God Is a Verb

In this confusing, contentious, contradictory
Con’s game of a world
If your head don’t spin off of your shoulders
It might nonetheless whirl
Till you wonder where UP went
And where it has gone with your girl
And you feel all that’s real is a most shady deal
Among Ol' Murphy, the Grim Reaper
And all those Revenuers

But there are four precious things that I know
Without tuning in TV or my radio
Without subscribing to the paper or to them UFOs
And listen, here they are, the four that I know

That God is a verb and my neighbor’s Larry Erb
Okra’s coming in and there’s a sofa on the curb
Everything’s delightful and I’m done with being sore
So death and taxes, fortune and fame
Don’t trouble me no more

I’ve got a friend with mementos on his wall
There are two invitations to an Inaugural Ball
And two million-dollar offers - for endorsement, that’s all
Yeah, framed along with others and hung upon his wall

And I’m glad that my friend said to me
Dusk, none of this matters, it’s a fruitless tree
It’s never been important and it’s never gonna be
So let’s sing another song about trains and being free

‘Cause God is a verb and your neighbor’s Larry Erb
Okra’s coming in and there’s a sofa on the curb
While my million-dollar offers and the Inaugural Ball
Remind my precious children that fortune and fame
Don’t really matter at all

Well, another friend got a problem in his brain
And after fifteen years it staked a final claim
But when we gathered ‘round to see him on that Train
It’s how well he'd always lived that we sang in our refrain

For he lived with the wholeness of his heart
He made us all feel special right from the very start
He gave to us freely in giving more than his part
He gave love and lived as if it were an Art

And God is a verb and my neighbor’s Larry Erb
Okra’s coming in and there’s a sofa on the curb
Everything’s delightful and I’m done with being sore
So death and taxes, fortune and fame
Don’t trouble me no more

Dusk:  Lead Vocal
DeDe Vogt:  Electric Bass Guitar
Linda Bolley:  Drums
Mark Van Allen:  Pedal Steel Guitar
Rodger French:  Accordion
Johnny Mosier:  Acoustic Guitar
Berné Poliakoff:  Harmony Vocals

The “memento” verses of this song recall a visit to the late Mickey Newbury and his Family.  And yes, I really do raise okra (and often teased Mickey about shipping some to him, for he and okra were not friends).  The final two verses reflect upon the exemplary life of my late friend Henry Maddox, III.  And, yes, my neighbor really is Larry Erb; he’s been one of us “Golden Hillbillies” for more than twenty years.

Dusk's miniature Gothic cathedral home in the early stages of construction.