A Songwriter’s Friend

By Kevin Hall

Gordon McKinney is a Norman, Oklahoma based singer-songwriter who you should know. He is a friend and encourager to many songwriters. And those of us who know him, respect and appreciate his gifts and generosity. The love of his life, Heather Burns, is the talented dancer and choreographer who helped in the production of these two videos.

Gordon's thoughts on "Someday I'll Be Gone":

 "For me, this song is about what and who we leave behind.  It's me acknowledging and trying to accept that, no matter my intentions, my plans, hopes, dreams. I really have no control over when it all ends.  I have now. That's a scary idea to me. I tend to spend a lot of time rooting around in my past and grieving a future I someday won't know.  Honestly, I think the song came about because I'm quickly approaching the age at which my own father died. There was so much unresolved between us and, as a parent myself, I don't want that burden for my children. The chorus is my prayer/hope for myself. When the day (of my death) shall come to me, I pray the lord to let it be "hallelujah, I'm finally free!"  I guess in short, this song is a hope, a prayer, a plea and an apology.  

Gordon's thoughts on "Ransom Note":

"This song came about when I realized that my life was being held for ransom.  The kidnapper was the life plan that our culture sets out...go to the school, get the degree, marry the girl, buy the house, have the kids...rinse and repeat. And the worst part was that the ringleader was me..  I was thinking that the Ransom we pay to get our lives back is 30 to 40 years in the work force doing something we probably don't like...just for the privilege to retire at an old age and finally be given our freedom back. No thanks man!
 But what if we "died" to that idea? To that life plan. What if we sought out the better parts of ourselves...the things that bring us joy. What if we did those things? What if we refused  to be held ransom?
In the chorus :
"On the other side of dying (to the life plan) there's a place I long to be (free to choose a different life). Please don't mourn me ("oh..you're gonna ruin your life") for I'm only trying to find the better parts of me.
 I guess what I see as thematically shared in these two songs is the idea of death, both literally and figuratively, gives way to freedom...freedom from something and freedom to some better way. The other shared commonalities for me are time and how quickly it passes, learning to live in the now and being honest about my fear and hope and longing.