I don't even know where to start with this song. Musically, it's disconcerting. Emotionally, it's draining. Relationally, it's dangerous. To be honest, I don't even like to play it live because it is so difficult to stay focused. A friend of mine, a gifted songwriter and musician, told me that he cried the first time he heard the chorus.
I blame Facebook.
The roots of the chorus date back to around the same time as "Between Athens & Atlanta," but the verses are a bit closer. Moving away from your family and friends is exciting at first, but it wears you out over time. Even with all the new friends we have found, there's something about the guys who've known you since you were riding bikes to the park, the girls that you dated (counted on one hand, in my case) that are amazingly doing just fine without you (did I mention that I have the spiritual gift of sarcasm?), and the dwindling number of places that you can point to and say "do you remember when...?". It never occurred to me then that they would ever not be a part of my daily life.
But you can't go back. The places you remember aren't there any more. All the people have changed. So have we.
I'm thankful that I was able to get these thoughts and emotions out through these songs. My hope is that now I can move on to other themes, the ones I'm living through now and looking forward to in the future. Musically, this is only the first chapter, and I hope that it's got you hooked enough to wait for the rest...it might be a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment