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REDBIRD'S GOSPEL CD IS OUT
9-7-08
On August 3 I wrote that Redbird Clingan's new
gospel CD would soon be coming out and it did come out this week. I
would like to tell you some of my favorite songs and lines.
A songwriter is constantly hunting a good strong phrase or a line that
sparkles. I cannot listen to a song without sticking the lines with my
skewer and turning them around in my mind. Redbird can write a line that
spins you real good. I have always said his "That's a Country Boy" has
some of the best poetic imagery I have ever seen in a song.
As good as he is with lyrics, he is even better with his melodies. They
are seldom intricate, usually simple but always have a little twist or
two that makes them memorable.
Before he went to Florida and hit rock bottom, we had written a few
songs together like "Tennessee River Rat" that attained success
regionally and was used in a couple of videos promoting the rivers and
mountains of this area. But when he came back home in '92 after his
years in the woods sleeping under dry cleaning bags, there was something
in this near-death experience that made him want to go back to his early
spiritual roots and write from the light of those early feelings.
I had no idea Redbird had such a gift for writing gospel songs . With my
own eyes and ears I could see and hear it come over him for weeks and
weeks. The songs kept coming and they kept getting better.
One of my favorites on this CD is "Wings to Fly." I have closed many of
my one-man shows with it.
These lines paint a beautiful poetic picture:
I was dreaming back when we were young
Down those country roads we'd run
Flying junebugs on a string and chasing butterflies.
You said their wings were fast and free
And I just made a wish for me
My love for you would never die
When I have wings to fly.
Before I sing it I often say it is half a love song and half gospel.
Another favorite is "Walking in the Garden" with these lines:
It's like walking around in the Garden of Eden
Talking with the great I Am
It's like wading in the waters of the river of Jordan
Baptized in the blood of the Lamb
Now I feel like I could walk on the water
That river don't look so wide
When I feel the Lord reaching out both hands
Walking back from the other side.
I am not a Pentecostal but I have always liked to attend their services.
I feel the same thing when I listen to Redbird's CD that I feel in their
services. It's no wonder - Redbird grew up in Earl's Grove Church at
Birchwood. Everyone in that area called the church "shake rag" because
the people would shout and shake a rag when the service was going just
right.
Some of you wrote a few weeks ago saying you wanted the CD when it came
out and because my computer got hungry and ate up some data, I am not
sure I have an accurate list. If you do want a copy of Redbird's
inspired songs, send $12 made out to Redbird Clingan to me at 3327
Roberts Road, Chattanooga, TN 37416.
I believe the music and words moving through this man will move and
inspire you, as it has moved and inspired me.
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