You've got a friend

Recently I was watching this daily TV program……….

OK! OK! I was watching Oprah…….

And, as part of said program, which was called “Friday – LIVE” they had James Taylor featured and scheduled to sing some of his hits, as selected by audience members.

I was very interested in how they were going to make the segue from the first part of the program, which included having the sex talk with young children.  Let’s say the transition was awkward at best; crude and stumbling at worse.

Sweet Baby James came out on stage, picked up that familiar old guitar, sat down on a common tall stool and began to perform. I don’t recall the exact order of the hits he sang but soon he was into “You’ve got a friend” singing it as only he can.  It took me back, to a time in my life when songs were simply songs, seeping into my consciousness as background noise because my mind was too busy and not focused enough on what was around me to pay close attention.  I must have heard thousands of repeats of James Taylor’s biggest hits over that period of time when he was at the top of the charts, and I came to know and love his work.

There I was, listening to the lyrics and curious as to how I could have missed their meaning as I listened so many times before. 

It must have been the fact that we were nearing the Easter time of year and in the back of my mind, I was thinking about what Easter means to me. I often wonder what motivates song writers to write the words they do. What was going on in their life?  What was their muse?  James Taylor has never struck me a particularly “spiritual” kind of person; but what do I know about the private world of James Taylor?  The Lord Jesus could have been his savior as well as my own and perhaps he was feeling a bit lonely at that moment in his life.

Anyway, here’s what I heard.  Hey! Jesus could have written these lyrics and was singing them to me right then:

When you’re down and troubled and you need a helping hand and nothing, nothing is going right.

Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there, to brighten up even your darkest nights.

If the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds and that old north wind begins to blow.

Keep your head together and call my name out loud and soon, I will be knocking upon your door.

Then, there’s the chorus:

You just call out my name and you know wherever I am; I’ll come running to see you again.

Winter, spring, summer or fall; all you have to do is call

And I’ll be there….Yeah, Yeah, Yeah….You’ve got a friend

Hey, ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend?

People can be so cold.

They’ll hurt you and desert you.

Well, they’ll take your soul if you let them.

But…don’t you let them!

So today, if you are the kind of person who even gives a thought as to what Easter means, repeat the lyrics of James Taylor’s song to yourself and see if it doesn’t bring a little peace to your soul.