If you don't write it down, it didn't happen

The Death of Saint Joseph by William Blake, c. 1803

I'd never listened to John Prine before 2019, and to be honest I'm not sure I'd ever heard of him before then. He was featured on some Spotify playlists and that was really that. I had no idea of his illustrious career as a singer and songwriter until he passed in 2020.

When that happened, there was a surge of John Prine appreciation, and his impact became crystal clear. It was really the first time I'd thought about legacy, or at least in a meaningful way. Often, people die, and in it's grieving, the world will say very nice things about them. So I don't know that I had noticed sincerity in these situations. But when Prine died, I could feel it, despite little awareness of his career and it's importance to music.

For Prine, it wasn't just his musical prime that influenced generations of songerwriters. From all accounts, he was kind to up and comers, using his influence to shepard their careers. YouTube is filled with videos of Prine playing shows in his twilight (a couple of my favorites are with Sturgill Simpson and Amanda Shires).

Those two, and countless others, shared their gratitude for both Prine the artist and Prine the man after his death. I can't seem to find it, but Shires and her husband Jason Isbell had a nice tribute livestream, where they played their favorite JP tunes and shared their stories.

That's when I realized the true meaning of heaven. It isn't some mystical spiritual realm where souls go after they leave the body. To the contrary, heaven is here, on Earth, within each and every one of the living. It is the memories we have of the fallen and the fingerprints they left on our stories.

Today, another famous artist died: David Crosby, of Crosby, Stills, and Nash (and sometimes Young). Like Prine before, I'd not listened to much CSN(Y), and, if I'm being honest, what I had heard was not quite to my tastes. That is, until last year. Wooden Ships (a Crosby tune) came on the radio, and the opening riff hooked me. That sent me deep into the catalog, past some of the fluffier tunes and towards the groovier bluesy tunes. I've since become a pretty big fan of their stuff.

Coincidentally, Shires and Isbell also became friends with Crosby in recent years. I like that pattern, and it's making more and more sense why I love that couple's music. Contrary to most YouTube comment sections, good music, which honors it's influences, is alive and well, because contemporary artists are spending time with their forebears.

Amanda shared this clip of herself, Dave Cobb, and a few others hanging out in a studio with Crosby while recording Isbell's Reunions (very inspired by the 60s folk rock sounds, may I add).

It was mostly just David Crosby getting stoned, and picking some of his tunes. He demonstrates a guitar tuning and chord progression that Garcia (Jerry?) had taught him, before he goes on to offer a simple line about songwriting:

If you don't write it down, it didn't happen.

That was of course meant as creative advice, but in the spirit of this reflection, they are words can be applied to life, too. If you don't do something and connect with people, and you haven't writen your legacy_,_ did it even happen?

Will you be admitted to heaven?

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/A_RFT7WcXxE?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0