For Eric, Wherever I May Find Him

When my brother left for Amsterdam, I gave him a CD entitled, "Going Dutch."  I've been keeping up with him via his blog for all these years, and as he is moving back to the United States there have been times of anticipation and times of sadness for what will be left behind.  What, then, would be a fitting playlist for someone who is "going home" and "leaving home" at the same time?  I've really been into word-related playlists recently, so the themes of "home" and "America" will feature prominently, but I also want to somehow capture the sense of leaving something behind...something you've grown to love.

So Eric, I hope you get this before you get back Stateside.  I hope it helps in the closure/grieving/new beginnings process.

Sara Groves--"Going Home"

Sara Groves--"Painting Pictures of Egypt"
(Though this song speaks more to maturing in faith and the temptation of sin, it also speaks of the paradox of wanting to go/wanting to stay.)

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes--"Home"
(Just a great video, and an awesome song.  Like the next video, it is a good reminder that home is less where you are, and more who is there with you.)

Billy Joel--"You're My Home"

Foo Fighters--"Next Year"
(This song will be forever linked in my mind to the opening credits of the NBC sitcom, "Ed", in which a big-city boy returns home to his small-town Ohio roots.  Very apropos if you asked me.)

Simon and Garfunkel--"Homeward Bound"

The Muppets--"Saying Goodbye"
(Because, "Peoples is peoples"...and saying goodbye is never easy.)

The Muppets--"I'm Going to Go Back There Someday"
(I absolutely love this song.  For some reason, it has always spoken to me of heaven, a place that I seem to know in my heart, but have never been...and yet somehow long to return to.  But the former places in our lives, if they are God-ordained, are always places to which we can return.)

The Avett Brothers--"The Weight of Lies"
(Of all the many things for which I envy and admire my brother, it is his sound, Spirit-led decision-making that I long for the most.  Although I feel I've had to flee several places in my life, and therefore this song speaks harshly to me, I hope it will be a confirmation of the decision made, since he is "(running) to something and not away from because lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you anywhere.")

Neil Diamond--"America"
(Ha! Neil Diamond...)

Simon and Garfunkel--"America"
(This was a great opening for the angst-filled Cameron Crowe film, 'Almost Famous', when the daughter hands 'Bookends' to her mom and says, "Listen to this and you'll understand why I'm leaving."  I think it is the perfect conclusion to the playlist because it speaks of traveling and trying to find America, while at the same time feeling like you're looking for yourself or something you lost.  "'Kathy I'm lost' I said, though I knew she was sleeping. 'I'm empty and aching and I don't know why' may be one of my favorite lines in lyrical history.)


I wanted to do this long ago and give you time to listen to it before you left (sorry!), but I hope you enjoy it, brother, and I'm excited to have you back (relatively) close.  I love you!