Most of us don’t know the lyrics to “Walking in Memphis.”
Many consider it Marc Cohn’s signature recording, and it is very popular, not least because of how well he performs it. Maybe it’s just that we get lost in listening to him sing. Whatever the reasons, the truth is this: if we attempt to sing along, at all, it’s only when he croons the actual words, “Walking in Memphis” ... and something, something “the pouring rain.” But that’s about it.
Still, it should come as no shock to learn the song is about when Cohn made a pilgrimage to Memphis, Tennessee: The Home of the Blues.
After this pilgrim “Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues In the middle of the pouring rain,” he toured the southern city. He almost swoons when he walks down Beale Street, claims he sees the ghost of Elvis at Graceland, and notes “They’ve got catfish on the table.”
Perhaps, between not knowing the lyrics and discovering it’s about a blues pilgrimage to Memphis, we can be forgiven for not knowing this next part.
They've got gospel in the air.
Our pilgrim, it turns out, was also on a bit of a spiritual journey while walking in Memphis. He realized there was more to it than just its music, emphasizing how a pilgrim would be welcomed, “When you haven't got a prayer.”
But, boy, you've got a prayer in Memphis.
What comes next is both sad and exhilarating. Cohn incorporates something that actually happened to him while visiting Memphis. One night at the famed blues joint, Hollywood Cafe, he listened to well known pianist and Gospel singer Muriel Wilkins perform ... something she did every Friday night for many years. After one set, Cohn was asked if he would perform a duet with Muriel. What musician could pass that up?
Now Muriel plays piano
Every Friday at the Hollywood
And they brought me down to see her
And they asked me if I would
Do a little number
And I sang with all my might
She said
“Tell me are you a Christian child?”
And I said, “Ma’am, I am tonight.”
That’s about the last we hear of this pilgrim’s spiritual journey: his one-night claim to a relationship with Jesus.
Music is powerful. It pulls us, drives us, fills us in ways nothing else does. Can it be any wonder that the gospel message found its way into music? And when the Blues meets Gospel? Magnetic!
The song finishes with Cohn’s pilgrim walking, walking, walking in Memphis, endlessly wondering “do I really feel the way I feel?” Perhaps he had glimpsed “the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” And, perhaps, he was still grappling with his almost-decision. All I know for certain is this: the duet they sang that night?
Amazing Grace.
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PHOTO (and a great story about Muriel, Marc, and The Hollywood): https://www.tripsavvy.com/story-of-muriel-and-the-hollywood-2321910
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Second Sunday in Lent (March 17, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)
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Friday mornings are a time of grace at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We read, we pray, we discuss ... and we laugh. Join us at 8:00 at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant for a great start to the weekend.
Blessings,
Steve
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