Heart of a Firefighter, Soul of a Poet

This has been a hell of a week: a bombing at the Boston Marathon, a deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, and an earthquake today in China. If you believe the old wives' tale that bad things happen in threes, then maybe we're due for at least a brief respite from the catastrophes that have been raining down on the world.

But today I want to talk about a firefighter. No, not one of the many firefighters who have proven their mettle and their merit in the past few days, though God knows not enough words of praise can be written about them to thank them as much as they deserve. I'm talking about one specific firefighter, South Carolina's Warren Stone, who has caught my attention and made my old heart and its partially blocked arteries go pitty-pat on this season of The Voice. He's a nice-looking guy and a really good singer, but what grabbed me in his first performance (in the video below) was the passion in his voice and his face. It always moves me when someone sings as if he (or she) believes what they're singing. That soul of a poet is what I like most about this guy. That and his eyes.

Since this week's Saturday Song Selection is as much about the singer as it is about the song, I'm posting the short (audition) version today. If you want more, the full studio version has also been posted on YouTube, and the song is available for download on iTunes. I don't know if Warren will win the competition, but I'm sure I'm only one of many thousands he can count among his new fans. I've been playing--and humming--this song steadily for nearly two weeks now.

The song is "Colder Weather," performed by Warren Stone.
Thanks to NBCTheVoice for posting it on YouTube.
Click here to read the lyrics.