Caroline Cotter bills herself as a “singer-songwriter, traveler, artist, teacher, and eternal student,” and on this episode of the radio hour, one might add wisdom-seeker to the mix. During the show, Caroline discusses her walking of the Camino de Santiago, known in English as the Way of St James. The pilgrimage is a network of paths in Europe leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral de Compostela, in Galicia, in northwestern Spain. Although not raised a Catholic, Caroline divulges on the program she felt compelled to make the journey as a way of discovering and deepening her inner life – and this can be heard and felt in the revealing nature of the songs she presents during the program.
In the song, “Don’t Wait,” she notes her personal habit of procrastination and then delivers a song that takes on a universal meaning: “Don’t wait for the sun to rise to get out of bed . . . don’t wait for praise, to feel proud and strong . . . don’t wait –it starts when you make up your mind.” In the song, “Have I Done Enough,” she tackles feelings of self-doubt and her own sense of responsibility to the world, hearing a call for justice and peace, she wonders: “Will tomorrow be a better day? When will enough be okay?” Later in the program, Caroline shares a funeral eulogy, penned for her grandfather, entitled, “The Call.” Delivered in the voice of her grandfather she sings: “I watched the sunset fading away –my life, my shadows, settle into gray.” The song is appropriate to Cotter’s own sense of living a purposeful life— something she clearly believes we are called to do, and in that call, here to discover and share what we are learning along the way. Caroline’s last song, “The Year of the Wrecking Ball,” is a song most everyone can relate to, a tribute to those times when things fall apart, so we can begin again—“Sing for the light through the broken windows and the year of the wrecking ball.” And by the end of the program, through her honest and forthright singing, Caroline’s pilgrimage feels as if it is firmly lodged in us—that she has walked a bit of it with her.
Also in the program is John Bahler’s beautiful tribute to his uncle, “Goodbye.” John shuffles the rhythm as he sings, “The roads linger in my mind, the way they break as they unwind . . .” –it’s a gorgeous tribute delivered in John’s full and open voice. Additionally, the “Shoot the Moon” game show features two humorous guests, Marty Helene, from Fort Wayne, and Robert Blitstine, from Chicago, Illinois. Of course, there’s a Note from Rosie and A Moment with Nate, the radio hour’s trusty audio engineer.