I thought I heard the Voice of God

Once, when I was sound asleep, I thought I heard the Voice of God. It went something like this:

Him: “Wake UP!”

Me (still dreaming): “Huh? Who are you? God?”

Him: “Damnit, get up!”

Me, blurry-eyed, squinting, and looking up to see this:

 

He who turned out to be my dad: “You never had plans to sleep over at Carol’s house did you?”

Me: “Um, yes, but we got in a fight.”

Him: “I’m going to assume that you weren’t drinking and therefore feel well enough to do six hours of yardwork today as punishment for being sneaky and sleeping in the yard.”

Me: “Yes! Of course I wasn’t drinking!” 

That day in the 80’s:  Dad: 1. Me: 0.

The Voice of God can also be heard in amazing music. Music that moves us, makes us laugh, sigh, cry, feel, or remember fits the spiritual bill in my book. These days, for me, that music includes Metallica, Elton John, Nina Simone, Josh Ritter, The Avett Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, U2, and too many others to name. When music that speaks to my soul comes on, and I am alone in the car, I turn up the volume and am the woman that you laugh at when you pull up next to her at a red light.  But I’m okay with that. It is, after all, pretty close to hearing the Voice of God.

When I hear the music that I love, I feel good. Like this:

The song “Go Limp” by Nina Simone also makes me super-happy. The version I have on my iPod is a live one and she’s so utterly charming in it. There’s a part when she forgets where she is, and another when she tells her audience “Such a funny song!” and laughs her throaty, smoky, awesome laugh.

I can’t find a video of it anywhere, but did find the lyrics to it:

Oh Daughter, dear Daughter
Take warning from me
And don’t you go marching
With the N-A-A-C-P
For they’ll rock you and roll you
And shove you into bed
And if they steal your nuclear secret
You’ll wish you were dead

(refrain:)
Singin too roo li, too roo li, too roo li ay
Singin too roo li, too roo li, too roo li ay

Oh Mother, dear Mother
No, I’m not afraid
For I’ll go on that march
And I’ll return a virgin maid
With a brick in my handbag
And a smile on my face
And barbed wire in my underwear
To shed off disgrace

(Refrain)

One day they were marching
A young man came by
With a beard on his cheek
And a gleam in his eye
And before she had time
To remember her brick…
They were holding a sit-down
On a nearby hay-rick

(Refrain)

For meeting is pleasure
And parting is pain
And if I have a great concert
Maybe I won’t have to sing those folk songs again
Oh Mother, dear Mother
I’m stiff and I’m sore
From sleeping three nights
On a hard classroom floor

(Refrain)

One day at the briefing
She’d heard a man say
“Go perfectly limp
And be carried away.”
So when this young man suggested
It was time she was kissed
She remembered her brief
And did not resist

(Refrain)

Oh Mother, dear Mother
No need for distress
For the young man has left me
His name and address
And if we win
Tho’ a baby there be
He won’t have to march
Like his da-da and me

What about you? What music makes you feel like you’re hearing the Voice of God?
This has been a Twisted Mixed Tape Tuesday post brought to you by my friend Jen Kehl, who is at a temporary home today while she fixes some hosting issues with My Skewed View. Visit her here, this week only. Next week, she’ll be back to regular programming.