I was flying down to Mexico recently, predawn, staring out the window, listening to these songs and wept. First experience like that in 50 years. Just when the sun rose over the gulf, When That Morning Comes started. 4000 songs on my ipod but only one perfect song. Thank you Neal. Peter Mayer hasn't written the best song, you have.

Hi folks,

Thanks for logging in to either look or add to the forum. I will periodically check in with thoughts or answers myself. The question tonight from Gretchen about why I chose to write "Imagine That" is difficult to answer, as a song starts as one thing and often ends up as another. But I'll be as straightforward as I can. The starting point of the song was the woman secretly being glad John Lennon died because he was leading people to hell with his universal message of love. I know where I was when I heard about Lennon's death, standing outside Lund Arena on the college campus of Gustavus, and I was that woman, in my form of Christianity then. Secretly thinking he had 'gotten his' because of his 'unrepentant pride.' Even as I write those words it pains me, because if Jesus preached anything, in my opinion, he preached acceptance and love. Lennon's 'Imagine' is one of my favorite songs now, but then I thought of it as anti-God. How I thought universal love could be anti-God boggles my mind now, but I believe the sentiments of the song I subsequently wrote are something we all have experienced. The right demonizes the left and the left demonizes the right, and we are all left screaming and attacking and glad when the other side 'gets theirs.' The song I wrote, to me, is a lament that what should be the most peaceable of religions has been - and continues to be - used as a weapon to justify violence against other of God's children. I wanted to set up the juxtaposition of overtly or covertly justifying violence in God's name with the irony of the woman loving her children and being genuinely 'nice' in other aspects of her life. It makes the song all the sadder to me. And, hopefully, it creates a disequilibrium in the listener, begging them to ask how can this be and where do those same roots lie in me?

Great concert, really thought-provoking, sometimes disturbing songs. Both my friend and I left wishing for more of the story behind how each song came to be, where you were, who else was there, any particular event that triggered an idea or lyric ...

Thanks for being brave enough to bring up issues we all ponder yet don't always talk about. Additionally, offering the invitation for us as a community to discuss these topics with some structure wrapped around it. I'm looking forward to being part of the process... starting with your concert!