Viva il Papa

Pope Francis visited the United States last week, attending events in Washington D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia.  Thus did faith (generally) and Catholicism (specifically) become the top news story of the week.

As a Catholic, I viewed the media attention the pope received with mixed feelings.  To be sure, the fact that the host cities were in the major east coast media markets made a difference.  Plus, there is definitely more excitement about having a likable, more open-minded, quasi-celebrity leading the church.  But why are the messages of hope and compassion given so much more attention when delivered by the pope in person, as opposed to any other time?

I especially loved how our federal politicians over-compensated, giving Francis time to speak at the White House and to a joint meeting of Congress.  There’s a basic cynicism to that, given how most of them aren’t practicing Catholics, but knowing how crucial it might be for voters to see them with the pope.

On the other hand, it was understandable how some devout Catholics considered the pontiff’s visit to be a spiritual, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see him in person.  I wish there’d have been a way for them to get more exclusivity, they deserved it.  For those not-so-devout Catholics and others, I was left to wonder if seeing the pope in person constituted a faith/life-changing event, or just a chance to see a celebrity.

In the end, the pope’s visit to America made for a generally uplifting week.  Given the past scandals and unappealing social conservatism of the Catholic Church, it’s encouraging to see so many people enthused by Pope Francis.  The church – the world – needs more of him, and more like him.

Best Song Lyrics (Part XVII)

It shames me to realize that in my previous XVI installments about song lyrics, I've listed only caucasian song writers.  A politically incorrect and embarrassing oversight that I will now fix.

There are plenty of great non-white songwriters out there, and today you'll find most of them in the hip-hop genre.  We are definitely not going down that road though -- hip-hop (or 'rap' as it was called when I started this blog) is one of the main reasons I complained about the loss of meaningful lyrics in the first place.

If you go back farther, though, way back, you find Smokey Robinson.  With his backup group The Miracles, he wrote or co-wrote all kinds of hit songs, including The Tracks of My Tears and I Second That Emotion.  He also wrote the famous My Girl for The Temptations.

You could go to any of those songs for an example, but I'll go with the subtle sadness found in the first part of The Tracks of My Tears:

People say I'm the life of the party
Because I tell a joke or two
Although I might be laughing loud and hearty
Deep inside I'm blue

So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer, it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears

Since you left me if you see me with another girl
Seeming like I'm having fun
Although she may be cute, she's just a substitute
Because you're the permanent one

So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer, it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears