Sunday February 24th, one of our brothers went home to spend eternity with the King. If you don't know who Larry Norman was or what he means to modern Christian music, you should. Larry was one of the first, if not the first, to be inspired to write Christian Lyrics for his Rock and Roll songs. Way back in the late 60's in San Francisco, he and Randy Stonehill started playing the kind of music the hippies understood but with a message of hope, redemption, and love. One of his best songs was called The Outlaw:
Some say He was a outlaw That He roamed accross the land With a band of unschooled ruffians and a few old fishermen No one knew just were He came from, or exactly what He'd done But they said it must be something bad that kept Him on the run
Some say He was a poet That He'd stand upon a hill That His voice could calm an angry crowd or make the waves stand still That He spoke in many parables that few could understand But the people sat for hours just to listen to this man
Some say He was a sorcerer A man of mystery He could walk upon the water and make a blind man see That He conjured wine at weddings and did tricks with fish and bread That He talked of being born again and raised people from the dead
Some say a politician That He spoke of being free He was followed by the masses by the shores of Galilee He spoke out against corruption and bowed to no decree And they feared His strength and power so they nailed Him to a tree
Some say he was the Son of God A man above all men But he Came to be a servant and set us free from sin And that's who I believe He was, 'case that's what I believe And I think we should get ready cause it's almost time to leave
So when we are playing our drums, bass, guitars, and singing in keys and tones that is very natural for us, but not so much 40 years ago, let's thank God for His servant Larry. Larry's brother Charlie took down Larry's last words before he died yesterday morning:
"I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.
My brother Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and finance and we will probably still need financial help.
My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside. But still it will be costly because of funeral arrangement, transportation to the gravesite, entombment, coordination, legal papers etc. However money is not really what I need, I want to say I love you. I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be a funeral posted here on the website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.
Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again Somewhere beyond the sky. I pray that you will stay with God Goodbye, my friends, goodbye. Larry"
Thanks for indulging me. I am very sad because I will miss Larry. But I also celebrate his entry into eternity. If you do not own Larry's Trilogy of Only Visiting This Planet, So Long Ago the Garden, and In Another Land, I can say without hesitatio n they are monuments in Christian music. I was saved to Phil Keaggy song, "Rejoice". But it was the Trilogy that helped me understand what it meant to be a Christian.
You can order the Trilogy here. If you have a few extra bucks to spend, you will not be disappointed.
One last quote from Larry's song "Reader's Digest":
"This world's a mess I wonder who began it Don't ask me I'm only visiting this planet"
Not a lot of us remember or ever knew Larry......too bad cuz he did it without a patern to follw...in fact he made the pattern that we all follow ,as Christian musicians and artists..Godspeed Larry Norman...see ya soon!!!
| My Profile
Larry Norman blog
