Music touches my soul. I love how lyrics, or melodies will shed light on life for me. A simple song can resonate with my heart and make me feel in union with emotions. You may have noticed throughout these snides lyrical references. It is plain to see, that music accompanies my life. If you haven’t read it yet, you should read the guest snide by Andrew. He quotes Hans Christian Anderson who says “Where words fail, music speaks.” I have not been much of a talker in my life. My introversion doesn’t mean I am much of a thinker either, so don’t be too confused. I am a feeler. The trouble comes in trying to express those emotions. Music potentially then, is something I find release in. A heavy lyric opens a well of emotion inside me. As Andrew writes, music is “something your soul needs to hear at that moment… something that resonates with the tonality and rhythm of the song.”
Chris Brahmer walking amongst the columns
Anyway, all this is brought up cause I was looking through art journals and personal journals from my trip to Europe in May of 1997. On one particular day in my art journal, we were travelling through the biblical city of Corinth, as well as some old Macedonian cities. We were looking at architecture and tombs that dated back to 1250 B.C. Up to this point I had been having a fascinating, eye opening trip. I was learning from the time, from the art, and from the crazy collection of people I was travelling with. Despite the constant community, my emotions were feeling mostly isolated at the time. I felt, not really at a crossroads, but I could feel the winds of change (yes, 2 cliches, on purpose!) approaching off the Greek waters. I was about to enter my senior year of college. “The greatest time of life” was soon to end. What was my legacy? What had I accomplished? What did I want to suck out of the remaining year? What would be my final memories of friends and places? And I held with me a fear of the future. I had never planned past college. All of my dreams post college were of wives and kids (OK, one of those was in a singular sense). I was soon to be venturing into the deep unknown. What did I want to do in life? What sort of job did I want to find? I had no direction. All I had known in life was one grade to the next, one school year the next. I don’t plan ahead very well.
Dori, Holly, Courtney, Karen, and Autumn under the Lions Gate
As I was walking through the lions gate, and viewing the beehive tombs, I wrote at the top of this particular art journal entry, a poignant lyric that was resonating with me that day.
I am standing at the entrance
To a new world I can see
The ruins to the right of me
Will soon have lost sight of me
Love rescue me
-U2
Love Rescue Me
Listen Now
This is a beautiful song. Even the “sha la la la” touches my tear ducts, as cheesy as that sounds.
I wonder if I am the same person as the person that was writing these things back then. Life is full of lessons and experiences. I have learned that I am spoken to, and speak out of lyric and song. In the journey, I must seek occurrences in my every day life that challenge my reflections. Finding the little lessons is sometimes the joy of life. Whether I am the same person mentally and emotionally as I was back then, is tough to know. Maybe a lot of that me remains. Maybe a lot of that me has washed away.
On that same days art journal I wrote, “Also, while on this bus tour, it wasn’t a scheduled stop, but I saw something I felt was remarkable and worth noting. [There] was a pier from 200 B.C built at the Port of Corinth or also known as Sinclair. This port led to big steps in exploring and travelling to Asia Minor. All that remains is a few stones. I found it beautiful.”
My life is like that pier. Sometimes my life is full of travel and exploration. Sometimes my life is a vital part of existence. And other times, I may feel incomplete. Life, in some seasons, may be down to just a few stones. But I find it beautiful.
Ok, this is not the same U2 song as the one I quoted. I used the term “heavy lyrics” which is a term I always think of because of this clip below. In it B.B King says to Bono, “Those are some heavy lyrics, young man. You mighty young to be writin’ lyrics that heavy.”
Two other tidbits on this video clip.
– I love when they are backstage and Bono starts talking about “not the first verse, first chorus, not the second verse…” and then Larry is being a drill sargent about the song. And then he says the title to this snide: “Cause Edge Is On A Completely Different Timing As Usual”
– B.B says “I’m no good with chords…I’m horrrrible with chords.”
– “A lot of emotion right there, that’s alright young man, that’s alright”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH81Klu1FAw
As I have been thinking and preparing for my upcoming jaunt to Italy, I have been looking through old art and personal journals from previous travels. I’d like to share what I wrote on June 1st, 1997.