In Memory of Dan Fogelberg

Nether Lands High on this mountain The clouds down below I'm feeling so strong and alive From this rocky perch I'll continue to search For the wind and the snow and the sky Oh I want a lover and I want some friends And I want to live in the sun And I want to do all the things that I never have done Sunny bright mornings and pale moonlit nights Keep me from feeling alone Now I'm learning to fly and this freedom is like Nothing that I've ever known Oh I've seen the bottom and I've been on top But mostly I've lived in between And where do you go when you get to the end of your dream Off in the Nether Lands I heard the sound Like the beating of heavenly wings And deep in my brain I can hear a refrain Of my soul as she rises and sings Anthems to glory and anthems to love And hymns filled with earthly delight Like the songs that the darkness composes to worship the light Once in a vision I came on some woods And stood at a fork in the road My choices were clear yet I froze with the fear Of not knowing which way to go Oh, one road was simple acceptance of life The other road offered sweet peace When I made my decision My vision became my release

Dan Fogelberg 1951-2007

Austin just informed me that Dan Fogleberg had finally lost his battle with cancer. We had just listened to his beautiful Christmas song "Christ the King" during our school party today and I had asked my students if any of them knew who Dan Fogelberg was. Of course, the answer was no, and that's just too bad. There's certain artists that have inspired me over the years and whose songs are wrapped up in some of my favorite memories and Dan Fogelberg was one of those artists. Diane and Dave and probably Jon and Mary and Jo will know what I mean. It's funny though, the songs I loved best weren't his hits but the obscure ones such as "Souvenirs" or "There's a Place in the World for a Gambler" or maybe every song from the album Home Free. And of course the one above and below.
So we're left with his beautiful lyrics as souvenirs.

Souvenirs

Here is a poem that my lady sent down Some morning while I was away Wrote on the back of a leaf that she found Somewhere around Monterey And here is the key to a house far away Where I used to live as a child They tore down the building when I moved away And left the key unreconciled (Chorus) And down in the canyon the smoke starts to rise It rides on the wind 'til it reaches your eyes When faced with the past the strongest man cries...cries (Repeat Chorus) And here is a sunrise to set on your sill The ghosts of the dawn moving near They pass through your sorrow and leave you quite still... Sitting among souvenirs