A Song for Good Friday

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith from a place of winter For the Years of Winter…

Jack Newsome and I were sitting around one night with Will Campbell and Doug Marlette. There were about 30 of us, in an easy-chair sort of room. Will picked up his guitar and began to sing…

"I guess you know Jethro went crazy, we’ve all been crazy sometimes
They fixed up his lungs and his fever, but they could not fix up his mind
He married a beautiful woman, of women they say she’s a pearl
She gave her heart to Jethro, and her body to the whole damn world."

Jack and I were at a conference at Lake Junaluska, NC. Doug was a Pulitzer Prize editorial cartoonist. Will never won any prizes for his career as a totally committed grace-full civil rights activist, but he should have. Doug was also a novelist and drew the comic strip Kudzu, which featured a preacher, Will B. Dunn, who looked and dressed just like Will D. Campbell, who went on strumming and singing…

"Well Jethro had someone to talk to, they were monsters and little green men
He never talked to his woman, naw, he spent all his time with his friends
In the evenings she’d drive off and leave him, she’d toss back her long pretty curls,
She gave her heart to Jethro, and her body to the whole damn world."

Doug stepped up to a big pad of paper on an easel and began to sketch out pictures of Jethro and his wife as Will continued to sing…

"Some friends came and begged her to leave him, said “Jethro belongs in a home.”
She said, “My heart is Jethro’s, but my God-given body is my own.”
Now some of her lovers were strangers, she gave everybody a whirl.
She gave her heart to Jethro, and her body to the whole damn world."

Will went to Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, which also produced Wally Amos Criswell, the long-time pastor of First Baptist in Dallas, who was as opposed to rights for black folks in the 1950s and 60s as Will was committed to them. But Will wasn’t just committed to black folks. He was committed to grace for EVERYBODY, and took a lot of criticism for becoming pastor to the KKK at the same time he was working for an end to racial segregation for the National Council of Churches. “Mr. Jesus died for the bigots, too,” he said. [2] He used to sit around with the KKK and strum his guitar and sing, the way he was doing for us…

"I know some will condemn me for writing this song of a man and his wife
A man’s not writing if he can’t relate all the things he sees in his life [3]
I know some will condemn me for cursin, but much can be said for this girl
Who gave her heart to ol’ Jethro, and her body to the whole damn world."

You see, Jethro’s wife was the night nurse in the ER. Jethro couldn’t understand that love was not a possession, but a gift to be given to the whole world, which is indeed damned until the gift is given.

I love "Were You There," but I think this is the best of all Good Friday songs. Maybe I’ll call Jack this Friday, and we’ll sing about ol’ Jethro…

JRMcF

The song is by Tom T. Hall

1] Doug was a southern boy, like Will, and along with the Red Clay Ramblers turned Kudzu into a musical. He died in a car accident in Mississippi when he was only 58. Helen and I saw the Red Clay Ramblers, as part of "Fool Moon," the Broadway production featuring Bill Irwin and David Shiner, the amazing and wonderful "new circus" performers. We were in NYC to record the audio version of my NOW THAT I HAVE CANCER I AM WHOLE…

2] Will is the author of 18 books.

3] This line goes out especially to all my writing friends.

***
The “place of winter” mentioned in the title line is Iron Mountain, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where life is defined by winter even in the summer!

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