by Gary Powell
There is evidence in Aristotle’s writing that he didn’t have much use for “habit”. Finding the best use for our individual nature hardly has any place for habit. We are habituated and institutionalized across almost every thought and behaviour. Aristotle insists our highest good, our virtuous activity, is not something that comes to us by chance. The “pattern of the possible is preferred above the rule” is a lyric in this show which echoes Aristotle’s precept about the personal responsibility of creating our own lives and living well.
This song, “A Boy Has Been Born”, was written one year before my epiphanal conversation with Ralph Person about Aristotelian philosophy and its direct effect on our lives. The charge to myself was to create a lyric that would elucidate the birth of the Christ from a personal and very interpretive perspective without regard to the burden of understanding. This is the song of an individual, who on the eve of disintegration from the long battle, experiences grace which had been long forgotten. This is no song of mysticism. It’s the plain and simple truth from experience which holds both the gift and the burden from having lived an examined life.
The poster illustration was created especially for this lyric
by Austin artist, Nadyne Wood.
All Content Other than Song Lyrics on Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
A Boy Has Been Born
Verse 1
What’s to come from this day?
The first day in a while
I feel within there is hope
And within, without guile
Something surely is different
Someone’s lifting the yoke
Somehow I will be changed
Someplace I’ll lose my cloak
Verse 2
I’ve been lost in the scurry
I’ve been launched with no fuel
I’ve been loved in a hurry
And I’ve bled from the duel
So, from where does this come?
False respite, no doubt
What’s birthing inside me? Breathe in
What’s birthing inside me? Breathe out
What’s birthing inside me?
Breathe in and breathe out
Chorus 1
A boy has been born
I can feel him again
A boy has been born
Where has he been?
I believed in his absence
That from what I’ve been through
That each dawn I’ll awaken
Presence further askew
Each moment’s been filled
With a new loss to mourn
But life has just spoken
An offer, a token
A boy has been born
Verse 3
I’ve given up ground
I’ve given in to untruth
My courage has flagged
Weakened sorely from youth
And whether or not
The path chosen was right
The rightness was priced
By confusion contrite
Verse 4
To the East and West
My heart’s been around
I’ve worn my best efforts
Right down to the ground
So, from where does this come?
False respite, no doubt
What’s birthing inside me?
Breathe in and breathe out
Chorus 2
A boy has been born
I can feel him again
A boy has been born
Where has he been?
I believed in his absence
That from what I’ve been through
That each dawn I’ll awaken
Presence further askew
Each moment’s been filled
With a new loss to mourn
But life has just spoken
An offer, a token
A boy has been born
Verse 5
Help was easily gifted
When I never did ask
But gifts are elusive
When blocked by the mask
Of all that each see through
Lending peace, making war
And all of us long for
A soulful rapport
Verse 6
What folly to think
That we must believe
In something that gifted
When freely received
So now at the juncture
A respite, a breath
A place to renew
A respite from death
Chorus 3
A boy has been born
I can feel him again
A boy has been born
Where has he been?
I believed in his absence
That from what I’ve been through
That each dawn I’ll awaken
Presence further askew
Each moment’s been filled
With a new loss to mourn
But life has just spoken
An offer, a token
A boy has been born
(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)
by Gary Powell
There is evidence in Aristotle’s writing that he didn’t have much use for “habit”. Finding the best use for our individual nature hardly has any place for habit. We are habituated and institutionalized across almost every thought and behaviour. Aristotle insists our highest good, our virtuous activity, is not something that comes to us by chance. The “pattern of the possible is preferred above the rule” is a lyric in this show which echoes Aristotle’s precept about the personal responsibility of creating our own lives and living well.
This song, “A Boy Has Been Born”, was written one year before my epiphanal conversation with Ralph Person about Aristotelian philosophy and its direct effect on our lives. The charge to myself was to create a lyric that would elucidate the birth of the Christ from a personal and very interpretive perspective without regard to the burden of understanding. This is the song of an individual, who on the eve of disintegration from the long battle, experiences grace which had been long forgotten. This is no song of mysticism. It’s the plain and simple truth from experience which holds both the gift and the burden from having lived an examined life.
The poster illustration was created especially for this lyric
by Austin artist, Nadyne Wood.
All Content Other than Song Lyrics on Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
A Boy Has Been Born
Verse 1
What’s to come from this day?
The first day in a while
I feel within there is hope
And within, without guile
Something surely is different
Someone’s lifting the yoke
Somehow I will be changed
Someplace I’ll lose my cloak
Verse 2
I’ve been lost in the scurry
I’ve been launched with no fuel
I’ve been loved in a hurry
And I’ve bled from the duel
So, from where does this come?
False respite, no doubt
What’s birthing inside me? Breathe in
What’s birthing inside me? Breathe out
What’s birthing inside me?
Breathe in and breathe out
Chorus 1
A boy has been born
I can feel him again
A boy has been born
Where has he been?
I believed in his absence
That from what I’ve been through
That each dawn I’ll awaken
Presence further askew
Each moment’s been filled
With a new loss to mourn
But life has just spoken
An offer, a token
A boy has been born
Verse 3
I’ve given up ground
I’ve given in to untruth
My courage has flagged
Weakened sorely from youth
And whether or not
The path chosen was right
The rightness was priced
By confusion contrite
Verse 4
To the East and West
My heart’s been around
I’ve worn my best efforts
Right down to the ground
So, from where does this come?
False respite, no doubt
What’s birthing inside me?
Breathe in and breathe out
Chorus 2
A boy has been born
I can feel him again
A boy has been born
Where has he been?
I believed in his absence
That from what I’ve been through
That each dawn I’ll awaken
Presence further askew
Each moment’s been filled
With a new loss to mourn
But life has just spoken
An offer, a token
A boy has been born
Verse 5
Help was easily gifted
When I never did ask
But gifts are elusive
When blocked by the mask
Of all that each see through
Lending peace, making war
And all of us long for
A soulful rapport
Verse 6
What folly to think
That we must believe
In something that gifted
When freely received
So now at the juncture
A respite, a breath
A place to renew
A respite from death
Chorus 3
A boy has been born
I can feel him again
A boy has been born
Where has he been?
I believed in his absence
That from what I’ve been through
That each dawn I’ll awaken
Presence further askew
Each moment’s been filled
With a new loss to mourn
But life has just spoken
An offer, a token
A boy has been born
(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)
Very subtle, yet catches the feeling of Jesus’s spirit in his birth, though I’m not a Christian.
Good lyrics. I really like “the pattern of the possible is preferred above the rule”.