I had occasion recently to re-visit a song I heard for the first time a few years ago, performed live in a college theater auditorium.  The setting was relatively intimate for a “big name” concert, and I remember well the generally raucous and festive mood of the concert.  Until this song started.  As soon as the first words were vocalized, there was an immediate and intense hush over the entire auditorium.  It was absolutely silent for the duration of the song, except for the muffled sobs of those who heard it – and that silence lasted an unimaginably long...

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