This song came about because of a miracle.
I initially wrote “the moon” at the beginning of April on my guitar. I wrote it knowing that it was actually a song for a piano but since I didn’t have a piano, the guitar would have to do.
Two weeks later, a friend of mine offered me his Roland electric piano FOR FREE and suddenly, there in my living room, in all it’s glory, was a full-sized piano to play!
I should back up even further and tell you that for over a year prior I had been asking God for a free piano. Not consistently, but every so often as I would think of it, I would say to Him, “Father, I really want a piano so I can write more music. But I can’t afford one. If you think it’s a good idea, can You give one to me? Amen. Oh, also, thank you so much for cheddar cheese! Amen.”
I’m not saying we should be like Janis Joplin asking for a Mercedes Benz – we all know God isn’t Santa Claus – but I really do believe that God wants to hear about all the little and big things on our heart and He tells us to ask Him so… I did. I do. The reality is, He knows all our needs and wants and little whims and destructive demands and heart desires, and He sorts through them all and knows exactly what’s best for us with His love-saturated wisdom (or is it wisdom-saturated love?), and then provides accordingly, at exactly the right time, in exactly the right way. It’s why I just got given a piano for free and it’s also why I’m not yet married. This trust thing is sometimes a difficult adventure!
And that is how I got a piano!
Shortly after this beauty landed in my apartment, I sat down at it and “the moon” became my first piano piece. First of many, I hope.
Finally, last week I put a call out to my Facebook friends, asking them to send me photographs of the moon and other night-scene wonders. The photos you see in the slideshow are photos friends sent in. That makes this song extra extra special for me, and hopefully for you too because, after all, we’re all just people under the moon, writing songs and taking photographs and painting pictures, trying our utmost to somehow capture and communicate the beauty around us in whatever ways we can. What a privilege it is to collaborate with my fellow human beings as we all look up at the night sky, from different places on planet earth, and marvel together at the breath-taking beauty that is before and beyond us.
We weep and laugh and die and live under this night sky and, sometimes, we even fall in love.
Here are the lyrics in case you want to sing along:
the moon
we’re finding ways to catch the nighttime air
you feel like weightless breath running through my hair
let’s make our own net and climb on in
you light the fuse, i’ll wait for you
don’t go shooting stars with empties, no
just go light up ours, then come on home
we’ll fill up all our jars with fireflies
and open skies and answered why’s
(chorus)
we landed on the moon
star-struck hearts beating, beating two by two
we landed far too soon to say goodbye
don’t say goodbye
the sky is watching worlds run and play
and the fall and rise of suns marking yesterday
but time is without scars when i’m held by you
by you
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© Stephanie Ratcliff and stephanieratcliff.com, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Stephanie Ratcliff and stephanieratcliff.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.