I love this song.

I’ve performed it exactly twice:

– Once in the winter of 1990, home from college, when two of my high school classmates were killed in separate car accidents in the same weekend. One of my high school bands had a “reunion” show at a local cafe, and I played this song and got all choked up. Messy.

– Again in the fall of 2001, at John Hodgman’s post-9/11 Little Gray Book lecture. I think I opened with an original composition called “I Hate You Heaven,” then played this song, then closed with a big “New York, New York” singalong.

Two times I sang this song in the shadow of grief.

Tonight I hear it in glory.