We often receive emails in our office about songs Ray has written. Questions such as "What prompted that inspiration" or What the hell is he talking about". We thought is would be nice to share the answers with those of you who are interested in where the lyrics and weird imagery come from. If you will send your questions toheadquarters@raywylie.com with a "question for blog" in the subject line we will give them to Ray who will post the reply on his blog. The only questions we won't give him are: How can I get one of my songs to Ray so he will A.) Give it to Willie B.) Write the verses to this great chorus I have. Hint: (There is no C)

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Rilke and The Messenger

Dear Ray,
After hearing you do 'The Messenger" live and explaining where you got the inspiration from Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet , I was moved to read the book.

However I don't find anything very close to the quote, "our fears are like dragons guarding our most precious treasures." Rilke does say "perhaps all of the Dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave." I have the edition that was translated by M. D. Herter Norton.

Do you know if there is a translation of that work closer to the former quote, or if it comes from somewhere else? Anyways, it's a great song, and I've found it particularly inspiring after hearing you do it live. And when you mention Townes Van Zandt ... well it brings tears to my eyes.
Thanks,
Dan

Dan,
i paraphrased it. even thought it is completely different, its sort of the same idea. i wanted to give rilke credit for it meant that much to me.
ray wylie

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1 comment:

  1. Lawson EnglishAugust 21, 2021 at 1:22 AM

    Do you realize that you have inspired dozens (or even hundreds) of quote citations that attribute that exact quote to Rilke?

    ReplyDelete

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