Recently I was the officiant for a beautiful wedding in Atlanta. During the cocktail hour, my wife and I remembered that the songwriter who had written the Garth Brooks hit, The Dance, was the groom’s uncle and was supposed to be attending. We figured out who he was in the maze of people and made our way over to him to let him know how much we loved his most famous song.
Tony Arata has written songs that topped the charts for people like Patty Loveless, Lee Roy Parnell, and Clay Walker. He has also had cuts on albums by Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood, Delbert McClinton, Don Williams, Reba McEntire, Suzy Bogguss, and Hal Ketchum.
In the music world, Arata is a huge success and is in the Country Music Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.
When he was just starting out in Nashville, Arata would perform his songs usually in venues where the patrons were other struggling songwriters. One night he performed The Dance, and a young guy without a record contract told him when he got signed he was going to record that song on his album. The young singer was Garth Brooks.
When Garth recorded it, The Dance became a huge success. It was nominated for a Grammy and was the CMA song of the year in 1990. It became the signature song for Brooks and is instantly recognized by its piano intro.
Back at the wedding, Jane and I introduced ourselves to Tony. Jane told him how much the song meant to one of her close friends. He seemed grateful to hear a story I am sure he has heard hundreds of time of how his song comforted someone during a season of their life. We excused ourselves, found our table and both remarked about how kind a man he seemed to be.
After dinner, as we are saying our goodbye’s to the bride and groom, Tony walked over and asked us the name of Jane’s friend who loved the song. She told him, “Tres.” Tony then gave us a napkin and said, “Please give this to Tres for me.” On the napkin were the lyrics of The Dance handwritten, signed by Arata. Jane and I were not expecting such a generous gesture.
As we drove home that evening, Jane and I talked about how some people let success change them in a negative way while others seem to stay grounded and kind. Tony Arata was definitely in the latter category. He was not pretentious. He heard about a man who was deeply moved by his song, and he blessed that man with a gift.
I later went online to learn more of Tony Arata’s story. In every interview I watched, what struck me was his deep sense of gratitude for his good fortune. Maybe that’s the key. He never grew arrogant in his success. I believe Tony understands life is a combination of good and bad. We need to learn not to resent the bad or become cocky when things go right. All of these experiences end up blending to make our lives what they are today.
As Tony so eloquently penned, “Our lives are better left to chance. I would have missed the pain, but I’d had to miss the dance.”