I can't stop crying. And this song is the reason why: [View all]

This song plays over the credits of the new Benoit Blanc Mystery, "Wake Up, Dead Man." It sounds like old-time gospel. But if you listen to the lyrics, it's not. It rejects a religious outlook. It's despairing and bleak. There's no savior coming. But it does seem to offer some hope. Come on up to the house. Maybe it's a house we build for ourselves and each other. A place to find hope in community, in brotherhood, safety in numbers.

I don't know. I've never hurt this bad, or feared this much because of all that's going on.

Then there's this version. After Tom Waits' bellowing, barrelhouse roar, Willie Nelson's gentle, nasal cadences offer hope, and a chance at serenity, no matter how bad things get.



If anybody asks, no, I haven't been drinking. I'm just so tired and sad. And now elleng is gone...