Songs in my head. Summertime is prime time for music, especially songs from the past. Music marks time for me. The soundtrack of my life is peppered with songs by artists like Carly Simon, James Taylor, Mary Chapin Carpenter, John Hiatt, and Patty Griffin.
When I was 30, life as I had known it for thirty years fell apart. I didn't know then, like I do now, that that had to happen to make room for the person I was learning to be. There's only room for one "me" in my life.
Although the changes in my life are not as radical this time around, they are as significant.
The song by Carly Simon that I thought of as my theme song in 1986 has been one of the songs in my mind:
Coming Around Again
from the album of the same name, 1986
Baby sneezes
Mommy pleases
Daddy breezes in
So good on paper
So romantic
But so bewildering
I know nothing stays the same
But if you're willing to play the game
It's coming around again
So don't mind if I fall apart
There's more room in a broken heart
You pay the grocer
Fix the toaster
Kiss the host good-bye
Then you break a window
Burn the souffle
Scream the lullaby
I know nothing stays the same
But if you're willing to play the game
It's coming around again
So don't mind if I fall apart
There's more room in a broken heart
And I believe in love
But what else can I do
I'm so in love with you
I know nothing stays the same
But if you're willing to play the game
It will be coming around again
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5 comments:
Music is so significant in our lives, and I agree, perhaps more so in the summer. Especially live, seeing concerts outdoors, beneath the summer starlit skies, the songs' meaning seems somehow richer. I've published essays in literary journals looking at parts of my life through the lens of concerts I've been to. I find the parallels fascinating.
I never really liked Carly Simon's music, however, the older I get, the more I've come to enjoy it. Her song "Never knew love at all" always brings tears to my eyes.
Blessings,
Carolynn
So much seems to come around again...and each time we are a little bit wiser, more resilient, and hopefully slightly more open and soft if not prepared.
may you feel safe
may you feel happy
may you feel strong
may you live with ease.
Love that you're not humming "Coming Down Again," that old Stones song that STILL grabs my mind every now and then.
Music can SO change my mood, my mind! That's why I've become a Pandoraphile. Have you discovered it?
Patti
I always loved the line "screaming a lullaby "... not that I ever did it-nor would I chastise anyone who did. But I do remember in my mid 20's (when my children were 3 and 5) singing a lullaby through exhaustion and tears... I would love to hug that young girl and tell her it was going to be alright and what a wonderful mom she was- So long ago. Music does indeed capture the past.
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