Seafarer Press | Elizabeth Alexander, composer

Tomorrow, God Willing (Garrison Keillor)

A sweet and funny and prayerful setting of the concluding words of one of Garrison Keillor's classic monologues.  Luscious harmonies and a feast of choral textures, with a side dish of humanity and hope.

The composer writes: "When asked to write a piece for Perfect Harmony Men's Chorus' 10th Anniversary, I proposed an unconventional text:  a short quote by Garrison Keillor, with which he ended one of his monologues in the '90s.  As Keillor's story unfolds, the main character is unexpectedly presented with a challenging life situation, and he finds that he has no idea how to respond.  Looking back at the end of the day, he realizes he didn't handle the situation with a great deal of grace, but he is not sure what he could have done differently.  Weary and disoriented, he nevertheless reminds himself that this challenge will still be here tomorrow, and that — like it or not — he will most likely be given many more chances to figure out how to deal with it.  The narrator ends the story with this simple, universal blessing, for the story's protagonist as well as for the listener:

"We do the best we can.  We do the very best we can, and tomorrow, God willing, we get to wake up and try again."