Posted 12:43 am Saturday, August 29, 2009
You Never Know What's Going To Happen Next
If you think living in East Texas somewhere deep in the Piney Woods means no one will see or ever notice you, please consider the cases of 19-year-olds Peyton Neill and Emma Ramsey.
Peyton, a resident of metropolitan Ben Wheeler -- a place "with maybe 500 people," he estimated -- said he'd seen the advertisement for the Song of Faith amateur songwriting contest and wrestled with God if he should enter.
Peyton described his thought process as, "I don't know. Yeah, this would be cool, but I'm not sure," and "What if the song is no good?" and "But maybe OK, no. I'm OK with not doing it, God. I don't need to do it."
That's when the phone rang, he said.
"It was my grandmother and she said I had to do it. I had to enter the contest. I laughed and said to please her, I would."
"It was my grandmother and she said I had to do it. I had to enter the contest. I laughed and said to please her, I would."
He wasn't laughing later, when he sat in the Tyler Morning Telegraph newsroom on Thursday and listened to the comments Double-Platinum-winning songwriter Gregory Swint made about his song "I Am Safe." Peyton was "walking on air."
Among other things, Swint said that the "heart-felt" song spoke to him of Neill's "obvious relationship with God."
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"I loved the sound of 'I Am Safe,'" said the man who'd made sound turn to gold (records).
Neill seemed pretty stunned as he sat in his chair. His father had loved Swint's "Love A Little Stronger" sung by Diamond Rio and Peyton knew Swint's work as well.
"I'm just trying to hold it all in," he said grinning widely. "I'm walking on air right now."
Please meet Peyton Airwalker, the composer who wouldn't consider sending his song without a phone call.
And meet Emma Ramsey and her super-siblings Johanna, Sam and James while you're at it. Their story was even stranger. Way late for their photo session, I only had about eight minutes to talk with them before a scheduled phone call with Charlie Lowell, a founding member of Jars of Clay. Jars, if you don't know, is a multiple Grammy Award-winning folk-alternative-rock-crossover (whatever) group that has traveled the world and is coming to Longview Sept. 19. It is accurately described as "different."
"Sorry," I told Sam. "I have to cut this short to talk to a guy from Jars of Clay. Can you come back in an hour?"
"Oh?" said Sam. "We really like Jars of Clay. They've taken a path away from the usual Christian treadmill type of songs, especially their lyrics."
If anything is different about Emma Ramsey's song "Color Me," it's that her evocative lyrics and "spiritual metaphors," as she put it, are right in line with being "different."
"I'll tell Charlie you're fans," I said.
Charlie already knew the "Song of Faith" contest was happening.
Charlie already knew the "Song of Faith" contest was happening.
"Cool," he said. "Our own career was started by entering a local contest. We only had about three songs recorded, but we entered and amazingly, we won it. From there we were signed with a record label, and, well, here we are," he laughed.
A contest. A chance. A step. With only three songs.
"Well, Emma Ramsey's song would surely qualify as different," I laughed along.
"Hey, will you send it to me?" he said. "I'd like to play it for the guys," which surprised even me. No one could have planned this.
So when the kids came back, I asked politely, "Can I send Charlie 'Color Me?' He said he wanted to 'play it for the guys.'"
Their faces looked like they hadn't heard right.
"You mean, send it to Jars of Clay?" they finally asked, looking at each other for clarification. "Really?" And in a moment of time Emma Ramsey and her siblings went from living in Winnsboro where next to no one has noticed them, to living on the moon. I will cherish their looks for years to come.
These young artists could not have dreamed of being invited to send their song to performers they've really respected for years. I wonder how many young people in America would die to have that happen to them.
Honestly, little may appear to come from sending the song. Maybe Charlie will think it's an OK song and say "keep working" or maybe they'll be too busy to reply or maybe they'll think "Color Me" is great and say so. Who knows?
But the point is that the Ramseys hadn't the foggiest idea what was about to happen. Maybe that will encourage them to "step out" again. Peyton had no idea a songwriter he respected would encourage him. Just 24-hours earlier. both Emma and Peyton had no idea of what could, might and would be waiting for them, and neither do you. Take another look at what this really means.
Russell Wilson, who wrote one of my personal contest favorites, "Anabelle," told me he liked the Bible verse, "God causes all things to work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28). Amen.
