Several years ago when I still lived in Durham, North Carolina in a house on Vickers Street, one of my housemates told me about the song “World So Full,” by Jon Dee Graham. Her sister and two friends had posted a cover of it on YouTube back in 2015 when they were students at Goshen College. Gloria had learned about the song from a professor. Majoring in Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies, she said, “Sometimes, amidst the study of PTSD, sexual violence, systemic oppression, and genocide, I have felt pretty hopeless. During one of those times, Joseph Liechty, professor of Peace Justice & Conflict Studies, shared this song with me, and it has since become my mantra.”
It’s easy to see why. The song has quickly become a mantra for me too. I frequently return to it for encouragement. The lyrics begin,
Little stars, hold on tight
to the roof of this night
Don’t turn away
Don’t turn away
from the world so full
The chorus rises into a kind of prayer,
Make me willing, make me strong
Make me brave as the day is long
The song acknowledges the complexity and sorrows of this life, and yet reminds us that the world is, indeed, so full—so full of good that it’s worth holding on tight. It’s worth not turning away, even when it means seeing the hard and painful parts of it.
We need daily practices to center us, which is essential for responding constructively to turmoil, rather than merely reacting in fear, anger, or despair. I’ve been trying to put my own advice into practice. So today, I went back to meditate on “World So Full.” I decided to learn more about the man who wrote this compelling song. And that became its own stirring meditation.
“World So Full” originally released in 2004 on Graham’s album The Great Battle. Prior to today, I knew little about him but was pleasantly surprised to discover he lives only a few hours from me in Austin, Texas, where he is well-known and loved. Three times he’s been inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame. A large man with a rugged face and gruff voice, a first impression might fool you, for his lyrics are tender and insightful.
I ran across an interview with him in The Bitter Southerner (one of the most engaging interviews I’ve read in a publication). It’s clear Graham has seen hard times in life, and music is his outlet. One song, “$100 Bill,” draws from a dark season when his marriage had just ended and he’s riding a greyhound bus with his three old son, Roy, sleeping in his lap. Suddenly and unexpectedly a single dad with little money, Graham feels like “all my angels have gone home,” leaving him to fend for himself. He eventually remarries and has another son, William, only to discover his baby has a serious medical condition and insurance won’t cover treatment. Graham has also struggled with seasons of depression and addiction.
And yet . . . Graham has found hope gazing into the faces of his children. He knows the power of a community that will rally around his family in times of need, including pitching in for medical expenses. He got clean and sober. Graham keeps “holding tight to the roof of this night.”
One of the striking things I learned in The Bitter Southerner interview pertains to Graham’s vocation as a singer-songwriter. He has endured significant challenges—events canceled because of the pandemic, health issues interrupting his ability to work (a stroke and spinal surgeries), as well as having a tremendous gift that is largely overlooked by the mainstream. But while bemoaning the lack of national spotlight, Graham’s brother tells him, “But isn’t it true that you’re the voice for those 10,000 people? What are they going to do if you don’t do this? Obviously, you’re telling the story of several thousand people. You serve them.” That hit Graham to the core, “Ever since he told me that, if I start getting all pitiful about how few people are at a show, I’m like, ‘You know what? There might be somebody here who needs to hear you.’”
Graham sees his vocation as something that chose him. He can’t not do it. He describes the same feeling I have as a writer, “I’m going to do this regardless of what happens. Whether I have to worry about money or not, I’m going to do this. Whether anybody agrees if this is good or not, I’m going to do this.” It’s in his bones, the way God wired him. And I believe God made him that way for a purpose—for Graham is helping his audience to stay a little more strong, a little more willing and “brave as the day is long.”
Listen to Jon Dee Graham sing “World So Full.”
Lyrics by Jon Dee Graham:
Little stars hang on tight
to the roof of this night.
Don’t turn away,
Don’t turn away
From the world so full.
I get so lost,
I get so down,
Inside out and turned around.
That I turn away, I turn away
from the world so full.
Make me willing,
Make me strong,
Make me brave as the day is long.
Open my eyes and let me see,
And not turn away,
Not turn away
I know it’s hard,
But I know it’s sweet,
Complicated,
And incomplete.
But I am in love,
I’m still in love,
With the world so full.
Don’t turn away
Don’t turn away
From the world so full.
You can follow Jon Dee Graham on Facebook and discover more of his music at Apple Music and SoundCloud.