Last Thursday morning, I was meeting my friend, Moon, at a local coffee shop. On the drive there, I was sitting at a red light when a song I hadn’t heard before, came on the radio.
The melody of a piano sounded through the speakers. And then a gorgeous, soprano voice that didn’t take me long to recognize – Carrie Underwood.
Unexpectedly, a male voice joined her, in harmony that was hauntingly beautiful. Falsetto notes that glided down to lower ranges and back up again. Hallelujahs. A Christmas song.
I couldn’t place his voice and relied on the screen on the console to tell me. John Legend. Now I recognized it. My ears perked up even more.
The traffic light turned green and as I continued the drive, I tried not to close my eyes. Their voices blended together, with lyrics that poured out love, moved me in a way that hadn’t happened in a long time. Tears started to swell.
Oooooh, let there be peace on earth.
Let the lonely join together, let them know their worth.
Oooooh, let the children know there's a brighter day ahead, let's hold on to hope.
The song ended, though I wished it to linger a while longer. I made a mental note to look up when it was released (turns out it was November, 2020). And a few minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot, where Moon met me at my car door.
“I just heard an incredible song,” I said, shutting the door behind me. “You know that phrase, when something ‘takes you to church’?”
She nodded over and said, “Literally!”
I turned my head. There was a sign, belonging to the church that runs the for-benefit coffee shop.
“Oh, yeah,” I said, and we laughed, together.
Called “Hallelujah”, here’s the song if you’d like to listen to it, now.
