“Ready For The Harrow” by Joel Porter – A Song Feature

      Like every one of my classmates, I disliked English-class poetry study. Still, like many music-lovers, I am stirred by, enjoy and admire poetry put to melody. Somewhere there is an English teacher who uses the difference to create an appreciation of poetry that will travel with her/his students for the rest of their lives.

    That was our thinking while listening to “Ready For The Harrow” by Joel Porter. He is from Bismarck, North Dakota, but went to Nashville “to find his truth.” He describes himself as being a Tennessee rental. In 2017, with the guidance of producer Eric Hillman (Foreign Fields), he introduced his intimate, ambient-folk solo project with the release of the nature-inspired "Mountain Twin EP." Again in collaboration with Hillman, Joel is set to release his heritage-inspired "Hiraeth EP'" in August 2018.

      He explains “Ready For The Harrow:”

  “In biblical terms, the ‘harrow’ refers to Christ’s decent into hell to free the righteous held captive. I was inspired by that idea…and the act of an intentional release of what is held captive. This song is about finding a peace that we choose after we “till” our inner spaces, break up the clots we’ve formed, reform, and prepare to greet what is next.”

      “Ready For The Harrow” by Joel Porter

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Website: http://www.joelportermusic.com/

Lyrics “Ready For The Harrow” by Joel Porter

(Blessed be the days we still have yet)

Up on highland hill

Just beyond the furrow near

Autumn light and harvest lupine

Blend to violet

Witnessing this glimpse

Traces of tomorrow sing

‘Neath the bridge in barren echo

Lay the what has been

Hear the vesper grow

A peaceful call to follow

August in my name

Season for this errand clear

Worry not now little brother

I carry it the same

In this confidence

Dead-ends are untethered here

Shed away the kept and vetted

Ebb the what has been

For peace beyond the hollow carry on

The red-letter Amen

To all my lost

I’m ready for the harrow

I’m ready for the harrow

I’ll miss this simple life

Youth that I have borrowed, dear

Never mine to own, now sits alone

Ready for veneer

I feel the prairie sigh

Bending wheat wave goodbye, dear

Follow now the fleeting silence

Into foreign fields

Peace in all I’ve left

And all I’ve loved

At peace awaiting what is yet to come