Stoic Music 4

I've heard all sorts of interpretations of this tune, anywhere from being a Christian song to being a reflection on the life of Socrates, to being the story of Icarus. I'll take them all, thank you. Keep the change.

It always spoke to me about that most basic of human struggles. Do I conform simply to what is expected of me, or do I fight for something bigger and better? And if I choose the latter, how do I confront my own vanity? How am I to be a man of nobility, but not of self-service?

Whatever Kansas and Kerry Livgren intended, it's become a tune where I must immediately stop what I am doing. hold back the tears, and show reverence.  These values are about as Classical as you could possibly make them.

Kansas, "Carry on Wayward Son." from Leftoverture (1976)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ZJui3aPoQ

Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreamin', I can hear them say

Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say

Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you

Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Written on 3/21/1995