Sure On This Shining Night

For some reason this song always makes me want to weep. The strange thing about that is I'm not even sure what the text means. But something about the music, the way Dr. Staheli conducted, the way BYU Singers sang it, the way Jared Oaks played--it really speaks to me. Like my inside knows that whatever the words mean it's deep and true. And the music brings that out. It's beautiful to me. So beautiful in fact, oftentimes it makes my heart ache a little and even makes me a bit sad. A longing for something?

The text:

"Sure On This Shining Night"

Text by James Agee

Set to music by Morten Lauridsen (and not Samuel Barber)

Sure on this shining night
Of starmade shadows round,
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground.

The late year lies down the north.
All is healed, all is health.
High summer holds the earth.
Hearts all whole.

Sure on this shining night
I weep for wonder
wandering far alone
Of shadows on the stars.

When I listened to it in the car yesterday I felt more in words what it meant to me. It's being alone in a dark moment, but seeing brightness and feeling firm and bright; being sure kindness is coming from heaven. Being sure of it. Everything that's ever happened is behind you and you feel warm, healed, whole. And in that moment everything shines.

(I'm still thinking about the last line.)

Since the music is half of the beauty I found a pretty decent recording on utube. Not the recording in which every nuance shines, but it makes the point. Especially if you're listening for the feeling.