Tom Rupp commentary: Diamond and Kristofferson weigh in on love

On May 18, I wrote a column about "songs that touch the soul," in which I mentioned three songs that contained especially moving lyrics. Since that time, at least two other songs have come to mind that, to me, plumb the depths of deep feeling and love. In his "Sweet Caroline," Neil Diamond, in expressing his admiration, states that "when I am hurt, hurting runs off my shoulders; how can I hurt when holding you?" That is such a lovely thought, also expressed in the assertion that "shared pain is half the pain, shared joy is double the joy." Diamond poetically expresses an unforgettable camaraderie. Kris Kristofferson plugs on at age 87 (Diamond is 82). He has written classics of yesteryear such as "For the Good Times," "Help me Make it Through the Night," "One Day at a Time," "Why Me?" and "Sunday Morning Comin' Down" (made popular by Johnny Cash). But what I consider his most popular song was sung by died-too-soon Janis Joplin – "Me and Bobby McGee," a tale of two drifters and some of their exploits. It starts right off with a dilemma – "busted flat in Baton Rouge" ... "feeling near as faded as my jeans." It also contains the memorable line that "freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose." That line reminds me of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," when he says "when you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose." Rock and roll wisdom, right? But in that Kristofferson song comes the line that reaches down into the soul and brings out a gem – "I'd trade all my tomorrows, for one single yesterday, to be holding Bobby's body next to mine." Wow. I was talking to an older guy at Brookdale today and he mentioned his growing inability to keep up with younger people. Perhaps it was no consolation, but I encouraged him to at least keep chasing his memories. That's the spirit of this week's word and the previous one in May. As Dylan said of his early work, "There's a kind of magic to that." Even if your days of such flights of fancy are past, these songs can bring them back from memory. I'm sure over time other songs will come back to remind me of their soulfully heartfelt lyrics. Again, perhaps a reader will send some gem from a forgotten lyric. Definitely "keep those cards and letters coming." Tom Rupp is a Folsom resident and weekly Telegraph columnist. You can reach him at truppfolsom@yahoo.com.