This is a letter I got in the beginning of July. She had written me for the lyrics
to Wasted Time so I sent them to her, and I never expected what I got back. I have cried
over this song so many times, because of being away from home and my girlfriend, and
this just meant so much to me. Here's what she wrote.Dear Dan,
Never could you have wasted time on this song......I've never cried in my life. I've always been a very hard woman, this song is the only song that has ever touched me, this is the first song I ever cried to and the only thing I ever let touch me. The song is not sad it's eye opening.....it makes you realize what you have and how much you have to lose......yourself........It's not sad its the dawn breaking over a very dark night....... it's telling you don't waste time on games, if you love give your all...never be ashamed and never look back. Sometimes a good cry is what we all need, and this is the song for it. You're right, you can never waste time on this page. Thank you so much
I never realized that when I wrote this page I wasn't just dealing with music, but she taught
me I was dealing with people and love and feelings. It somehow brings all Eagles fans from
all over the world together, from Japan to Australia to Canada to France, like nothing
else can. People say the Olympics bring the world closer together. I now believe
that this page and the millions like it are bringing us all closer together than 100 years
of the Olympics has. I really want to thank you, Debby, for opening my eyes and making
me see that I am not just a page, I am a means of expressing yours and my feelings
and touching the lives of so many people. To all of you, thank you for all the e-mails I
have received and I hope to receive hundreds more in the future. I have learned that music
is not just notes, it means the world to so many people, including me.I have had many responses to this letter, and all of them have been so wonderful in their understanding of the effect that music has on everyone's lives. I have even found a copy of this letter on someone else's music page, and I was exceedingly impressed that I could have that much of an effect on someone. Well, I got this letter in the middle of September. It made me think back to the time when I got the first letter, and played the song, and thought how much I love music and what I wouldn't be able to do without it, and it just made me feel so thankful of everything I have and we have when we have music in our lives.
Upon reading the letter you left on your Eagles page and the response I went home, listened to "Wasted Time" and cried my eyes out. I never realized how powerful a song can affect a person. It got me thinking about how music really is a part of our lives. Songs carry hope, despair, pose questions, give answers and bring back memories. Many peak moments of our lives we connect with songs, and sometimes that experience can be very painful. I have a friend who would cry every time the song "Johnny Can't Read" [Don Henley, but you already knew that] came on. Later on I found out that he used to listen to that song with his two boys when they were little. He hasn't seen his kids since his divorce a year and a half ago. Sometimes I can't help but cry when I hear it now.
Now if that doesn't affect you I don't know what will.
How can music mean so much? Just listen to any music that you like, it doesn't matter
what kind, and you know that it means something. That to me is the most important
feeling in the world.A few weeks ago, a girl from Germany wrote to me about my web page, about playing guitar and everything, and we started talking. She promised me that she would tell me how she got interested in the Eagles, and this is what she told me:
One night I turned on the tube and started zapping through the channels. There was really nothing on, till I switched to MTV. And there he was: Don Henley, sitting on this stool, singing The Last Resort. I didn't know who he was back then, nor did I know the song. But it was just so damn beautiful the way he put so much into it. He just has the coolest voice I have ever heard. I was just sitting in front of the TV and started crying. Sounds pretty stupid, doesn't it? I went to the store the very next day and bought Hell Freezes Over.
Steph, it's not stupid. That's the way music is supposed to feel, and you know it. The Eagles are great at that--they put such
wonderful emotion into music, and that's why they have stood the test of time, and that's
why you are reading this now. The Last Resort is my favorite song; it was my favorite song
on HFO the first time I listenened to it. It still gives me chills every time I listen to it,
heck I've got chills now just thinking about it. I have a request to make to the musicians of
the world: keep music emotional, because there should be no other way. If you sing every song
like Henley sings The Last Resort, then you, your song, and music as a whole will be
better for it.It's been a while since I have received any really touching letters regarding Eagles music. But I got this one the other day and it blew me away. My heart goes out to this gentleman because he and his child have been through so much. This has to be the letter which sums up my feelings about music: it can even touch people who can't be reached otherwise. Music has made just such an impact on these two lives:
The reason for this note is to express how the Eagles' music transcends something very spiritual in our lives. Our 16 year old son was born the year the Eagles split up, and is severely Autistic and is non-verbal. Not much gets through to him. But he and I take long drives in the car with our Hell Freezes Over CD playing... and we relate. Sure, he no longer believes Don Henley and I to be "sing-alikes," as he used to when he was younger (he now turns up the volume and signs "quiet!" to me when I sing too loud), but these times we spend together are a treasure. We are both relating to the same thing at the same time, something denied us at any other time. Hotel California and I Can't Tell You Why are his favorites.
We live in Texas now, and I understand Don Henley lives here too. Sometimes, during these transcendental drives, I look up and try to send a silent thank you message up into the Texas sky and hope it bounces back down to Mr. Henley, with a little bit of blessing from above.
Since you appear to be the Eagles's Number One supporter, perhaps you are in touch with the members of the band, perhaps not. If so, please let Don Henley know he has touched inside an autistic boy's mind and has helped him connect to his father for a little while each night. If you cannot, I'll keep sending my thoughts up into the night sky.
Sincerely,
Ray
Eagles Fan
Now, I will be the first to admit that I
am not in touch with the Eagles.
However, I hope that one day Don Henley will read this and understand how much his music
has meant to everyone in the world, and how he has touched a 16-year-old autistic boy.
Don, please read this page and please e-mail me so you can
write to this gentleman. I, he, and the entire world will thank and do thank you for your
gift to us: your music.