大象传媒

Good Morning. Buddy Holly鈥檚 death in a plane crash, aged just 22 on this day in 1959, was the inspiration behind, Don Mclean鈥檚 iconic song 鈥淎merican Pie.鈥澛� He described it as 鈥渢he day the music died鈥� expressing the sharp pain and tragedy of that particular loss:聽

It鈥檚 fascinating to me how we can feel a surprising connection with celebrities, even though their real lives may be remote from our own. Sadness and loss at the news of their death can somehow resonate with our own experiences of grief or failure. At the time of his death, Buddy Holly was a rising star who鈥檇 achieved an amazing amount in a very short career. Many must have been left wondering what more he would have accomplished if he鈥檇 lived on.聽

But of course the music didn鈥檛 die and Buddy Holly鈥檚 legacy has continued to inspire succeeding generations of musicians and music lovers. His life was, far too short; but look at what he gave to the world.聽 And the way in which his music has lived on, perhaps points to a mystery often discovered in music which can have an immense power to reach across the ages and beyond boundaries.

I think it鈥檚 no accident that many of those who鈥檝e tried to describe eternity, over the centuries have spoken of music as God鈥檚 gift or as the language of heaven. There鈥檚 the hope in this imagery that we鈥檙e surrounded not just by a multitude of memories but by what the Bible describes as 鈥渁 great cloud of witnesses鈥� 鈥� those who somewhere, beyond this world, still point to a music that continues and a hope that never ends.

Lover of souls, you hear all our desires and the songs and laments of every heart. Be present to all who are sad or grieving today and fill each of us with the hope, peace and harmony of ever-lasting love. Amen.