I recently heard Amy Grant’s new single entitled, “The 6th of January (Yasgur’s Farm)”  I felt some nostalgia, as the song took me back to the 60’s when I was just a new convert.  The song didn’t have a preachy tone, rather it was almost contemplative, causing older listeners to reflect on their story and the present narrative of in our nation.  It did not ask us to do anything, but rather to ponder what might have been lost.  The last phrase of the song, leaves us with a challenging question for our conflicted time.  “I look ahead and realize we’ve lost our way.”  

I identified with the song because Amy Grant was a contemporary Christian artist, who was a part of my spiritual journey.  She now is older, having endured some difficult times on her journey.  Anyone who grow up with Amy Grant and lived through “Woodstock” will immediately be taken down memory lane, reflecting on the culture of the 60’s and its affects on our day.  

Here are some of the lyrics.  The first verse: “Maybe it’s the time of year/ Or maybe it’s the time of man/ 60’s playlist and a beer/ I’m suddenly 16 again/ What’s the future hold in store/ What’s it hiding up its sleeve/ All that wide-eyed hope/ Were we so naive.”  This seems like a longing for the past and a questioning of what was once experienced.  For those of us who are older, our response  is tied to our memory of the “old days” while those who are younger can only wonder what is being communicated.

Here’s the chorus: “Hey mister where’s the road to Yasgur’s farm/ He stares at me with pity and alarm/ Says that crowd left here long ago/ Scattered all to hell and Harper’s Ferry/ On the 6th of January.” Yasgur’s farm was the site of “Woodstock (1969)” and the summer of love.  Harper’s Ferry is identified with the civil rights movement.  Of course, January 6th refers to the confusion regarding the protest in our nation’s capital.  

The second verse includes the following,”I’m shopping for some groceries/ Muzak piped in overhead/ They only play the melody/ I hear the words John Lennon said/ Asking me to imagine/ As I fight this cart with crooked wheels.”  The bridge to the song seems to leave us wondering; “And we’re driving home and the radio plays/ What’s going on – Marvin Gaye/ Is it right on red or left on MLK/ I look ahead and realize we’ve lost our way.” 

 From the Message we read in I John 1:3-4, “We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.  Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!” As a seasoned follower of Jesus, I share with my readers the joy of having communion with  the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, since before the “summer of love.”

When I listen to Amy Grant, I do not have regret, sorrow or any longing for the “old days.”  Jesus has carried my wife and I, as we raised our family, during those  turbulent times brought about by “the summer of love (1968). To those who are younger, wondering what Ms. Grant sings about, I say, “keep your eyes on Jesus,” He is “The Way.”  Yes, “imagine” Jesus.  He will see you through.  I am living proof of what  the Lord has done in one man and his family.  Keep looking to Jesus and a future with Him.