Tuesday, May 18, 2010

He Ain't Heavy...

Sunday night dinner with the whole fam, and someone mentioned the word the heavy, which prompted my husband to say, "He ain't heavy, he's my brother." That's just what he does - names songs or movie lines or whatever that fit the conversation. All six of the young folk at the table gave him a blank stare. "What are you talking about?" one of them asked.

He repeated the phrase, waiting for some recognition from this group -- who are typically on top of the music scene -- but none came. "Oh you know the song," he said. And of course I started singing it, cause that's what I do --- sing pretty much any song I'm reminded of.

But they were still blank. And I was shocked. I thought the song was as much an american icon as Yankee Doodle. Rob found a computer, did a search on Youtube, and played it for them. They all agreed it was a beautiful song, but it still didn't ring a bell with any of them. Huh.

The song has stayed in my head since then, and taken on all kinds of significance - like reminding me of all the people who have supported me through this road I'm on. And the little boy who was recently discarded by the very people who should have been guiding him on his journey. And most notably my brave nephew who just left this weekend to serve our country by rappelling out of helicopters to rescue injured soldiers.

After a little research I learned that while the Hollies did the original version way back in the 60's, it has since been remade by Neil Diamond and the Osmonds. And while they're all great musicians, I guess they're not really top of charts with the younger crowd. So I can hope Glee or American Idol or maybe even House picks it up and makes it new again. But in the meantime, I thought I'd post this nice version of it here.

UPDATE: This is what my sister said about her boy after she saw this, "Early into the pre-deployment in Texas, Tom told me how much he was working out and building muscle. I asked why... "I want to be able to pick up any wounded soldier, throw him over my back and get him out of danger." War is Hell - but they're there with their brothers."

1 comment:

Laurie said...

Thank you for this post. It touched my heart. I love this song. I also have a nephew serving in the military. He is in the Air Force. Your nephew will now be a part of my prayers.