11 – To Be What You Must – Yusuf Islam – 2009

 To Be What You Must - Yusuf Islam

            This song brings out the sappy in me. It begins with the piano opening to “Sitting” from Catch Bull at Four, then becomes a beautiful little song with lyrics that could be called obvious, but to my ear, anyway, are profound.

Also, I’m a sucker for a children’s choir.

In the first verse, he sings (and 30 years on, his voice still moves me),

“I have journeyed endless miles
Seen many harbors,
Where I took rest awhile
On this boat called 'near & far',
To be what you must,
You must give up what you are”

            Then, after a short bridge, the choir comes in, little by little, on the verse:

“Be you dust; or be you star
To be what you must
Just reach out for what you are…”

Then, as the choir comes in fully, the line that gets me every time:

“And though you've traveled many roads
There's but one way, and that's the one you chose”

            Maybe because it explains my life choices; I went to college, got a BA in History, went on to Grad school, got an MA, went to Law school, hated it, and when all is said and done, I’m still making circuit boards, where I was before I started down the education road.
           
           I wouldn’t give up any of the experience of school, especially Blackburn College and the friends I made there. Had I not left law school and, ultimately, returned to Accutronics, I would not have remained in contact with Ron L., who fixed me up on the blind date that resulted in my meeting my wife, Lynn. Without Lynn in my life the last 23+ years, my life would surely have been less interesting (and a lot less fun).

            What I’m saying, I guess, is that I wouldn’t have done things any differently in my personal life, though the 23+ years have been a roller coaster professionally, what with 10 of the 16 companies I worked for out of business. That seems to be more of a reflection of manufacturing in the US.

I sometimes feel a little like Slim Pickens, riding the H-bomb (labeled “American Mfg”) waving my cowboy hat and “Wahoooing!” down to oblivion. (I can still remember my Uncle George, acting out that penultimate scene from “Dr. Strangelove” in 1964, for my parents. I was 9 years old and it terrified me, we were still doing “Duck and Cover” at school, but I couldn’t wait to see it. It was several years before it came to TV, but even on TV it packed a wallop. It’s still a favorite of mine).

            Had I been planning better in college, I would have pursued a teaching certificate in History, I think I’d have made a good teacher, maybe a little pedantic. Instead, I was shooting for Law school as an undergraduate (I was going to be a Nader's Raider) and when I couldn’t get in, fell into Grad School, and eventually fell back to Accutronics and Mr. Mortimer, who was always there for me, and I’ll never forget that. (see Post # 3 for further discussion)

            What never fails to get me all misty-eyed as I sing along with this song (and I can’t sing it out loud, ‘cause I always choke up) is the thought that had I not chosen this road, my son and daughter would have been adopted by other families and I can’t bear the thought that I would never have had the chance to be a part of their lives, to see them change and grow up.