Journey

Our radio mostly stays on Christian music.  It's a rare day that we listen to oldies.  When it happens, I smile and reminisce for a few moments.  Then after piecing together the true meaning of the song at hand, I usually become mortified by the lyrics I once joyfully sang as a child/teen/young adult - without having ever given it the first thought.  So- when Alexis came home from camp singing an old blast from my past 1981 Journey song, I thought it was time to "google" the lyrics to see if they may be a bit too edgy for our family's liking.  Did I mention - it was a church camp?  Did I mention that she's picking the tune out on the piano?

Don't Stop Believin'

Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere

A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on

(Chorus)
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlights people, living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night.

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

(Chorus)

Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Streetlights people

Don't stop believin'
Hold on
Streetlight people

Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Streetlights people

I can see how the youth pastors might use the song to interpret a life lesson about "what not to do,"  with an encouragement to keep on believing in our Lord.  It's a stretch, but okay...  I think I'll be speaking with Alexis to find out the context that surrounded the use of the song.  It amuses me to know that these kids were belting out a ballad from my generation.  Back in my day - that would not have been a cool thing to do.

While searching for the Journey song mentioned above - I realized that the band is still together, although Steve Perry is no longer the lead singer.  I really loved his passionate vocals, and just had to go on You Tube to see how the new guy compared.  When doing so, I found a single that Journey placed in the number 1 spot on an album (are they actually still called that???) called Revelation, which came out in 2008.  This song totally touched my heart, as I reflected on the many years I have been blessed to be my husband's wife.



After All These Years lyrics

A faded wedding photograph
You and me in our first dance
Our eyes are closed, we’re lost in one sweet embrace
Since those days the world has changed
But our love remains the same
God knows we've had our share of saving grace

And I'm proud of all the blessings you have given me
The mountains we have climbed to get this far
We've learned to take the laughter with the tears
After all these years

You make it feel brand new
After the fires that we walked through
Against the odds we never lost our faith
In a house we’ve made our own
Where our children all have grown
Precious moments time cannot erase

Make a living up and down the gypsy highways
The seasons that we’ve had to share apart
Somehow in my heart I always keep you near
After all these years

After all these years
You stood by me the days and nights that I was gone
After all these years
You sacrificed, believed in me and you stood strong
Cause with our love there’s nothing left to fear
After all these years

After all these years
You stood by me the days and nights that I was gone
After all these years
You sacrificed, believed in me and you stood strong
Cause with our love there's nothing left to fear
After all these years

Wanting to believe and hope in the best for people, I'd love to not just imagine, but know that the band has grown in a relationship with the Lord.  It would be awesome to know they have come to an understanding, a "revelation" - per say, (like the album's title) of Who it is that truly is the key to their "journey."  (Yes, that became an unintentional pun.)  All that to say, and maybe I'm romanticizing it a bit, but I would love to imagine that we grew closer to the Lord together.  Ah, to know that we would one day have Journey leading us in proclamations of worship to our Lord!  Who's famous voices will we hear singing praises to our God and King when we enter heaven?