The Wee Hours On The Wee Farm

3:00 a.m., the spooky hour here on the Wee Farm. Why do my eyes fly open consistently at this time of a morning? If I fell asleep at 2:45 a.m. I would still come out of a dream around 3:00 a.m. …sigh. I cain’t have nuthin’ nice. Now granted, most times I lie there and argue with my sleepy self, insisting I fall back to sleep but it’s usually a battle. I always wake up the next morning patting myself on the back for winning the war. But this morning, yep, here I sit in the silence in the dark trying to find a way to make good use of this spooky hour…so I do what I do and write.

There is something about the utter silence at this time of the morning that blankets me with a feeling of reverence. In the silence there lies a stillness, and in the stillness my mind connects to something larger than life. My soul does, too. Maybe the 3:00 a.m. hour offers an opportunity for my spirit to restore, so I drink that prayerful  thought in. After taking a moment to let my thoughts travel past my understanding, I snap back to what my consciousness can observe. The ebony coloring filling the  picture window is a blank canvas for imagination. To honor this moment, I fight the urge to turn on the T.V., though the temptation is strong. Sometimes I’ll cave, hit the remote, and find a movie. Without fail, I’ll push Ginger Bread (our sweet puppy) out of the way and lie beside her on the couch and drift back off. However, if I fight that pull, leave the remote alone, and let my mind be the only background noise, usually, floating inside the quiet, an idea shakes loose, and I’m racing to type as fast as the idea unfolds. When this happens, well,  I’m too sleepy to get in the way of my thoughts and that’s a good thing…and also a spooky thing because I never know what my mind will come up with.

As this particular early morning whispered in my ear, I started pondering on threads of a song forming as I was still snuggled beneath the covers. I could actually hear my mind sighing, almost begging me to quit thinking. You see, I’m currently frantic about a project I’ve been trying to finish now for 5 years. The songwriter in me has been on fire lately, writing 4 songs in the past 3 weeks towards a cantata of the Easter story. Folks, this is NOT an easy story to tell. The struggle to finish it up so I can record the thing in this century has been hard and certainly a sleep disrupter, hence the reason I’m sitting in the dark at thus hour. I suppose I should give you some backstory to my plight…

In 2010 I was touring with my 5-piece bluegrass band which includes my lovely husband of many years who acts as my road manager, acoustic guitar player, harmony singer, co-writer and main driver for these long trips we take all over the country in a 15-passenger van. It’s cozy to say the least. Well, on one of the runs we were taking through Illinois, Iowa, Indiana…one of those, anyway, it was really late and we were stuck having to take a less than spectacular set of rooms to sleep in on our way to the next show because there were just no rooms available on the way. Of course, the fellas were tired. They all hit their rooms and were out like lights, including Farmer Rick, my husband. I, however, was sitting in that smelly, icky room on a chair I had covered with what I hoped were clean towels at the very hour of 3:00 a.m. feeling sorry for myself and wondering why I chose to make a living this way. All of a sudden the thought occurred that Mary and Joseph, parents of Jesus, must have felt this way trying to get into Bethlehem, being turned down by the innkeeper and having to then stay in a less spectacular room, a stable actually. So, I sat there in the dark and quietly wrote a song called “You Cannot Stay Here.” This thought launched a two-year writing frenzy to tell the Christmas story in song. I think I ended up writing about 80 songs for this project and narrowed it down to 11 for the recording. The album is called All The Way To Bethlehem and is one of the greatest things I’ll ever have a hand in writing, telling the Nativity story through song. I tell you all this just to say that fans I’ve gathered over the years have begged to hear this done for the Easter story, too…but it’s really been a tough road for me, trying to tell something that makes me cry and then rejoice and then cry and then rejoice. Whew! The Easter story is a rollercoaster for my heart.

Now back to the beginning of this rambling story. I had a deep thought as I fought my way out of semiconsciousness this morning, that Mary Magdalene must have had to navigate broken terrain to get to the tomb on the third day. Why I was thinking about this at 3:00 a.m. is beyond me, but I dragged myself out of my comfy bed and started researching what the land must have looked like in Jerusalem after the earthquake that occurred during the crucifixion. Sure enough, it would have been broken, rocky, dusty ground. Also, it would have been dark and creepy, kinda like what I’m experiencing now. IN FACT, I bet Mary woke up around 3:00 a.m. to gather the oils and spices and wake the other Marys up to walk with her. Ahhhh, I’m onto something, I just know it! So, what do I do next, you ask as I sit here in the dark? I start writing this article instead of the song, lol. I can’t figure me out to save my life.

I haven’t counted how many songs I’ve composed for the Easter project yet, but it’s quite a few. There is more scripture to this story than there was for the birth of Christ; I’m having trouble trying to figure out what the most compelling parts are. The emotional elements to this tale seem to be easier for me to write versus the literal facts. I can’t let the idea on Magdalene reaching the tomb go, even as I write this…I suppose I’ll carve on the song after I finish this article. And you wonder why I’m crazy?

All kidding aside, I am loving this journey. Songwriting is a gift without a schedule or a single care to interrupting sleep. If I want to keep honing and improving as a writer, I have to strike when the inspiration happens, even if it’s at the eerie hour of 3:00 a.m., hence this long-winded column I’m pecking out right this moment. The sky is starting to lighten up, and I pick now to get drowsy so I guess I better go make another cup of coffee. I have a song to write!

Until next time…