This is an old favorite - it's a gentle folk melody. The singer is a wanderer, a man who cannot settle down. He lives a nomad life and is alone most of the time. He sees a side of life that is not very pretty. He seems to live from day to day, not having or wanting much. He is a drifter. Maybe he does not want to settle down. But there is loneliness in his lyrics - maybe a touch of regret. This is who he is. He is not fit or suited to any permanent relationship. He wants no "chains to bind me". And once, maybe long ago, he found such a relationship, but moved on anyway. The woman lives in his memory and he thinks of her often. He does not go back to seek her. I don't think he even knows why that is. Maybe he has nothing to offer her. But when he thinks of her, and whatever they shared, his mind is soothed and being "gentle on my mind" means that he has no bitterness, mistrust, betrayal, in his memories of her. In his memory, which is probably distorted over time, this woman grows more and more gentle and generous, and he uses the memory to comfort himself. He may miss her, but not enough to change his wandering life-style. Is he not good enough for her? Was she married to another? The relationship did not last - except in his mind. Does she remember him? Does she wish he would come back to her? Since the song is written from his point of view we have no idea. Nor do we know how close these two people were, how intimate, how long they were together. He may have just known her briefly, or not known her really at all. She is an image that stabilizes him to a point. But he does not go back to find her or what he lost. I find that I resent him, and feel that he is a bit selfish. He will keep this rather worthless life-style and keep her close only in his imagination. I wonder what she remembers about him? The sense of "too late" permeates this song. Of giving up. Of assuming there is no sense starting over, searching for any good relationship. This seems a bit selfish of him.

This song, sung by a choir, was featured on an album along with "Calling all Angels" - the collection of songs were all about angels. So maybe that is where the confusion came from. Many artists contributed - I remember Patty Larkin's "Angels Running" another great song, was also on the album. I will check to see who wrote this song. As far as meaning, the metaphor is pretty straightforward: Jesus IS the apple tree (not Jesus is Like an apple tree). Apple trees were common in many parts of the world, and sometimes the fruit of other trees were called "apples". The crops were bountiful, the tree full and gave much shade. The fruit was "clean", fresh, and added to health. It tasted good. The tree is compared to other trees and they are found wanting. The writer has awakened to the value, beauty and abundance of the common apple tree. Just as he/she has awakened to the "fruit" o Christ's abundant love. He is fed and sheltered by the tree (Christ), a tree that is not exotic, but common and available to nearly everyone. The starving fed on apples to stay alive because they were easy to find and plentiful. And so in the common, in the "ordinary", the greatest blessing is found. The tree provides for human needs, in this poem, in a spiritual way. Spiritual meal, if you will. The author sees God in nature, and nature in God.

Who is the man placed upon the steps? One of the many international angels "chanted" in the first stanza? A baby is crying - a birth and church bells - celebration. But the weigh of human existence, the gravity, after weightlessness, takes some getting used to. But angels (from the Orthodox religion), cannot say 'no' to a human plea. They can live and fly forever, but they must serve when called by humans. Such weight in that service - will "he" service the new baby? Will he travel with the newborn for the rest of his life? Then the point of view seems to switch - Is the man on the steps now US? Have we been chosen to walk through a confusing world? Walking thru life carrying the weight which sometimes seems unbearable, and measured in TIME. Ambiguous: "And how many times ah - before it's too late?" Before what is too late? How many times does the angel descend to aid a human's walk through life? Or - how many times do we humans have to walk this difficult road that we don't quite understand. And maybe we are to be the guardians of another human - but we are not angels and are not sure how to do it. We are not sure how long, nor are we sure how, or how this trip through life goes. Confusion, "weight" of sorrow, confusion of not knowing the true path, But would we trade this life for anything else? Are we just on the edge of discovering life's meaning? If angels travel with us and help bear the burdens and show the way, we can walk through the world - not quite so lost as we think.