Sometimes a song gets so deep inside your head that it can never be uprooted. Maybe it is the melody or the mood evoked by its musical qualities. Maybe it is the themes and ideas that find expression in its lyrics. If it happens to be both the music and the lyrics perfectly matched to each other, then the effect is particularly strong. Such songs have the ability to become a recurring soundtrack to our lives.

One such song for me is Kerry Livgren’s “Dust In The Wind.” Since I first heard this song more than 20 years ago, not an Ash Wednesday has gone by without that song being the tune I just could not get out of my head. “I close my eyes / Only for a moment, and the moment’s gone / All my dreams / Pass before my eyes a curiosity / Dust in the wind / All they are is dust in the wind.” Cer…