Today I spent about two hours on an errand.  In a car.  After driving 4,590 miles in August, I’m not looking for more time behind the wheel. Plus, it was an errand that should not have been required. The fact that I had to take the time to do it was affecting my blood pressure.

Then, out of the blue, I found out why I was in that car today.

In driving down into Virginia by myself, I put my trusty playlist on the car system to become immersed in the music.  Soon came a voice that I could listen to sing the phone book. But today his song was much more profound than the yellow pages.

Time is a river with no riverside
Space a sea that has no tide
I can’t get across, no it’s too wide
If you have loved then you have cried

And then the second verse:

We are dust that was made in stars
Now we roll off to work in cars
When we were young we spilled our dreams in bars
Now we clean up the mess

There I was…cleaning up the mess.

John Gorka is a wonderful writer with a beautiful and soulful baritone voice. He’s been on the folk circuit forever, it seems, but his following is still small (when you consider that Lady Gaga gets 79 million views on a video).

His tune Riverside is on the 2003 album Old Futures Gone, and by the time the song ended, my attitude had significantly adjusted.

A little bit of thought can make a lot of sense
And every little day can make a difference
Yes I’m speaking in the present tense
Where my faults and seams wear through

And yes, sometimes it does take a lot to get through to me.

I can be more than, than a little dense
You’re gonna get splinters if you ride that fence
I do like the way the river bends
When it flows back to you

We called it gravy, never called it sauce
Better learn something if love gets lost
How hard the hurt, how high the cost
How all the smooth goes to rough

Time is a river with no riverside
Space a sea that has no tide
I can’t get across, no it’s too wide
If you have loved then you have cried

We all make mistakes.  We all have loved ones who have made mistakes. And while we may think we know what’s best, everyone has to make their personal choices. And yes, some of those will cause us to cry. I appreciate Gorka’s help in pointing that out to me today.

So that you can hear the voice as well as read the lyrics, I’ve embedded a video of Riverside. Enjoy the tune and enjoy the ride.

More to come…

DJB