Matt Kennon - The Call

Sometimes it's the path not taken that's the important one.

There's nothing wrong with thinking, but sometimes there's no substitute for living - for experiences and wisdom won at great cost. The kind of wisdom that you'd rather not have, but wouldn't ever think of giving back.

Fortunately, there's a Country song for that, and Matt Kennon has given us one heck of an example. It's been said that the bane of Country music is that "sentimental" gets cranked up to "maudlin". Too much isn't "just enough", it's often too much. Unless the songwriter and performer rise above.

Kennon chose a topic popular in Nashville, the story of Redemption, of choosing the Right road when given the choice. Most of these efforts are horrible, maudlin failures. The difference here - when everything points towards (and even screams) "maudlin" - is that Kennon has walked the path himself. He has that uncomfortable wisdom, hard won, that a wise man wouldn't return:

Matt's birth mother, who already had another son, made a decision to have an abortion, but she arrived at her doctor's office 2 weeks too late and was told she had to carry the child (Matt) to full term. Matt's adoptive mother had the same doctor, and she was able to take him and give him a loving, stable home.

How does that effect a man who writes a song about teenage pregnancy? You'd expect depth, that takes a song amp'ed up to "maudlin" and turns it up to listen-to-this. You'd be right.



The Call (Songwriters: Matt Kennon, Jeremy Campbell, Noah Gordon)

Today was gonna be the day
He´d already wrote the note
And parked that Chevrolet
At the end of that dead end road
Had his finger on the trigger; just about to end everything
He was taking one last long breathe; when he heard his cell phone ring

And his best friends say man where you been?
We´re headed down to the lake this weekend
You better not miss it ´cause buddy I swear
It won´t be the same If you aint there
And i told that girl that you like so much
You were coming along and her eyes lit up
I better let you go man i really hope i didnt catch you in the middle of anything
He said you kinda did but i don´t mind at all
I´m glad you called

In another town down the road
In the backseat of a car
Two 18 year olds had let a kiss go to far
He said how are we gonna have this child
When were both headed off to school?
He convinced her late one night there´s only one thing to do
She was scared to death in that waiting room
When the nurse asked how far along are you
She said 5 weeks and just about then her phone lit up
And his call came in
Saying baby i was wrong about everything
I´ve already bought you a diamond ring we´ re gonna start a life
Would you be my wife
Boy or girl; pink or blue; yeah either way
All she could say as she felt those tear drops falls was
I´m so glad you called

If someone you know is weighing on your mind
And needs a friend on the end of that other line
Don´t hesitate what you say may seem so small
But who knows
They might be glad you called

So make the call

Yeah make that call

Am I my Brother's Keeper? Well, no. But each of us can make a difference, if we dare.