We uploaded this video to YouTube back in December, but for some reason it never got posted here.
Written in 2002, “Music Man” may be Kevin’s biggest hit. It’s a beautiful song of grief over a lost loved one and the friends and fans who make it all okay.
Kevin says he often has people asking him whether it’s about his own life. In fact, he wrote it about his uncle Roy Norton, himself a popular local musician, just after Roy had recently lost his mother and suffered an accident at work.
Well, it’s not really a video. I just made a photo-collage and stretched it the length of the song, which is the same version we already have here. At least it will play elsewhere this way…
Atticus has been a bit obsessed with Neil Young for the past year or so.
Yes, it all began way back when he was only four and a half. Before his dad and I went to see Neil Young live, we downloaded and burned his awesome Live at Massey Hall album from 1971.
Well, Attie went crazy over it, wanting to hear certain songs over and over. He wanted to hold the CD cover in the car, so he could name the songs as they played and he sang along. He had me upload them to his own CD player.
And we sang along with him: Kevin, Lucas, and myself. It’s still a fun family event in the van when number 3 (“Old Man”) comes on. 😛
I’d known all of the songs for forever, of course (Neil’s one of my faves <3), but I’d never known all the words to all the songs. And some of them came to me with new meaning, after having lived through so much since.
It wasn’t long before he’d memorized the songs and could even name which song was which number on the album.
We thought it was amazing.
But anything in excess can get, well, um — even though I feel like a bad mama admitting it — downright annoying … which is to say that we didn’t exactly mind when Atticus started to sway from his Neil Young obsession.
Anyway, as you can see, he didn’t turn away completely and has continued to fan the flame over the months. 😛
I remember seeing this 1956 film back in elementary school. I don’t remember which class, but I remember it was on a film projector, one of those old spooled and threaded machines that would clack-clack-clack when it was over and the tape ran out.
When I found it streaming on Neflix over Christmas break, I had to show it to Lucas and Atticus. They both were captivated by it for the whole time — quite a feat for a movie with virtually no dialogue.
They could sense that the little boy was lonely, that he needed a friend, and that the red balloon somehow knew this. <3
This is one of the songs we sing in church every week, except during Lent and Advent, the “Gloria.”
Four-year-old Attie’s been singing it for a while now, but it wasn’t until about the first week in March that he could get through the whole thing without any prompting. Since way before then, we’ve been hearing it at least 5-10 times a day, easy. When he’s building something or playing with his cars or superheroes, you can usually find him singing it. <3
Glory to God in the highest
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
Almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
You are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
I don’t think my mom has uploaded all of the Thanksgiving Day bluegrass jam with Kevin and his dad, Ryland, but she did post this video of me and Kevin that she shot after Ryland left…our version of “Georgia on My Mind”:
And the third installment of Kevin and Ryland’s bluegrass session: “Little Maggie,” “Dear Old Dixie,” “Leftover Biscuits,” and “Old Home Place.” Thanks to my mom, Nancye Ricketts, for editing and uploading the videos. 🙂
