With You in Sight, The Lost are Found
Remembering Levon Helm
I wrote this essay ten years ago while reflecting on what Levon Helm and his music meant to me and my friends. Now, on the tenth anniversary of his death, I’m startled to find most of what I wrote still rings true. I don’t look back often, but I thought this one was worth sharing.
Levon Helm once said, “good times don’t last long sometimes.” He was right. Levon died yesterday from cancer that most people assumed he had bested years ago. In fact, I had just seen him play a few weeks ago in Ann Arbor. He was frail, sure, but what other 71-year-old could still belt out “Ophelia” with such presence? He looked healthy and he played like it, but that wasn’t surprising. Music flowed through Levon, like blood travels through most of us. Music defined him, and it was no shock to me that he followed the music up until his final days.
I can’t imagine someone having a bigger effect on my life than Levon Helm. The Band shaped me during what were perhaps my most influential years. The hours upon hours I spent with Eric, Brandon, Mitch, CJ, Ryan and Chris just sitting, watching the Last Waltz, and listening. Everything about the Band influenced everything about our friendships. We bonded over a passion for the music that I don’t think most people will ever have the pleasure of understanding. It was more than a bunch of kids playing music and hanging out, it became something more important. Our lazy summer days were spent, just as the Band had spent them in Woodstock, playing baseball, and spending most of our waking hours huddled together in a basement, trying to learn a new song or figure out harmonies. I can’t remember a more exciting, happy, or important time in my life. The music made by those five geniuses left an imprint on our lives that is now the bond that we share together. The Band forever changed the course of all of our lives for the better and I know deep down we’re all extremely grateful.
Just like the Band, we too eventually went our separate ways. But just as the music holds up and even improves over time, so do the relationships we cemented behind guitars and drum sets. We always used to talk about how comforting it was to know that somewhere out there, Levon was still making music, traveling from city to city and sharing his gift. But now his voice has been silenced and his light has burnt out. A few of us made it down in time to see Levon play a Midnight Ramble in his barn/studio a couple of years ago and a few of us made it out to see him when he came on tour, but we all had the opportunity to hear him at his best. He never sounded better than when he was blasting through our car stereos or DVD players, all of us singing along at the top of our lungs. We all shared together the most meaningful of his performances and I know I can say we all feel the same emptiness caused by the devastating loss of someone who meant so much to all of us.
And so, a mighty tree has fallen. Just like that time in our lives has gone so quickly, so has Levon. It’s funny how it can be comforting to know that other people are hurting from a loss that you’re hurting from, too. But, I know there are only six other people in the world today who are feeling the way I do. The influence that Levon Helm and the Band had on our lives cannot be overstated. We are who we are because we discovered their music. Levon was right when he said, “good times don’t last long sometimes.” But we were lucky enough to have those good times, and this world was lucky enough to have Levon for a little while.
