Tonight, I can’t find the words to write about anything in particular. My heart is heavy, and I can’t get anything out. I can feel autumn creeping in, and with it I sense great change.
With this in mind, I’ve chosen a few songs that always seem to pop up for me this time of year. I’ve included some of my favorite lyrics and links to each if you care to listen.
“It was late at night
You held on tight
From an empty seat
A flash of light
It will take a while
To make you smile
Somewhere in these eyes
I'm on your side”
Lord Huron, “The Night We Met”
“When the night was full of terrors
And your eyes were filled with tears
When you had not touched me yet
Oh, take me back to the night we met
I had all and then most of you
Some and now none of you
Take me back to the night we met
I don't know what I'm supposed to do
Haunted by the ghost of you
Take me back to the night we met”
“And I know you have a heavy heart
I can feel it when we kiss
So many men stronger than me
Have thrown their backs out trying to lift it
But me I'm not a gamble
You can count on me to split
The love I sell you in the evening
By the morning won't exist”
Daniel Johnston, “Some Things Last A Long Time”
“Your picture is still
On my wall, on my wall
The colors are bright
Bright as ever
The things we did, I can't forget
Some things last a lifetime
Some things last a lifetime
Some things last a lifetime”
“I'm getting lost in your curls
I'm drawing pictures on your skin
So soft it twirls
I like your looks when you get mean
I know I shouldn't say so but when you
Claw me like a cat, I'm beaming
I like the way you squeeze my hand
Pulling me to another dream
We should dream”
Gaslight Anthem, “National Anthem”
“I never will forget you my American love
And I'll always remember you, wild as they come
And though if I saw you I'd pretend not to know
The place where you were in my heart is now closed
I already live with too many ghosts”
“Oh, I wanna come near and give ya
Every part of me
But there is blood on my hands
And my lips are unclean
In my darkness I remember
Momma's words reoccur to me
"Surrender to the good Lord
And he'll wipe your slate clean"
That’s all I got tonight. Hopefully you can connect with a few of these songs. I’ll end with a passage from the Dao de Jing, because why not?
If you want to become whole,
let yourself be partial.
If you want to become straight,
let yourself be crooked.
If you want to become full,
let yourself be empty.
If you want to be reborn,
let yourself die.
If you want to be given everything,
give everything up.