Every day from now until Spring, I will play a song from each year from 1940-2020. I’ll also write a little bit about the song and why I chose it to represent that year.
I like to think I’m fairly good with words. But I am left bereft of speech when I try to describe just how wondrously divine Patsy Cline’s voice was. Even now 58 years after her death, her voice seems to just reach out beyond the recordings and caresses your heart. The ache in her voice, the raw honesty, and the nuanced phrasing of her delivery are unparalleled to this day. No one will ever sing like her.
Patsy Cline’s tenure on this earth was brief. It’s almost like God said to her before she was born “Patsy, Darlin, People on earth are hurting and they feel like no one knows their pain. I’m going to give you this gift to give them. When you sing people will feel what you feel and more importantly, when their heart hurts, they will hear your voice and realize that they aren’t so alone after all. And when you’re done I’ll call you back home so maybe people will realize how precious and rare this gift really is.”
Alright, that was a little maudlin perhaps. But it’s hard to describe the ineffable. I’m not certain I know what it is about Patsy Cline’s voice that moves my heart and gives me goosebumps the size of grapefruit. But it does, boy howdy, it does.
