Day 56 - Take me to the place

Take me to the place

(For Oscar Marzaroli 1933 – 1988)

Take me to the place where your heart hurts most

Lead me through the dark world gates down there

Where all the ghosts of sorrow and pain

And fear and despair stay hiding

And we'll walk right through to our own way, our own place

There's a beach that we walk so long and so broad

Oceans away miles longer than pain

In my glad dreams, I take you there, and it's easy

Because the work and the hours

And the pay are far behind our sure steps

My heart longs to be next to you

My heart want's to be there, be there with you

Where it's warm and tender and mercy flows like a river

And there you stand with your wide open hands

And say abide with me

Ricky Ross/Deacon Blue

Take Me to the Place lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

From the very first time I heard this song, when it was released in 1989, it became a firm favourite of mine. Not just because of its all too familiar tune, but its reworking of something so recognisable and traditional. I’ve seen Deacon Blue in concert many times over the years but have never heard them perform this song. Shame!

As I was thinking about this song I was trying to think what it reminded me of. There’s a vaguely Old Testament feel to it. From the “Lead me through the dark world gates down there” imagery of Psalm 23 to the Amos like words of “Where it's warm and tender and mercy flows like a river”.

Steve Stockman, a Presbyterian Minister from Belfast, writes a blog called Soul Surmise and back in 2013 he used this song as a focus for the Northern Ireland Day of Reflection. Pondering on this he wrote in his blog:

“I believe that one of the conduits for God’s comfort is lament. The Bible is full of it - angry, frustrated, painful. Songs of lament do something deep in our souls. They can drill to the nerve centre of our pain, somehow empathise, soothe and mysteriously be companions as we journey through dark days. Deacon Blue’s song Take Me To The Place is the most perfect catharsis song I have ever heard.

“It’s stunning poignancy in the yearning breaking vocals, the sorrowful stark piano, the words and the tune, opens doors to the soul and lets out the raw ripped up heart pain and lets in some healing holy balm and the daring and courageous almost alien thought of hopefulness and grace.”

Take a moment to listen to this song and feel some of that “hopefulness and grace” wash over you.

Neil Chappell