Dear Kiantha: Music can be a salve in tough times

Dear Kiantha,

Music has always been my go-to for solace. I was wondering if you enjoy music and if so, could you share some of your favorites?

Dear Friend,

There have been times when music has literally saved my life. Some of my lowest moments when there was no one there, the lyrics and melodies of songs held me in moments of despair. I have songs in many genres that I would like to share with you and encourage you to check them out.

When my heart is feeling heavy, gospel music is my go-to as I lean on my faith and all that it promises to bring me to a better understanding of whatever I might be dealing with in the moment.

One song that helps me is “My Soul’s Been Anchored,” by Douglas Miller:

Though the storms they keep on raging in my life,

and sometimes it’s hard to tell the night from day.

There’s a hope that lies beyond the distant shore,

as I keep my eyes focused on the Lord,

I know he’ll lead me safely to

that blessed place He has prepared.

But if the storm don’t cease

and if the wind keeps blowing in my life

my soul has been anchored in the Lord

There are always moments that call for a strong woman anthem and depending on the moment I have several favorites. But my all-time favorite reminds me that this world relies on the power of women is a little ditty made famous in 2002 by an unlikely soul-tingling collaboration between Luciano Pavarotti and James Brown, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”:

You see, man made the cars

to take us over the road,

man made the trains,

to carry heavy loads.

Man made electric lights,

to take us out of the dark,

and man made the boat for the water,

like my Bible says Noah made the ark.

This is a man’s world,

but it wouldn’t be nothing, nothing, nothing

without a woman or a girl.

Man thinks about a little bitty baby girl

and a baby boy.

Man makes them happy

because man makes them toys.

And after man made all the things he can

man makes liras, pesos, dollars, rupees

to buy for every good woman and every man.

This is a man’s world,

but it wouldn’t be nothing,

without a woman or a girl.

As a woman, when I feel undervalued or underappreciated, I play this song and I am reminded that there is nothing in existence that we women did not help bring into existence.

Music literally is life-giving.

Soul to soul,

Kiantha

Dear Kiantha can be read Fridays in The Spokesman-Review. To submit a question, ema il DearKiantha@gmail.com.