Rachel Delevoryas

I was going to post this last month nearer to my father's birthday, but some difficulty with the music file caused it to be pushed to the back burner. I guess there's no harm in posting it now, though perhaps my segue won't work as well...

*ahem* So, my father's birthday happened.... recently.... *coughcough* and that started me thinking about his impact on my musical tastes. My father likes music that is different, music that will offer him something more than your general, cookie-cutter fare. To put it bluntly, he's a music snob {or at least 95% of the time he is}. This is just one of the many traits I inherited from him, though personally I believe mine to be much milder.
I really started thinking about it, though, and realized, if not for me possessing his genes, this blog might not be in existence. {!!!}


Some of my strongest childhood memories involve listening to music whilst riding in my dad's car. Mainly I remember Randy Stonehill and Michael W. Smith's Project (and in more recent years, Steve Taylor).

Today I'm posting the Randy Stonehill song 'Rachel Delevoryas'. I'm not sure what album it was that I knew this off of, it might have been a compilation. I do remember other memorable songs off that album, such as the humorous {yet true} 'American Fast Food' and 'Great Big Stupid World' {which my siblings and I enjoyed singing, firstly because it was fun and secondly because it contained the taboo word "stupid". Ha! Ha! Those were the good ol' days...} But my favourite was {and is} the beautiful 'Rachel Delevoryas' which tells the tale of an "ugly", misfit girl who plays the violin. The plaintive string arrangement and story stirred my heart as a little girl. Also, the fact that Rachel Delevoryas was, and is a real person and the lyrics tell a true story was doubly fascinating to me. Though I initially learned this from my father, here is a quote regarding the fact by Randy Stonehill himself. {Quote found here.}

"This is a true story from my childhood. The first time I sang the song Rachel Delevoryas in public I was completely unaware that Rachel's sister was in the audience. Later that year Rachel surprised me by coming back stage after one of my concerts. I had the opportunity to share my faith with her. After she left I thought to myself: "Boy, talk about God setting someone up... what a personal savior we serve!" Reality is stranger and far more wonderful than fiction."

Listen:


{As I mentioned, I had some struggle with the music file, but YouTube came to the rescue!}