“Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.’” (Revelation 14:13)
I was thinking this week about Nick Drake.
Several years ago I was sitting in a coffee shop on a rainy Saturday afternoon listening to music, and a song I’d never heard before popped up on my Spotify playlist. It was called “Northern Sky” and from the opening bars, I was hooked. It was beautiful, melodic, and the singer’s voice had an interesting quality that was pleasant and soothing. When I looked him up, I was surprised to see an old black and white photo that looked like it was taken many years ago. Sure enough, I discovered that Drake’s short career spanned from the late 60’s to early 70’s and the song I was listening to came out in 1971. It was almost 50 years old! Yet it sounded like a lot of the Indie-Folk stuff I listen to today. It had a timeless quality to it.
Nicholas Rodney Drake was an English singer-songwriter who was mostly unknown in his time. He produced just three albums: Five Leaves Left in 1969, Bryter Layter in 1970, and Pink Moon in 1971. No album sold more than 5,000 copies. None of his songs charted, though he did get some airplay on local stations and that led to a few performing gigs.
He was chronically shy and depressed. What’s more, he had a bad performance during one of his gigs which didn’t go over well with the audience. From that point on he refused to tour, wouldn’t do interviews, and wouldn’t play live shows. All of which certainly contributed to his lack of popularity. Drake died at the young age of 26 mired in depression and convinced no one cared about his music.
In 1979 the record company that had the rights to his music issued a box-set compilation which included a biography written by an American journalist. Sales were poor but people began to reassess his music and career. Then, when we entered the digital age and music broke free of the constraints of DJs and Top-100 charts, Drake’s music started appearing on playlists — and took off! His album, Pink Moon, which sold less than 5,000 copies upon its release has sold more than 329K copies in recent years. An increasing number of artists cite Nick Drake as an important influence. In fact, in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine put out a list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” and listed all three of Drake’s albums.
But the reason I was thinking about him this week is that I believe his story serves as a reminder of how the things we say and do can live long after us. Fifty-two years after his death, people are still discussing Nick Drake’s music and assessing his life and career. I wondered, “What will people remember about me and the things I write and say and do?”
In Revelation 14:13, John talks about the righteous who have died in Christ and says, “Their deeds will follow them.”
They do!
The things we say and do will live on long after we’re gone. Perhaps longer than we could imagine. We need to keep that in mind.
Moms and Dads, let that thought motivate you to live your best life before those little watching eyes!
Christians, let that inspire you to be on your best behavior at the office!
And brothers and sisters, let us leave behind a legacy of faith that inspires the next generation to give their all for Christ!
Consider that 50 years from now someone could be quoting you and talking about your life. What would you want them to say?