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Note #8307 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Music and metaphor
GA04016
June 27, 2004

Music and metaphor

Quaker troubadour's faith is foundation of his music and his life

by Vicki Fogel Mykles

RICHMOND, June 26 - "My mother raised her first-born to become a priest,"
John McCutcheon told a crowd of about 300 people at the Presbyterian
Peacemaking Dinner Saturday evening at Second Presbyterian Church here.
"Instead, I chose to become a choir director."

McCutcheon, an affable philosopher/troubadour, draws on his extensive
knowledge of traditional music to craft his modern folk music. Listeners
enter McCutcheon's his works through personal stories from his life, and exit
through his subtle transitions into current world issues. All of this is
threaded together with a running commentary - often humorous, sometimes sober
- on his experiences and attitudes.

While he jokes about his Catholic family of origin, his musical-social
-worker mother was the genesis of his penchants for both music and justice.
He was raised during the American Civil Rights era, cutting his teeth on
Martin Luther King Jr., Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan.

Early in his career, he focused on capturing the dying traditional music of
Appalachia. "I learned how community and culture are interwoven in
traditional music," he said after his hourlong concert.

Increasingly, as he wrote more of his own music, he wedded traditional music
forms with commentary on current events.

Now an active Quaker, McCutcheon says his faith and music don't just
intersect. "My faith is the foundation of my music, just as it is the
foundation of my politics, how I raise my children, and where I live and buy
my groceries," he said. "It informs me on every imaginable level." For
McCutcheon, peace issues are the common roots of world religions, and his
work reflects it.

The spiritual undertones of McCutcheon's music weren't lost on his listeners.
He talked and sang about the power of grass-roots movements to bring about
change, used an ant/giant metaphor to make a point about different
perspectives, and shared a story about growing children leaving home.

The Rev. Virginia Miner, of First Presbyterian Church in Peckville, OH, said:
"McCutcheon uses the power of music and metaphor to subtly say to us those
things that we would more blatantly argue about. He speaks across generations
and views, and gives us new perspectives."

Laura VanDale, of Lakewood, OH, felt encouraged that "someone else shares my
conviction for peacemaking." She said her children sing along to McCutcheon's
CDs.

"I'm not sure how much of the subtleties they are picking up right now, but
I'm pleased that they love his music," she said.

The Rev. Robert Elder, of Salem, OR, said McCutcheon's music "is a great
reminder that justice is not an option for civilized people."

McCutcheon ended his performance with an invitation for the audience to join
him in singing John Newton's famous hymn, "Amazing Grace."

"I've always wondered what was this 'amazing grace' he wrote about," he said.
"Newton's personal story was about being forgiven, and forgiveness is in
short supply in our world today. Perhaps this amazing grace is the small
amount of mercy we can offer to others."

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