A One Page Summary

LIGHTSONG, the earthly and true story of a young musician’s journey, starts and ends in the spirit world. The Ancients send the spirit Lightsong to Earth to use his music to help instill human compassion. They plan to bring him back to the spirit world midlife, as they do with many musicians to keep their spirits undamaged by the callousness of Earth life. Always secretly by his side will be his spirit bird Fernando-the-Crow. Fernando-the Crow (also serving as Narrator) brings the spirit Lightsong to earth and implants him in the baby Josh.

The story finds Josh in his mid-twenties in Los Angeles, signed as the band School of Fish with the hit “Three Strange Days.” But when he wants to go out on his own to develop in a new direction, he walks into the tempest of a dramatically shifting music industry. Trying to negotiate the numbing waves of this industry, Josh is beset by the frustrations of cancelled tours, broken contracts, being on the road when the tour support is pulled, and having to disappoint his bandmates. But there are joys, too. Josh opens to crowds of 10,000 and learns how to turn around crowds who are shouting for the star. He is invited to stay in a mansion in Ireland to write his next album. And all the time he is writing and performing, connecting with audiences who love his music and his humor. And he discovers other worlds, too—the worlds of spirit, love, nature, and the dynamic pulse of life as only a true artist can feel it.

When the time that the Ancients planned to bring Lightsong home arrives, Fernando-the-Crow tries to tell them that in no way is his spirit being damaged: He is happy as a musician and doesn’t need huge recognition. He just wants to go on making his music, making his banana pancakes, loving his dog Kaya, and being with his friends. But, because of the increasing noise on the earth, the Ancients will not be able to hear Fernando. The story ends with Josh’s passing, and the continuing signs of his presence in this world.