songs born

Brook approached me after church Sunday. As usual he was glowing about his gifted children. I wonder if Liz and West realize how very proud their father is of them. Then Brook says, oh, I wrote a song last night.

My brother is the most gifted songwriter that I know. His music and talents were my primary influence. He was the one that gave me my first guitar lesson. It was his Yamaha FG-180 and Gibson Hummingbird that I first tried learning on. He gave me my first blues harp lesson too. It was Brook that I would take my early works to for criticism...and he was willing to give it. In my youth, it was Brook's songs that made me want to write, play, and sing. Yet there are songs of his, that I haven't heard in a decade or two.

Brook doesn't write that much, he hasn't written a song in a long time. I haven't heard it yet but maybe I will when we all get together for the family Thanksgiving jam.

I think people who are given a gift to write songs - should do so. I think people who are given voice - should use it. Brook has always been an connoisseur of music, he leads worship teams often, but rarely does he write an original offering. Like wine, it's nice that his is such a connoisseur of music, but he is one such master, who shouldn't be just tasting but rather, should be, growing and bottling his own label.