I heard this song during the winter of my first year at Penn State.  It was written and performed by British folk singer/songwriter John Dawson Read.  Check out his website: http://www.johndawsonread.com .  Find the song on his website and listen!  The soft-rock radio station in State College, Pennsylvania played it often.  The song haunted me.  Still does.  

“A friend of mine is going blind, but through the dimness, he sees so much better than me…He can’t read books       and he can’t paint pretty pictures,  but he understands so much clearer than I.  For he knows that all he’s missing with his eyes is more vivid in the mind of the man who’s going blind.  And that’s why he doesn’t mind.”

Who is the song about?  His name is Tommy Davidson, and he was going blind.  Despite John’s lyrics, I figure Tommy minded. 

That 1976 winter must have been a strange time in my life.  Why did this penetrating and sad song from an obscure  British songwriter get so much air time on a small town radio station in Pennsylvania in 1976?

The Song Was Too Sad To Play Again 

Here is the better question.  Why did I want to hear it so often?   I called the station over and over requesting the song.  One night I called so often they told me to stop calling.  The song was too sad to play again, they said.  Hmm.    

The melody is beautiful and clear.  Truth be known, the lyrics are not sad as much as they are wise.  Could it be I was drawn to the elusive wisdom of the song?  The songwriter tells the story of his close friend, Tommy, who is losing his physical sight yet continues to “see” better and more, and more clearly than others.  If you haven’t heard the song yet, listen by going to John’s site (above) to click on the link.

Do I See Or Understand?

There is a difference between seeing and understanding.  The power of this singular piece of wisdom must have overwhelmed me in 1976.  Still does. 

I did not have much of a theological mindset in 1976 but now I am able to wonder about the connection between John’s lyrics and a similar piece of wisdom from Jesus.  In Luke’s Gospel Jesus says to his disciples, ”To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others I speak in parables, so that looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand” (NRSV).  Apparently Jesus wanted more than a superficial reaction to his teaching.  So, he sometimes shared his wisdom in a veiled way, to make us dig a bit, think a bit, wonder a bit…and perhaps then understand.  

There is a difference between seeing and understanding.  Most of us see with our eyes, but few of us understand.

Of course I thought I understood everything in 1976.  I was nineteen.  C’mon, I knew everything, right?  I understood everything, right?  Truth is, that winter in 1976 I saw lots of  things but understood very little.  I can catalogue a long list of poor decisions I made in those days because I “saw” and only thought I understood the world and people around me.  

Looking Back Is A Good Thing

I’ve been thinking about my high school reunion scheduled for this summer.  I suppose it has revived these penetrating questions within me…looking back …wondering…asking tough questions about whether I only saw or truly understood the world around me. 

I’m going to miss the reunion, but I say “thanks” to the reunion organizers for reviving within me the memories – and the questions — about my life in the months following graduation. 

What did I see in 1976?  Not sure.  What did I understand?  A lot less.

© Copyright by Jeffrey Y. Harlow, PhD (2010)