One from Two

Last night in Walnut, North Carolina, my fifty-two-year-old brother Jerry married for the first--and surely the only--time in his life. We had thought it would never happen, but just when you think something like that . . . well, let's just say that other plans and determinations take priority over ones we might make.

My new sister's name is Cathy, and she's a great lady. She's faithful and beautiful and smart and funny. She has a good job in academia, and she's a great cook. And I have a great new nephew named John or Jon--I'll have to get that straight.

Jerry called me a few weeks ago to ask if I'd sing during the wedding ceremony. What could I say? Of course I said yes, even though most of the marriages for which I've sung haven't lasted. Hopefully, it's not me. Anyway, his asking me to sing wasn't that big a surprise, but I was caught off guard by what he asked me to sing. He requested "Somebody, Somewhere," a song I wrote around 1980 or 1981. It was among the first songs I recorded in Nashville and was intended for my first album (which was to have been called Fiesta). I heard Jerry tell my cousin last night that he knew the first time he heard that song he wanted it sung at his wedding. And now, almost 30 years later, it's done, song and wedding and all.

The ceremony took place at the Walnut Presbyterian Church, where my mother and aunt are faithfully present. It isn't an old old church like the Walnut United Methodist Church where Leesa and I got married (and which is now closed and sold into the hands of a private citizen). But the Presbyterian was where I attended Vacation Bible School as a kid and was host to the community youth group when I was a teenager. The place was beautifully decorated for Christmas. The music I made and that made by another guitar player and singer sounded rich in that place.

My song was early on in the service. The marriage ceremony was then handled by the minister from Cathy's church, North Asheville Baptist. After the exchange of rings and vows, the service was closed out by a prayer offered in the still-powerful voice of my retired-Methodist-minister uncle. For a small Appalachian community, this might seem quite the ecumenical affair, but for Walnut it was simply par for the course (but more on that another time).

Here's the lyric for "Somebody, Somewhere":

To all the lonely people in the world—
I'm singing this song just for you.
You're looking for love every day of your life,
But it seems like you're not getting through.
You're alone every night when you turn out the light,
And it feels like it's that way to stay.
Hold tight to your dreams; it's not as bad as it seems.
Tomorrow might just be your day.

Somebody, somewhere
Is lonely and looking
And dreaming of someone like you.
And when you have found
That somebody somewhere
The dreams you both have will come true.

I once knew a man with a dream in his heart,
A dream he just could not let go.
In chasing his dream he lost all his loves
And found himself always alone.
But then into his world came this beautiful girl,
And she loved that man through and through.
Her love helped him be all he wanted to be,
And she made his dreams all come true.

Somebody, somewhere
Is lonely and looking
And dreaming of someone like you.
And when you have found
That somebody somewhere
The dreams you both have will come true.

All best wishes for Jerry and Cathy, for Cathy and Jerry in their life together as one.