Why Play Music? - September 16, 2001

I pick up my guitar and I conjure up a better world; a world of beauty, a world of spirit; a world in which joy and sorrow and everything in between can be expressed safely and purely, without words or ideologies to misinterpret; a world with a universal language that each person understands in his or her own unique way; a world of love. 

We play music because we can. Music is the gift we have been given and the gift we give. Our music cannot stop the bombs. It cannot save the rain forests. It will not feed the hungry or cure the sick or clean the air. But it can soften the heart. With each song we play, we can give the world a glimpse of that better place where love and spirit soar. When we share our music with others, we go collectively to that place of love and spirit, and we rejoice, we mourn, and we heal. We light a small candle in the dark, and there is one more small candle in the dark. 

My favorite scene in the movie Titanic took place as the ship was going down. A musical quartet was playing on the deck, and they knew they would soon perish. They huddled together and decided they would continue playing their music until they were swept away. Before they began their last tune, the group leader said, “Gentlemen, it has been an honor playing music with you.” Then they returned to their music and played until they could play no more. 

We play music because we can. We can make sense out of chaos, we can create a comforting order. We can show the world something better, a gentler, more loving way of being. Music gives us strength. Music gives us hope. 

We light a candle in the dark. Play on.

September 16, 2001

BACK TO ARCHIVES