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ABOUT THIS SONG I was driving in San Luis Obispo one afternoon and I pulled up to a corner where a homeless man had set up his workplace, asking for handouts. He had a clever sign and I recall myself having some critical judgment as I started to pull beyond him. As I turned the corner, I glanced back and he was staring right at me. I had a funny feeling of recognition...but drove off and let it go...or so I thought. Fast forward to Saturday night and the post club music routine of checking the answer machine for Rev. Richard's talk title. There it was, "Love the One You're With". Oh, great...been done by by Stephen Stills in the 70's. I played it through once just to refresh and at the first chorus realized that the spirit of it was not the stuff for a Sunday service. So... Picked up the guitar and started picking a familiar 1 6minor 4 5 chord structure that has fed a billion and a half songs through history...and here was another. There was something about the feel that caught me... Immediately the man on the street experience hit me in the face. I knew what I had to do. I dredged up all the moments when I turned away from showing up for someone in need and sorted through them. There was plenty of material here to solidly remind me of the choice to be made in a moment..to love the one you're with...in the big love way. The song was a hit. I knew the moment I finished that it was powerful, a heart grabber, and would serve me well the rest of my days...and it has. But there is just a bit more to the story. Songwriting is an extremely personal thing, a turning inside out of oneself, so to speak. For me, I used my life as the grist for the song. I had to...mainly because it was really my vehicle of catharsis...and if it serves anyone else, then that is the bonus. My songs often become the way life shows up...like a test to see how committed I am to what I just committed to in song...it was the very day I had presented the song at the service that it happened. I had gotten accolades for the creation and was feeling pretty good about myself when I got home. The phone rang and a male voice said with some urgency, "You gotta help me !" I said, "Excuse me?". "You gotta help me..." How did you get my number? The lady at the church...Oh...And I hear in the back of my mind, Go on and love the one you're with...I get it..the Cosmic follow up... "What do you need?" I asked. "I'm stuck in SLO and I'm trying to get to San Francisco but I'm out of money...you gotta help me!" My mind drifted to a tiny multi folded $100 bill that I kept in my wallet as my "just-in-case" money...Go on and love the one you're with..,"Where are you?" I ask..."The Vagabond Inn, Room 233"..." I'll be there in half an hour...I pull up to the room and the voices in my head are going a mile a minute about what might happen and the $100 bill and yada yada yada...I got out of the car and, yes, I was nervous. Knock knock...door opens and "Oh...my...God..." I see this young man and my gaze drifts upward to the follow the most magnificent mohawk I have ever seen. It was just like the sail of a marlin. Stunning. And then the multi piercings and the tattoos came into focus and the pit of my stomach stirred "What am I doing here?" I thought..almost immediately answered by come on in...and I did...half wondering if I would ever come out alive. It happened in a flash...the exchange...the hundred changes hands...he says something like thanks man, I will pay this back...and I was outside again. Did this even happen, I thought...Go on and love the one you're with.. the feeling started to grow, it was warm and grew from the center of my heart. It felt like I had done something nice, taken a risk, and stepped up to the song I sang just that morning. I hopped in the car and half expected to drive through a crowd of people hearing the Mother tell her young child, "There he is Sally, the man who gave the $100 dollars!"...but, of course, none of that happened. I simply drove home still wondering if this guy was an angelic walk in out for some fun...go on and love the one you're with |
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SONG LYRICS: LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH Standing in the line I turn and catch the person’s eye I can turn away or I can give a smile It’s my chance to make a difference, to brighten up a day I praise the God within and give a precious love bouquet A man is seeking money, he is living on the street I see his sign and judge thinking he’ll drink instead of eat I start to turn the corner when I turn to see his face I see the God within him, I place 20 on his plate Throughout the day they come, moments meant for me Throughout the day, life lays them at my feet She says, “Have compassion” She says, “Take the risk” She says, “Go on and love the one you’re with” A spider in the bathtub a fly upon the wall The traffic jam the couple fighting somewhere down the hall The man who cut before me the waitress late and rude Within these golden moments lies a fundamental truth To get the love I want I must give the love I seek As I do for you, my friend, someone will do for me These laws of love are written, they are living in the heart So what starts right here before me is the perfect place to start So, Lord, give me situations to practice loving sweet To ease the pain of living in everyone I meet Let me grow in bunches from the inside to the out And let me know that love is all I’ll ever be about BRIDGE...CHORUS...TAG © March 3, 1999. Music for Every Soul. All Rights Reserved. |
10 Love The One Youre With
