A young man of 23 or so wrote a song for his wife Ariel … Forty-five Years.  He was deeply in love, as the lyrics so clearly show:

There’s God in the trees
I’m weak in the knees
And the sky is a painful blue
I’d like to look around
But Honey, all I see is you

At the age of 33, Stan Rogers died in a burning plane that stood on the tarmac of Cincinnati Airport in the USA.  A loss for Canadian folk music, a loss for the musical life of the planet.

Stan wrote about people he met, about places he explored, about experiences he had.

Forty-five Years is about love.

Now the summer city lights
Will soften the night
Till you’d think that the air is clear
And I’m sitting with friends
Where forty-five cents
Will buy another glass of beer

He’s got something to say
But I’m so far away
That I don’t know who I’m talking to
‘Cause you just walked in the door
And Honey, all I see is you

I had the privilege of seeing Stan live in concert.  His rich baritone voice brought life to the words.  I was inside them.  I was Stan.

And I just want to hold you closer
Than I’ve ever held anyone before
You say you’ve been twice a wife
And you’re through with life
Ah but Honey, what the hell’s it for?

After twenty-three years
You’d think I could find
A way to let you know somehow
That I want to see your smiling face
Forty-five years from now

Many years after Stan’s death, Aeolian Hall in London, Ontario, Canada started having annual Stan Rogers tribute concerts.  An array of fine musicians took turns singing Stan songs.

Paul Mills was Stan’s manager and a deep friend.  He picked up a chair, moved it to the front edge of the stage, and sang Forty-five Years to his dear wife in the front row. 

Tears flowed