Whatnot Wednesday: Clear Blue Morning, & Dead of Winter at Robbie Cheadle’s

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Hello, all. On Monday morning as I drank my coffee, the above video drew my attention when it showed up on my YouTube feed. No matter the genre, I usually enjoy song-videos what show composites of several different singers, harmonizing together from their various locations. This one, “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” is performed by Dolly Parton along with Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, and Reba McEntire.

Something about the song and the performance touched me much more than I ever would have expected. I was so moved that by the end of the song, I just sat for a while, letting my tears flow for a little while. They weren’t tears of sadness, but they weren’t happy tears either.

It wasn’t until a few hours later that I realized from which emotion the tears came. That’s probably because I thought that particular emotion was dead in me, or at least hiding fearfully in the deepest, darkest recess of my mind. Now I think… that maybe, just maybe… that emotion was hope.

Light of a Clear Blue Morning

It’s been a long dark nightAnd I’ve been a waitin’ for the morningIt’s been a long hard fightBut I see a brand new day a dawningI’ve been looking for the sunshineYou know I ain’t seen it in so longBut everything’s gonna work out just fineAnd everything’s gonna be all rightThat’s been all wrong

‘Cause I can see the light of a clear blue morningI can see the light of a brand new dayI can see the light of a clear blue morningOh, and everything’s gonna be all rightIt’s gonna be okay

Woman southwest patio watch Eagle by Teagan via Night Cafe

It’s been a long, long timeSince I’ve known the taste of freedomAnd those clinging vinesThat had me bound, well I don’t need ’emOh, I’ve been like a captured eagle, you know an eagle’s born to fly

Now that I have won my freedom, like an eagle I am eager for the sky

And I can see the light of a clear blue morningI can see the light of brand new dayI can see the light of a clear blue morning

Oh, and everything’s gonna be all rightIt’s gonna be okay

Songwriter: Dolly Parton

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Recipes & Books

Today I’m also visiting with Robbie Cheadle at one of her many fine blogs. We’re discussing how food is used in fantasy novels, including my epic, Dead of Winter. Please join us for a tasty discussion — and recipes.

Click Here

Note: The “photo” images that illustrate the song were composed through my imagination in Night Cafe.

Friendly comments are welcome. I hope you’ll click over and join Robbie and me in our discussion. Hugs!

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Of course, since this epic was the inspiration for Robbie’s post, the obligatory shameless self-promotion has to be about it.

Dead of Winter Omnibus: All the Journeys

The 14 Journeys (novellas) of Dead of Winter in one volume.

Universal Purchase link (e-book only): relinks.me/B0FP9XL46J

Audiobook: relinks.me/B0FPB2L9WV

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This work is entirely human-written. Furthermore, the author expressly prohibits any entity from using this publication for purposes of training AI technologies to generate text.

No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author or provided by free sources, unless stated otherwise.

Teagan's Books

Founder of the Three Things Method of Storytelling