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What we're sort of seduced into thinking that like, here's life and then there's these

bad things that can happen that are like obstacles that just fall into your road, is if the obstacle

is not the road, you know, we want to think that all things being equal, you know, we

should be content all the time and would be except for these pesky flies that we're

all ruling every picnic, you know, as if that isn't what the picnic is.

Joe Henry faced his mortality this past year with stage 4 cancer.

Having been told he might have months to live, he's now in remission and has created

a gorgeous new album, The Gospel According to Water.

But Joe's wisdom about living and the loss that strangely defines it ran all the way through

the cherished conversation I had with him in 2016.

He is beloved by fellow musicians as much as by fans.

He's made over a dozen albums of his own and written and produced for an array of other

artists including Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raite, Rianne and Giddens, Billy Bragg and Madonna.

I'm Krista Tippett and this is on Beeing.

Joe Henry is based in Los Angeles with his wife Melanie.

Their long marriage is a vivid presence across time in his songs.

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