Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Those Twenty Nine Men Can Wait



By Ken Hanson

Not everyone gets to meet their idol,
I’m one of the lucky few.
I didn’t think he’d come to Amarillo,
Even though I wanted him to.

Can you imagine my anticipation
When Gordon Lightfoot announced the date.
October 26th, a Sunday evening,
Only a few more weeks to wait.

I grew up with Mr. Lightfoot’s music,
His songs seemed to echo my life.
They were always there, through good times and bad,
Through joy and gladness, trouble and strife.

To hear them in person would be such a treat,
But what I didn’t know,
I was one of the lucky few,
That would meet him after the show!

It’s a pretty good crowd for a Sunday,
I see a few friends also there for the show,
Then the lights go down and the band comes out,
He grabs his guitar and away we go!

He launches right in with song after song,
And the years just melt away.
I instantly feel three decades younger,
Hearing his songs that day.

That’s the amazing thing about music,
It’s a time machine set on rewind.
Those long forgotten parts of our lives,
The songs can help us find.

His music turns the pages of my life,
I remember my youth as I’m growing old,
Gentle songs you can understand,
That touch the deepest parts of my soul.

I’ve known some Rainy Day People,
Been down that Carefree Highway as well,
I’ve told loved ones their Beautiful,
Felt the Early Morning Rain as it fell.

I still grieve for those twenty nine men,
Who lost their lives in that tragic way.
Their memory still strong after all these years,
We relive it on the radio most every day.

All too soon the evening is done,
And most of the people head for the door,
But Shelly and Dale and me and Steve,
Linger behind with quite a few more.

A crowd of supporters of KACV
Will meet Mr. Lightfoot after the show.
Number 63, last one of the tour,
Before he heads home to Toronto.

What do you say to your idol,
When you finally meet him face to face?
What do you do to stand out a little,
From every other fan in the place?

There are lots of videos on YouTube
Showing 35 years of his career,
But the shortest one, without a song,
Is the one I hold most dear.

It shows a joyful interaction
Between adoring daughter and famous dad.
She’s trying to get him to say something,
That obviously makes her glad.

Daddy, Oh Daddy,
Daddy, Daddy, say it, say it, say it.
She turns the web cam,
Shows him by the door,
And this is what he says...

“I just dropped in to say Howdy,
So I’ll say it...Howdy!”

She laughs in delight, and the video ends,
So that’s what I’m going to say.
I know he’ll recognize his very own words,
I hope it’ll make his day!

I’ll let him know he’s a part of my life,
And I’m not like every other man,
That shakes his hand and tells him,
I’m your biggest fan.

We say Howdy in Texas all the time,
He’s just like one of us,
Maybe it’ll show how much we adore him,
Before he gets on the bus.

So here we are, he’s standing before me,
I shake his hand and my mind goes numb,
The knees go weak, my rehearsed line forgotten,
I could kick myself for being so dumb.

I can’t seem to figure out how to speak,
I didn’t plan to be an idiot today,
“Thanks for coming to Amarillo,”
Is all I managed to say.

So many things I want to talk about,
But now I can’t speak, how can that be?
Starstruck, I believe, is the word that applies,
Does this happen to others or only to me?

I barely was able to hand him a card,
That has the address of this poetry blog.
I pray to God he doesn’t throw it away,
I’ll look for Toronto on the connection log.

Surely being a songwriter,
He’ll have an interest in poetry too.
Perhaps I can even entertain him,
The way he does for me and you.

Time pursues us all like a predator,
The Grim Reaper knows where we are.
We will all shuffle off this mortal coil,
Though the time may be near or far.

I doubt many of us will leave a legacy,
Of the kind Gordon Lightfoot will have done.
His genius has touched so many,
His popularity enjoys a decades long run.

I imagine twenty nine men in heaven
Waiting to shake the hand some day,
Of the man who kept their memory alive,
In an accurate and respectful way.

Please God, tell those twenty nine men
They will have to wait some more.
He has lots more work to do,
Before he shows up at your door.

Mr. Reaper, you had your chance and you blew it,
Go about your business and let him be.
He has many more concerts to perform,
There are others out there like me.

Who knows how many people
Are hoping he’ll come to their town.
There’s nothing quite like the experience,
Of live concert sound.

I hope you’ll have many more years on the road,
So many people to see face to face.
Without the music of Gordon Lightfoot,
Our world would be a lonelier place.