Dear Lord, Remember Me

It amazes me how with no warning, songs from childhood revisit and insinuate themselves with pulsating awareness into my consciousness.  What am I to do with them? Most are from my Grandmother's generation.  I never know how they arrive or from which deep pocket of the mind they emerge.  Truthfully, I can't remember when I heard most of them.  

In my parents' church, of course! From LPs (what are those, you ask): from Memphis (TN)-based late-night radio stations, and rocking church choirs! I acquired a storehouse of songs---and not just Christian genre---but R&B (Rhythm and Blues), the Mississippi and Chicago Blues, Rock n Roll, Jazz, Soul, and even Broadway musicals (Oklahoma!, Hello Dolly, West  Side Story).

This night, I'm getting ready for bed and "Remember me, when tears are falling down..." Where did that come from? Why, while I'm brushing my teeth, would my mind implore, "And, oh down at the river of Jordan,m when calling the roll, O Lord, remember me..." Is it full-throated anxiety in my soul, doing like the Fat Lady in operas---warming up to sing? Or, is it something subliminal, some free-floating paranoia my mind is trying to protect me from? Whatever its genesis, I sure am glad that song was ensconced in my historical playlist.

"I don't care how dark and drear my way may be,

I won't mind the cross to bear

For I know in God's own time he'll set me free

But this I pray, dear Lord, remember me.

"Remember me when tears are falling down,

Remember me when there's trouble all around,

And, oh down at the rive of Jordan, 

When calling the roll,  Oh Lord, remember me!"