You are probably familiar with the song “My Way,” written by Canadian Paul Anka for, and immortalized by, Frank Sinatra. What you probably don’t know is that it started out as “Comme d’habitude.” (As usual) It was a big hit in France for performer Claude François well before Paul Anka heard it. When he heard it he liked the melody and secured permission from Claude François to write new words for it. The rest, as they say, is history. Frank Sinatra recorded the English version, and it has been a top seller ever since.
It’s a pretty neat story that illustrates the versatility of music and language. There is nothing about the melody for “Comme d’habitude/My Way” that identifies it as French or English. An Italian, German or Chinese writer could just as easily write words to fit the tune. At the same time, there is nothing in either “Comme d’habitude” or “My Way” peculiar to their shared melody. OK, I admit that the lyrics are written to fit the poetic rhythm (metre) of the tune, but you could fit other songs to those lyrics as well. It is only circumstance that united those words with that combination of notes.
I like to think of human beings as individual tunes and the things we do as the lyrics. Our unique melody is the basis of who we are; it is complex and varied and sometimes changes a bit with time. It is no one else’s but our own, making us easily and readily identifiable.
The things we do are the lyrics to our melody. Just like two completely different sets of words fit the tune originally written by Claude François, we can do a lot of different things with the assorted physical, mental and spiritual gifts that make up our unique tune. At the same time, different folks with their different melodies can also do similar things to what we do, but they will come out slightly differently, because their tune is not our tune.
The result is a wonderful bunch of living songs being sung together throughout the world, all at the same time. Sometimes those songs go well together, resulting in a beautiful sound that pleases both the ear and the soul. Sometimes the songs clash with each other and cause more pain than good. Yet there is something amazing even in those clashes, if we are open to trying to figure out how to tune into one another gracefully, peaceably and fairly in order to create a beautiful, harmonious sound.
As a person of faith, I believe that my unique contribution to this harmony is directed first and foremost to God. I try to sing the unique song that is me and the things I do in a way that pleases the One that gave me my unique melody. God is the one who sings the melody that we are. He is the one that gives voice to our lives yet even though we are His song, He lets us fit in our own words, our actions that is, in our own way. It is my goal to make my actions fit the melody God creates through me in a way that is indeed pleasant to the ear and harmonious to His ears. I invite you to let your lives sing to Him as well, so that we might fill all creation with a beautiful, God ordained symphony of unique songs.
It’s a pretty neat story that illustrates the versatility of music and language. There is nothing about the melody for “Comme d’habitude/My Way” that identifies it as French or English. An Italian, German or Chinese writer could just as easily write words to fit the tune. At the same time, there is nothing in either “Comme d’habitude” or “My Way” peculiar to their shared melody. OK, I admit that the lyrics are written to fit the poetic rhythm (metre) of the tune, but you could fit other songs to those lyrics as well. It is only circumstance that united those words with that combination of notes.
I like to think of human beings as individual tunes and the things we do as the lyrics. Our unique melody is the basis of who we are; it is complex and varied and sometimes changes a bit with time. It is no one else’s but our own, making us easily and readily identifiable.
The things we do are the lyrics to our melody. Just like two completely different sets of words fit the tune originally written by Claude François, we can do a lot of different things with the assorted physical, mental and spiritual gifts that make up our unique tune. At the same time, different folks with their different melodies can also do similar things to what we do, but they will come out slightly differently, because their tune is not our tune.
The result is a wonderful bunch of living songs being sung together throughout the world, all at the same time. Sometimes those songs go well together, resulting in a beautiful sound that pleases both the ear and the soul. Sometimes the songs clash with each other and cause more pain than good. Yet there is something amazing even in those clashes, if we are open to trying to figure out how to tune into one another gracefully, peaceably and fairly in order to create a beautiful, harmonious sound.
As a person of faith, I believe that my unique contribution to this harmony is directed first and foremost to God. I try to sing the unique song that is me and the things I do in a way that pleases the One that gave me my unique melody. God is the one who sings the melody that we are. He is the one that gives voice to our lives yet even though we are His song, He lets us fit in our own words, our actions that is, in our own way. It is my goal to make my actions fit the melody God creates through me in a way that is indeed pleasant to the ear and harmonious to His ears. I invite you to let your lives sing to Him as well, so that we might fill all creation with a beautiful, God ordained symphony of unique songs.
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