God, the Healer of the Brokenhearted

 

When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:17–18 ESV).

 

"You Never Even Called Me by My Name" is a song written by Steve Goodman and John Prine. Prine requested to be uncredited on the song, as he thought it was a "goofy, novelty song" and did not want to "offend the country music community". Goodman released the song on his 1971 debut album Steve Goodman to little acclaim. It was more famously recorded by country music singer David Allan Coe on his 1975 album Once Upon a Rhyme. It was the third single release of Coe's career and his first Top Ten hit, reaching a peak of number eight on the Billboard country singles charts. The song, over five minutes long, is known for its humorous self-description as "the perfect country and western song."

 

In a spoken epilogue preceding the song's iconic closing verse, Coe related a correspondence he had with Goodman, who stated the song he had written was the "perfect country and western song." Coe wrote back stating that no song could fit that description without mentioning a laundry list of clichés from the genre: "Mama, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or getting drunk". Goodman's equally facetious response was an additional verse that incorporated all five of Coe's requirements, and upon receiving it, Coe acknowledged that the finished product was indeed the "perfect country and western song" and included the last verse on the record:

 

I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison

And I went to pick her up in the rain

But before I could get to the station in my pickup truck

She got runned over by a damned old train

 

Whether or not it’s the perfect country song, I’ve listened to it many times. It feels true to life, and that may be why people never seem to tire of songs like it: almost everyone can relate. Most of us have felt empty after a breakup or asked, “What went wrong?” after losing someone we love.

 

Thankfully God’s Word provides some guidelines to help us answer our questions and give us peace of mind when heartache and heartbreak happen. When we hurt, Scripture can provide comfort. It also gives us a way to express how we feel, especially when we don’t know what to say or how to say it. Much of that language can be found in the Psalms, and many psalms were written by people who shared their feelings candidly and honestly.

 

David, the writer of our reading today (Psalm 34), didn’t have to search long for peace, and neither do we. God is near to those who hurt, and we can trust today that the One who gave the sun its ability to shine, who told the waters how far they could go, and who constantly watches over the universe is also near to you—and he’s saying, “I’ve got this, and I’ve got you.”