Dirt Road Prayer

And I go where the green grass grows
The weeds are high and the sun hangs low
Look to the sky and I say, 'Hello'
Like it’s the very first time
It doesn’t matter how long it’s been
I can talk to God like He’s my best friend
Take my heart lay it down again right there
In a dirt road prayer
Chorus to Dirt Road Prayer by Nicolle Galyon

I was going to be a composer. It was one of the pronouncements I made as a budding 8-year-old pianist and singer.

We all have these dreams about what we're going to be when we grow up. That particular dream didn't come true for me. I'm certainly not complaining about the gifts and talents God has given me. Song writing just didn't turn out to be one of them.

So maybe that's why Nicolle Galyon fascinates me so much. I'd never even heard her name until this week. She was a little Kansas girl who took piano lessons, like lots of other little girls from Kansas. In fact, she was probably taking piano lessons about the same time as I was hauling my own kids to piano lessons.

But Nicolle's music took her to Nashville, TN. And Monday night, music landed her on the NBC television show, The Voice. She will be working with one of the four vocal coaches, Adam Levine of Maroon 5.

Nicolle grew up in Sterling, just a hop, skip and a jump from here. She graduated from high school a couple of years before Jill did.

In the past year, two of her original songs were recorded by Lauren Alaina, the runner-up to last season's American Idol. Two of the songs on Alaina's album, Dirt Road Prayer and Growing Her Wings, were inspired by Nicolle's growing-up years in Rice County, Kansas.

Jill was at Vanderbilt in Nashville three years ago to do her dietetics internship. We loved visiting her. Twice, we went to the Bluebird Cafe, an intimate (read small!) restaurant/bar where song writers come and perform their original songs. From my browsing on youtube.com yesterday, I discovered that Nicolle has performed at the Bluebird Cafe.

From the tiny stage at the Bluebird Cafe to a television audience of millions on The Voice, Nicolle is living her dream, but she hasn't forgotten her roots, which appear to be fixed deeply in her love of Kansas and small towns.

i'm nicolle. from Nicolle Galyon on Vimeo.

As I listened to her songs, I especially liked Dirt Road Prayer. I suppose it's because I've said my share of "dirt road prayers" during walks down our country roads.

If you're interested, have a listen. And if you want to hear more of Nicolle's songs, just go to youtube and type in her name (Yes, there are two "L's" in Nicolle.) I listened to a bunch of them yesterday, and I love the references to small town life.