Early this morning I was driving and feeling a little low; fortunately, my I-pod was playing. With over 1200 songs on there, I'm sometimes pleasantly surprised by a song I haven't heard in a while. As "Better Days" from Bruce Springsteen's 1992 recording called "Lucky Town" played, I picked up on this lyric - "Every fool's got a reason for feeling sorry for himself...". Although I've always loved the lyrics to "Better Days", somehow that particular phrase had escaped me until this listening. But it was just what I needed to hear at that moment. What was the last piece of music that had a similar effect on you?
I've often read and heard it said that popular music (like Springsteen's) is, by definition, fleeting. I suppose there's some truth in that and it's possible not many people will be listening to "Better Days" 50 or 100 years from now. No matter - I get this kind of lift all the time from music and remain grateful this is so. Today it was a lyric; a few weeks ago it was the intense energy of "Guerilla Radio" by Rage Against The Machine; next week it will be something else. Fleeting? Perhaps, but isn't a lot of life about fleeting moments we need to be paying more attention to?
"Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello never fails me.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that it should be impossible to pay attention to everything...every lyric, every soundbite, every person in our midst, yet this is what we are made for! If not, then what? The more we are able to be present to each and every minute moment, the more the "fleeting" moments are stitched together to form a beautiful quilt that is the backdrop of a fulfilled life. Just saying....this is something I strive to achieve....and the days when I am able to do it well, I feel so much more at ease and peaceful.
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oh, and the song that gets me every time, no matter what, is "Good Noise" by John Gorka. Could be I needed a pick-me-up. Could be I needed justification for my happiness or actions...doesn't matter. Works every time.
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Songs to add to my list: "Pump It Up" and "Good Noise"; thanks Kim and d.
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