A SONG THAT CARES AND TOUCHES THE SOUL

Was in a jeepney when I heard this song, it sounded vaguely familiar, I knew it was an old song, asked the driver its title; he didn't have a clue, got off in front of a mall, went inside, went straight to an ATM, withdrew a small amount, went to the computer and cell phone floor, ogled a nice laptop and some high-end cellphones, all the while softly singing that melodic song, thought of upgrading my cell phone, Nokia 6500 seemed nice, realized it would devastate my lifetime savings, bought a few pieces of blank CD, went to Watsons, bought a box of Rogin-E and a bottle of vitamin C, got a text message, sent a reply, drank a smoothie, put the cup in a trash bin, went inside Booksale, bought a John Grisham book, went inside the supermarket, picked up a few cans of juice, a box of green tea, a box of biscuits, a few de latas, toothpaste, alcohol, etc, etc, still singing that song, went to the cashier, was shocked to see the amount, thought of returning some of the items but was embarrassed to do it, thought of bringing a box of pizza home, realized I got no more money left in my pocket for it, my ATM card was already tired and was begging for mercy to be left alone, went out of the mall, the song was still humming inside my head, reached home, went straight to my room, turned my PC on and searched for the song…

Eureka!

The song is He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother. It was very popular during the 70s and has a lot of versions but I think this 2001 version of Rufus Wainwright is very good. The song was inspired by an article wherein the writer narrated his encounter with a young guy he saw carrying a smaller kid.

“Pretty big load for such a small kid,” the writer told the gaunt kid.

“Why, mister,” the frail kid said, “he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.”


HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That lead us to who knows, who knows where
Who knows when
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

So on we go
His welfare is my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another.

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

He's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother