Rock in the Rapids
Of all my songs this one holds a special place for me. It is undoubtedly one of the most technically difficult texts I’ve written in terms alliteration and rhyme. Every line is a sentence fragment in bimeter… only two accented syllables, each of which are alliterated and the second and fourth lines in a verse rhyme with each other. But the strict regularity of alliteration and rhyme point to the seeming predictability of life, which is so deceptive. About the time you think you’ve got life figured out, something totally unexpected happens to throw you out of balance and remind you that you’re not in control. That’s the way it was in the story I tell with the lyric, which is a true story by the way:
On a spring day my good friend, Dan, and I headed to the mountains of North Carolina in his truck with a raft in the back. At the bottom end of the Chatooga river is a section of five class 5 rapids within just yards of each other called "Five Falls". (A class 6 rapid is a waterfall.) The river was swollen that day because of so much recent rain. After successfully maneuvering the first couple, we had to pull the raft out so we could scout “Jawbone” because the water was so high and wild, we didn’t dare try it blind. As we scouted it from the bottom end, suddenly our raft, having broken loose, came flying down the rapid with all our stuff bobbling and bouncing in it. When it reached the bottom it suddenly seemed to stop moving because there was a wide, quiet, glassy section of the river for about 100 yards before the next class 5. We were maybe 10 yards from the raft. Dan looked at me and I at him. We nodded our heads and jumped in. He was a little ahead of me as we swam for the raft. As he was just about to lay his hand on the raft, it suddenly shot away and there was the next rapid just a few yards in front of us. We hadn’t realized how fast the water had been moving, even though it seemed so still and peaceful. He managed to find a hidden rock a few feet beneath the surface of the water and had the sense to stand up on it, so his body couldn’t be swept by the water. I went zipping past him and managed to get my hands and feet on the cliff where the water was being funneled down into the next chute.
Obviously we made it out alive that day, but I will never forget the deceptive nature of the river that seemed so peaceful and still and yet had such uncontrollable power. So it is with life. Just when we think we’ve got it mastered, there in front of us is the next rapid. But there is a solid rock just beneath the surface that is invisible until you get your feet on it. A rock that can be trusted. A rock that you can stand on and find safety and solidity in the midst of the turbulent waters of life. Ask me and I’ll tell you more…