The Lonely Man

It is well known that David Koresh was an ambitious musician, but recordings of him singing and playing guitar are very rare. A couple of songs, along with a sermon, were compiled and released as "Voice of Fire" by the Junior's Motel label in 1994, and in 1996 survivor Clive Doyle and Koresh's mother Bonnie Haldeman released, on cassette, an audio letter that Koresh had recorded for his grandfather, the proceeds of which benefited the Mt. Carmel Survival Fund. Along with music, "Songs to Grandpa" contains lengthy spoken sections featuring thoughts, prayers, memories, and introductions. At one point, Koresh talks to his son Cyrus. "Songs to Grandpa" is cataloged in the Reavis Papers as RA058.

Entry RA152 is an unassuming cassette with pencil-written labels that say only "undated sermon DK?" on side A and "music DK?" on side B. We can confirm that it is Koresh on this tape. Many of the songs on side B also appear on "Songs to Grandpa", but they are interpreted differently here. In addition, Koresh plays an electric guitar on this tape while "Songs to Grandpa" features an effects-laden acoustic. Click on the link at the end of this entry to hear 'The Lonely Man' from RA152. Koresh used an old, off-brand tape, and we don't know what kind of recording equipment he used, so please overlook the low quality of the file. The song title was gleaned from "Songs to Grandpa", where an alternate version can be heard along with introductory remarks such as:

"Who am I to preach to someone what they must do to be saved when I myself have not yet known? We're saved by hope and that through faith...The spirit of God moves upon our hearts, and it's not a feeling, it's an acknowledgement, it's an admittance that we're wrong. This song came to me after I realized that, even after being a Christian for many years, that I am still far away from what God would have me to be. I realized that I had been a bad example to many people who were looking to me...the more I learn about Christ the more I realize that I have many, many apologies that I must give people--my own family members, people I've met in times past--but even though I have to apologize for being a misrepresentative of Christ, God still loves me, and because I know that, and I've seen that, I can tell my brethren and everyone else that God still loves them, too."

Listen to "The Lonely Man"

Comments

[Mike Smith]

I have a "Songs for Grampa" cassette tape in like new condition and would like to what they are worth and who's collecting them.

Thank you
Mike Smith

[Claire]

Hello

Thank you for the important and likely trying work that you are doing. I am wondering if any audio enhancement was used to bring out the recording? It does not appear that there is. I have only just begun to follow your mission here, so maybe I don't know about your intentions of preservation vs quality of representation etc... But, I think this particular recording could benefit if some work was done to mask the noise and bring out the music. Is this something you guys avoid so as not to manipulate the original or alter the integrity of the historical artifact you present? just curious.

Claire

[Kurt Johnson]

Hi there!
Thanks for taking the time to comment. When we're digitizing tapes here, we try to make straight transfers without modifying the sound in any way. Once we have a file that best represents the sound of the actual artifact, it is possible to clean it up and try to make it more 'presentable'. However, it's rare to have the time or money to put a lot of effort into much more than the archival transfer. In addition to that, you start to run into more subjective aesthetic areas that others might not agree with. Would be great to hear this tape cleaned up, though!

We don't have any information on the current valuation of the 'Songs to Grandpa' cassette, and we are not allowed to perform appraisal services. I apologize for this. I have never seen one of these cassettes for sale; perhaps one of the auction sites might give you an idea.

Again, thanks for writing!