Thursday, December 8, 2016

Where the numb meets the lonely...

There's something about song lyrics that have the power to lift your mood, give you solace, meet you in your sadness, release your fears, magnify your joy, warm your heart, voice your burdens, and generally just bring a little beauty, truth, and goodness to the world.  Song lyrics have haunted me and inspired me for years, prompting and guiding my own carefully hidden amateur attempts at songwriting.  There is a respect that I hold for songwriters, particularly those who manage to capture and craft that elusive line that hits me deep in my soul.  Those words resonate long after the melody disappears, and speak to the reality that humanity shares more than it differs.  It doesn't have to be some melancholic deconstruction of heartbreak or yearning; it could be a witty self-deprecation or a freeing declaration of love.  It could be rhyming "kitchen sink" with "diesel tank."  There's nothing that I can put my finger on, but I know there are lyrics that have changed me.  Here are a few of my favorites, as I listen to the background genius of Miranda Lambert's The Weight of These Wings:

"By the way there Mr. Tin Man
If you don't mind the scars
You give me your armor
And you can have my heart"

"I could be the shine that's in your eyes
The firmness of your grip
The promise you won't slip upon this road
You could be my heart when I can't start
Turn this fist into a kiss
My mind when I am blind with my own fear"

"I've been spending the last eight months
Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again"

"I never tried to cross the line
But in my mind did several times
I turn the page and slam the door
But you still linger even more"

"If it can't make you cry
Make you mad or get you high
It's just a waste of time
Any old fool can go as far
Dress it up and play the part
But it ain't love if it can't break your heart"

"I still believe in miracles
I still believe in wedding rings and Bibles
I still believe the best walk you will ever take
Is walking down the aisle"

"She's my needle in a haystack
Shiny diamond in the rough
She's my five-leaf clover
Cause four ain't lucky enough"

"I've always been afraid of flying
But you can't blame a girl for trying"

"I'm walking talking drinking proof
A cliche in a corner booth
Ain't nothing new"

"Yeah I'd pound fear to a pile of sand
Choke lonely out with my bare hands
I'd hang hate so that it can't be heard
If I could only kill a word"

"So I like to fantasize
And watch the sunrise like it's a big surprise"

"I could use a love song
That takes me back just like that when it comes on
To a time when I wouldn't roll my eyes
At a guy and a girl who make it work in a world
That for me so far just seems to go so wrong"

"There are ghosts from my past that own more of my soul
Than I thought I had given away
They linger in closets and under my bed
And in pictures less proudly displayed"

"Well it's always a risk and it's always a dare
But it's a far more dangerous thing to listen to fear
But it's a beautiful thing to known and be known
Yeah there's a whole lot of life outside my comfort zone"

"Part of the beauty of falling in love with you
Is the fear you won't fall"

And one of my favorites from my own repertoire:
"But there's a price to pay for reckless
For blowing past the warning signs
A conscience saying you'll regret this
There's no turning back this time"

Happy listening!

1 comment:

Laura Zaps said...

Dan Craig and Jennifer Knapp make me happy.

"I know my words may sound like civil war
But I swear I've never loved you more"

"By the tidings of my tongue I lie
And sing what can't be unsung
My soul torn in two by the things that I say to you"

I reserve the right to make this blog as worthless to read as I feel like, and also to write as infrequently as I deem necessary. Just thought I'd let you know since I finally decided to share my blog.