41. Epilogue: “Fly, Steady, Fly”
I’d committed to writing 40 stories about Dad leading up to the first anniversary of his death. This epilogue (#41) completes what has been a truly holy endeavor for me. Forty Steady Stories… Plus 1.
As I mentioned in last night’s post, my incredibly talented brothers, niece, and nephew are in a band together along with a friend, Andrew Berghold, called “We The Kingdom” (WTK) .
WTK had their first headline tour last spring. They weren’t scheduled to come to Charlotte, and immediately called Ed and Scott and asked him how we could make that happen. :) Long story short, they came on May 22 and played to a sold-out crowd. It was incredible. Plus, I got to hang out with my brothers and family before and after, and that’s always a great time for me no matter what we are doing.
At one point during the concert, they began to talk about being from Charlotte and the memories here in our hometown. They talked about Mom and Dad for a little bit. Then they did something that I just didn’t see coming or know about.
They’d written a song about Dad, and they played it. Neither Mom nor I knew that they’d written it, and although they’d been playing it at every concert before the one in Charlotte, it was the first time I’d heard it.
I’m not going to take the time to tell you all the details in the song — it speaks for itself — but I’ve put the lyrics below. If you’re from Charlotte, you’ll get a lot of the geographical references and landmarks. I will only say that Dad bought a small piece of property in Marvin, NC forty years ago that we called, “The Farm.” It was a special place for our family for 35 years before Dad sold it. We used to go down there on the weekends, and the picture I took for story #20 (“ƒ/8 and Be There”) was taken on that property. And finally, Dad used to love to take pictures of the solitary Great Blue Heron that seemed to be there every time we went.
Finally, I just want to say thanks for reading these stories. This endeavor has been far beyond my expectations in terms of the impact it’s had on my own life. I’m equally as grateful that readers have found value in the last forty-one days of stories about my dad.
Now…
Take 5 minutes and listen to this song. I didn’t record or post this on YouTube, but it’s the only version I’ve found online. This song hasn’t been recorded in the studio yet, so it’s the best I’ve got to share right now. It is extra-cool that this particular concert was on Father’s Day 2021. Wow.
This is five minutes in a song of a story that took seventy-eight years to write. That story’s name was my dad, Steady Cash.
We the Kingdom singing “Fly, Steady, Fly.” L to R: Andrew Berghold, Ed Cash, Franni Rae Cash Cain, Scott Cash, Martin Cash
“Fly, Steady, Fly” by We The Kingdom
We went walking yesterday
In the streets of Charlotte
Freedom park on an autumn day
Hand-in-hand with Barbara
Providence in a Chevy truck
Led us out to Marvin
A Great Blue Heron in a camera
I can hear you calling
It’s hard to say goodbye
The memories flood my mind
I’m gonna love you
for the rest of my life
I wish you could be here when I open eyes
Cause I miss you
Yeah, I miss you
I know I will see you on the other side
But it’s hard to say goodbye
The snow was falling in Blowing Rock
We were there for Christmas
Singing songs with the ones you love
What a way to finish
(Chorus)
Fly steady fly (repeat until…)
(Chorus)
