At our church home group last night we read a Psalm together, prayed for each other, and discussed ‘Freedom’ – the theme of Sunday morning’s church service. I finished the evening with three songs on my mind…
Ann mentioned ‘Don’t Fence Me In’:
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don’t fence me in
Let me ride through the wide-open country that I love
Don’t fence me in…
This 1934 Cole Porter song, originally sung by Roy Rogers is a cowboy song with pictures of freedom with wide‑open country, Western skies, moonlit ridges, and the longing to wander. ‘Don’t fence me in’ is repeated as a desire for space, breath, and freedom from worries, limits and troubles…
I always associate ‘My Way’ with Frank Sinatra:
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll make it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I am certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I’ve travelled each and every highway
And more, much more
I did it, I did it my way…
‘My Way’ looks back on the journey of a life, freedom to make your own decisions, living with successes and regrets. It’s about courage and resilience, accepting responsibility for choices. It’s about the freedom to be yourself, living life to the full.
Sunday’s service was about Israel coming from Egypt’s slavery to the freedom of Canaan’s ‘Promised Land’. It’s described in the old hymn:
Guide me, O thou great Redeemer,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand:
bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore,
Israel may have been free from Egypt’s slavery, but they still had problems, travelling through a barren desert…
Musing on… the idealist joyful freedom of ‘Don’t Fence Me In’… the strong, responsible freedom of ‘My Way’… and the dependent freedom that acknowledges my weakness and needs a ‘Great Redeemer’ to guide and feed me.
malcolmsmusings.org 