What do the head of a cow and the Body of Christ have in common? And it’s not one of my trick questions. Except for the tricky part. And the tricky part is that the answer makes sense when you don’t translate the words.
But before I answer any trick questions, a little road story.
It was 1989. And my brother and I were playing music “on the road” for a couple of weeks. I’ll share where it was in just a bit. But first, we had a couple of quaint motel rooms, provided by our hosts, the people who booked us to play in their fair city.
And I had my Yamaha 4-track studio set up for some Motel Sessions.
I had been working on a song called “Drawn to You.” And I’d bounced some instrument tracks around (because, with only 4 tracks, you’ve gotta do that) to get a nice mix of percussion, brass, and rhythm. And the acoustics in the little room were “dead” enough to record some vocals.
So, with my new “love song” lyrics on the bed next to my makeshift studio, I set up my mic and hit the play/record button…
Maybe it’s your eyes. I don’t know.
It could be your walk. I’m not sure.
But you have a way of distracting my thoughts.
Would you be my drug? Would you be my cure?
And the motel session went well. So, after hours of mixing, re-mixing, bouncing, and ping-ponging tracks, I had my song. And I mixed me a stereo cassette version and went for a drive to listen to my finished product.
I drove next to the…wait a second.
Oh, wow. I almost answered one of my trick questions. Ha! You thought you had me there, for a second. Didn’t you?
OK, I’ll clear things up. The head of a cow I mentioned earlier is actually the translation of a Spanish explorer’s name. Cabeza de Vaca, in case you’ve forgotten your explorers from the 1400’s and 1500’s, spent years in “the Americas,” including what is now the southwest United States area.
And, by many accounts, he probably passed through Corpus Christi, Texas. Of course, it wasn’t Texas at the time. But the bay area had already been named Corpus Christi (which translates to Body of Christ in English) by Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, in 1519. Pineda called it that because he arrived right around the day of the religious Feast of Corpus Christi.
So, see? It all makes sense now.
The head of a cow and the Body of Christ are connected in a city in Texas. And I also have a musical connection to that city. Plus, I eventually re-worked Drawn To You into a song that focuses on God instead of a girl.
And THAT version of Drawn to You is part of the collection of songs in the Amen Songbook Journal. Get your own copy on Amazon and use it write down your own road stories. Or lyrics. Or whatever. And there’s a secret link in the songbook to download all the songs to go with the lyrics.
Did I mention those songs don’t cost any extra? Well, I just did. So, go get ’em today. And I promise, no more trick questions…this week.
I’m drawn to You
Like a June-bug to the light.
I’m drawn to You
Like a boxer to the fight.
I’m drawn to You
Like a sweet tooth and ice cream,
And it may all sound extreme,
But I’m drawn to You.
© 1986-2000
Stay tuned,
