Back in 2011 my friend Glen Poston asked me if I would want to hear Glen Campbell in person! Poston explained that Sirius XM was running a promotion that he qualified for and that he ended up with two tickets to hear Campbell in a relatively small room at the Bridgestone Arena. Of course, I went. I estimated there were less than a hundred people in the crowd. This was after Campbell had gone public with his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. The concert was not all that long, but we did get to hear most of the songs that made Campbell famous. I don’t recall the exact way Campbell introduced the song that made my day, but I do recall him using the word “new.” Before the band started playing I thought to myself “New? This guy is suffering from dementia, and he is going to sing a new song?” It was called “A Better Place.” The song goes,
I’ve tried, and I have failed, Lord
I’ve won, and I have lost
I’ve lived, and I have loved, Lord
Sometimes at such a cost
One thing I know
The world’s been good to me
A better place -- awaits you’ll see
Some days I’m so confused, Lord
My past gets in my way
I need the ones I love, Lord
More and more each day
One thing I know
The world’s been good to me
A better place -- awaits you’ll see
It was hard to fight back the tears as I thought about how that song applied to a man who was slowly but steadily losing his memory. He was reflective enough to admit his failures in spite of his success as a singer. He sang of love and its cost. Could this be a reference to his failed marriages or just the hurt all of us both give and receive going through life? In spite of that negative note, he says in the chorus, “The world’s been good to me,” and he was looking forward to “a better place.” The second verse in a brief but poignant way captures the truth of how much he would need the love and support of family and friends. I thought of elderly members of my church who were over wrought with anxiety as the darkness closed in on them. It was a very moving song. I recall telling my friend Glen that I was sure we would be hearing that song played at funerals in the very near future. I was wrong.
Maybe the song wasn’t popular enough, maybe it was too short, maybe the first line’s mention of failure was just too negative, but I have not heard it anywhere but on my iPhone. I have told my wife I want it played at my funeral. Why? Well, like Glen Campbell, I have failed. I don’t think of myself as a failure, but I have failed at quite a few things in my 62 years. I may be unique in this, but I can recall the major failures of my life in vivid detail. There were so many things I shouldn’t have done that I did, and so many things that I should have done that I didn’t. I am sure there were times that I disappointed those closest to me, and I am certain I disappointed my Lord. It is the first step in redemption to realize you need to be redeemed. Well, this song served as a catalyst for me to once again own up to my failures and to do what I could to make things right. I am hoping the song will say to those who assemble for my funeral, he was honest about his shortcomings, and, more importantly, he served a gracious God.
The second verse of “A Better Place”says, “I need the ones I love Lord, more and more each day.” I can identify with that as well. Recently my wife celebrated a birthday, and I wrote in her card, “I don’t know what I would do without you.” That is not romantic hyperbole--I really mean it! Though I am fighting it every day, I am growing ever more dependent on Joy. Though she has been more than gracious about all the things she does for me, I just hate being a steadily increasing burden.
If all you had were the verses of this song, it would be a cry of desperation, but then there is the chorus. Campbell asserts “the world’s been good to me.” I may be reading too much into it, but I think this is a way of saying that though the darkness was surrounding him he hadn’t forgotten the times of bright sunshine. That is what I have learned to do as my world has gotten smaller and smaller. Earlier I said that I knew I had failed, but I didn’t feel like a failure. That is due to the extraordinary grace of God I can see in the rear-view mirror. A major manifestation of that grace is seen in the people I have been privileged to know, the calling of God on my life, and the opportunities I have had to try to minister to others. Yes, the world’s been good to me.
Campbell also sings of “a better place.” Obviously, he is talking about heaven, but think for a moment why he uses the adjective “better.” A place beyond the hurts and heartaches of this life, beyond the debilitating illnesses that wring the joy out of life. I have come to deeply value the promise of Isaiah 25:8a, “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces…” That “place” will indeed be “better.”
I couldn’t tell you how many times I have listened to “A Better Place”in the past couple of years. If indeed it is played at my funeral (there is some debate at the Corn household), I suppose some will think it is not overtly evangelical enough. There is no mention of salvation, and some might wonder why a man who spent his whole life as a pastor would want such a song. I want it because of its honesty and how strongly I identify with it. To counterbalance any concern about my theological credentials, I have requested that “Give Me Jesus” be played at the close of the funeral. Campbell’s song is to me a statement of faith, his faith and mine, that God has prepared a better place for His children. Yes, a better place awaits. You’ll see.
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