind Heaven-ward, while reminding the singer of his purpose for singing, for addressing his Divine Belovèd and keeping the mind steady.

    Seventh Verse:  Gathering the Effects of Yoga

    If you want the fruit to fall
    You have to give the tree a shake
    But if you shake the tree too hard,
    The bough is gonna break

    The penultimate verse offers a metaphor of gathering fruit from a tree which likens such gathering to the yoga practice that leads to Self-Realization or God-union.  Shaking the tree gently will result in fruit falling, but shaking “the tree too hard” will break the bough. Yoga techniques must be practiced gently; straining in yoga practice is like shaking the tree too hard, which will result in failure to attain the yogic goals.

    Eighth Verse:   Upward Movement Through Faith

    And if I can’t reach the top of the tree
    Mary you can blow me up there
    What I wouldn’t give to be
    When I was Mary’s prayer

    The final verse also employs a tree metaphor. The narrator, who is once again firmly on his spiritual path, expresses an extremely important truth that each devotee must cultivate: faith that the target of his goal can lift the devotee at any time. 

    The narrator colorfully expresses this truth by stating, “And if I can’t reach the top of the tree / Mary you can blow me up there.”  And finally, he expresses his regret for allowing Mary to escape him: he wants to become “Mary’s prayer” once again, and he would give anything to do so.

    Chorus:  The Efficacy of the Chant

    So if I say save me, me save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    And if I say ten Hail Marys
    Leave a light on heaven for me 

    Save me, save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    And if I say ten Hail Marys
    Leave a light on heaven for me

    Save me, save me
    Be the light in my eyes
    What I wouldn’t give to be
    When I was Mary’s prayer

    What I wouldn’t give to be
    When I was Mary’s prayer
    What I wouldn’t—save me—give to be
    When I was Mary’s prayer

    The chorus doubled from its first iteration of four lines featured after the fourth verse to eight lines following verse six.  Then it doubles again following the final verse, finishing with sixteen lines.  

    The marvelous effect of the chant places the song squarely within the yogic practice of employing repetition to steady and direct the mind to its goal of union with the Divine. The song finishes with the much enlarged chorus, which is not only musically pleasing, but also shares the efficacy of a chant that draws the mind closer to its spiritual, yogic  goal.

  • Original Songs

    Image: Linda Sue Grimes – Selfie

    Welcome to My Original Songs

    As a life-long creative writer, I have dabbled in many forms: poems, songs, short stories, flash fiction, memoir, and essays that focus on a variety of topics including history and politics, and philosophical issues.  I also create vegetarian/vegan recipes.

    This page is dedicated to providing links to a sampling of my songs; to sample some of my poems, please visit my “Original Poems.”   Other works are forthcoming.

    Thank you for visiting my literary home!  

    Questions, comments, and suggestions offered in good faith are always welcome.

    Original Songs on SoundCloud

    All written and performed by Linda Sue Grimes

    1. Twixt Good and Evil
    2. When Morning Looms
    3. Blue Haired Girl
    4. Sing through Me as I Worship at Thy Sea
    5. Where You Are
    6. Lyn’s Song
    7. River of Time – w/The Yamaha Band
    8. Ron’s Song
    9. Astral Mother
    10. Where You Are Dear – Keyboard
    11. Where You Are Dear – Guitar
    12. Pretty Little Woman
    13. Without the Waves
    14. River Spirit

    Original Songs  

    Videos on YouTube created by Ron Grimes

    1. Paper Mill Bridge Song
    2. Where You Are
    3. Lyn’s Song
    4. Haunted House
    5. Old Forgotten Love
    6. Slipped Away
    7. Down the Road
    8. I Know how the Lord Feels about Me
    9. When Tears Always Flow
    10. I Walk with You
    11. Songs That You Sing
    12. Dreaming of You Again – lyric by Ron Grimes & Linda Sue Grimes

    Videos on YouTube created by Carlene Craig

    1. River of Time – w/guitar
    2. My Girl Darian – written by Carlene Craig, set to music & performed by Linda Sue Grimes

    Original Song with Commentaries

    1. “Dreaming of You Again” with Prose Commentary
    2. “Against” with Prose Commentary
    3. “The Paper Mill Bridge Song” and Prose Commentary
    4. “Where You Are” with Prose Commentary
    5. “River of Time” with Prose Commentary
    6. “When Morning Looms” with Prose Commentary
    7. “These Letters” with Prose Commentary
    8. “Astral Mother” and Prose Commentary
    9. “I Wonder if You Ever Think of Me” and Prose Commentary
    10. “River Spirit” and Prose Commentary
    11. “Twixt Good and Evil” and Prose Commentary

  • Welcome to My Literary Home


    Literary Works of Linda Sue Grimes

    poems, songs, essays, short stories, fables, recipes, commentaries

    Image: LSG Caricature Created by ChatGPT

    Thought of the Day

    August 18, 2026: Mankind is engaged in an eternal quest for that “something else” he hopes will bring him happiness, complete and unending. For those individual souls who have sought and found God, the search is over: He is that Something Else. —Paramahansa Yogananda Man’s Eternal Quest

    Rooms in Linda’s Literary Home

    The rooms within my literary home include my library/music room where I compose and maintain my original writings in poetry, songs, literary fiction, expository essays, and poem commentaries.

    My literary home also includes rooms of tribute and memorials to beautiful souls who have graced my life and influenced my penchant for literary studies.

    In addition to literary works, I dabble in vegan/vegetarian cooking, so I dedicate my kitchen to holding and presenting the recipes that result from my adventures in the culinary arts.

    Because I remain spiritual-minded, I dedicate a temple/sanctuary to that spiritual inclination. ~Maya Shedd’s Temple~ holds personal musings about subjects that influence my life, especially my spiritual journey.

    Original Writings

    The following rooms will remain works in progress, as I continue to add to them from time to time.

    Life Sketches of and Commentaries on Poems by the following poets: 

    Image: The Whitewater River – Brookville, Indiana – Photo by Linda Sue Grimes

    A Special Soul

    One such room is an art gallery, featuring the paintings, as well as the prose renderings of the beautiful soul, Ron Grimes (Ron W. G., as he signs his paintings): Paintings and Prose.  My sweet Ron has continued to bring out the poetry in my life for over half a century; our married life together began on March 10, 1973.

    Beautiful Souls

    My literary home also offers dedicated rooms to beautiful souls who have graced my life and influenced my literary studies.

    My Kitchen

    Also in my house of letters, I dedicate another room—my kitchen—to the recipes that result from adventures in the experimental culinary arts.

    I have been a vegetarian/vegan for most of my life, and thus I have found it necessary to revise or tweak most traditional recipes to accommodate my vegetarianism. So I am offering the results of that life journey.

    My Temple Sanctuary

    Finally, I have dedicated a sanctuary for meditation, prayer, and worship, “Maya Shedd’s Temple.” Before I rebuilt this lit site as Linda’s Literary Home, I maintained much of the construction here under the title “Maya Shedd’s Temple: Literary Home of Linda Sue Grimes.”

    In the temple, I place all things spiritual. I begin with a brief memoir explaining by reasons for following my spiritual path.

    The temple includes information about Paramahansa Yogananda and commentaries on his poetic works, beginning with Songs of the Soul.

    Guruji has explained that fallen humankind is under the spell of Maya or cosmic delusion. My goal is to lift that spell, thus “shed” the delusive veil of Maya: Maya Shedd.

    🕉

    Questions, comments, or suggestions offered in good faith are always welcome.

    Image: In my summer mode – Swami Park, Encinitas, CA – August 2019 – Photo by Ron W. G.
    Image: In my winter mode – My library – November 1, 2025 – Photo by Ron W. G.

    Come back and visit again soon!