{"id":498,"date":"2014-01-08T07:00:46","date_gmt":"2014-01-08T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/?p=498"},"modified":"2013-12-18T16:07:53","modified_gmt":"2013-12-18T21:07:53","slug":"vds-feature-jailbird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/2014\/01\/vds-feature-jailbird\/","title":{"rendered":"VDS Feature: Jailbird"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although I am a published songwriter and music publisher with an SESAC affiliation, eventually the business of music on \u201cMusic Row\u201d offered more than I could endure. While I realize that my journey to Vanderbilt from 16th<\/sup> to 21st<\/sup> Avenue is one measured in a lifetime rather than any perceptions or illusions of success or failure, \u201cthe Row\u201d is now just a place where I park my vehicle. When a scheduling conflict and degree requirements compelled me to sign up for Dr. Perkins\u2019 course, \u201cSongwriting from a Theological Perspective,\u201d I had to contend with many issues from my not-so-distant past. During one of our classes, guest songwriter Mary Gauthier instructed us to \u201cwrite what you know\u201d and \u201ctell the listener what you see.\u201d I imagined having Mary Gauthier accompany me to my field education placement at a maximum-security correctional facility for men, i.e. a prison, looking for a perspective that would allow for truth-telling and truly seeing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>At the prison, one man was intrigued by the birds perched on his window sill. He pointed out many of the details about the birds. Finally, he said, \u201cI\u2019m just a jailbird.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIn fact,\u201d he continued, \u201cwe\u2019re all jailbirds in here, and we\u2019ve all decided that you\u2019re really one of us. There\u2019s something about you, Chaplain Brian. We know you\u2019re really a jailbird, too. You\u2019ve got some pain, Chap. Yep, you\u2019re a jailbird!\u201d
\nI wrote \u201cjailbird\u201d in my notebook, knowing exactly what my song idea would be for Dr. Perkins\u2019 class. On my way out of the compound, I noticed a mockingbird on the razor wire, red-winged blackbirds on the perimeter fence, and a large flock of turkeys nearby. All these birds provided the imagery for the first verse of my song about a jailbird.<\/p>\n

In truth, the song is about my life experience and the ministry of presence and listening\u2014of sharing in the struggle and pain of the cage, any cage, with men in prison. From Music Row to Death Row, my life has taken wing since making my way to Vanderbilt Divinity School. My work in the prison enables me to listen to what I see, and Dr. Perkins teaches songwriting from a theological perspective that compels us to tell what we see and to write what we know. I dedicate this song to Dave, to the men of Unit Seven, and to fellow jailbirds.<\/p>\n

\u201cJailbird\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mockingbirds on razor wire
\n<\/em>Carolina wrens in the window sill
\n<\/em>Red-winged blackbirds on the fence; fourteen turkeys out in the field
\n<\/em>My bird\u2019s-eye view of the birds I view is how I fly through time<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Numbered clothes and numbered days
\n<\/em>Doin\u2019 life for a paint-by-numbers crime
\n<\/em>A badge with keys keeps me in line, so I can live to do my time
\n<\/em>My bird\u2019s-eye view of the birds I view is how I fly through time<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a jailbird, a caged thing, a fallen soul \u2013 a broken wing
\n<\/em>I\u2019m a captive heart without a song, never seen or heard \u2013 Jailbird<\/em><\/p>\n

Brian Darnell, MDiv3<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although I am a published songwriter and music publisher with an SESAC affiliation, eventually the business of music on \u201cMusic Row\u201d offered more than I could endure. While I realize that my journey to Vanderbilt from 16th to 21st Avenue is one measured in a lifetime rather than any perceptions or illusions of success or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1576,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[161,31],"class_list":["post-498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feature","tag-music-row","tag-vanderbilt-divinity-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1576"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":518,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498\/revisions\/518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}