Sometimes music can so greatly say what you are feeling- so much better than your own words- and with the beautiful melodies behind it, the meaningful words seem to take on a whole new level of emotion. Therefore, this post is going to be about some music I've been listening to lately... and how its spoken to my heart...
A goal of Ryan and I's has been to move south- I am from the south (Florida) and I miss it terribly. There is a need in my
SOUL
to be near the ocean, for sunshine and warmth. I try my hardest to stay positive and upbeat in this horrible season called winter, but I end up depressing myself more by thinking about where we could be... where we
SHOULD be. But I know God has us here for a reason... and I am trying to find the joy in living in this icy tundra. Like today, from the inside of a warm home, the snow looks really pretty... but I'd rather have a view of a palm tree. :( And once a year when we go sledding down Cascades Hill, its fun- although I'd rather be surfing in the Atlantic. One of the things that gets me through the winter is listening to my buds Jimmy & Jack. I've decided to list a few of my faves. and if you too, find yourself depressed by winter, crank up the heat, buy a palm tree for the living room and turn on one of their C.D.s. Its the closest to paradise that I've found living in Michigan.
So here we go with the whole music thing: My mom and (mostly dad) introduced me to the wonderful lyrics and sounds of Jimmy Buffett when I was a kid. I think by the time I was 6 I had all the lyrics down to "Volcano," "Cheeseburger In Paradise," "Margaritaville," and "Come Monday." And to this day, those are some of my fave. songs :)
I was just listening to this song today called "The Captain and the Kid" and I burst out in tears. I have heard it a thousand times before, but everytime, it reminds me of my grandpa. And with Maeve sitting in the backseat, I was reminded that she'd never meet either of her great-grandpas, and one of her great-grandmas (on my side of the family). Its emotional, and Meghan, my sister, I know will just love this post because we share a love for Jimmy and our poppa. My grandpa was a sailor in the navy. He loved the ocean and had many boats and took every chance he could to get out on them and fish- deep sea fishing! I remember one particular picture of him with both of his legs gone, from diabetes, sitting in his wheelchair and wheeling in a giant Marlin. He was really an amazing guy. And some of my favorite memories are his stories- I think half of them were made up :) Anyhow, it was fun to sit on his lap and hear about his adventures on the sea. SO back to "Captain & The Kid" here are some lyrics from it:
"I never used to miss the chance
To climb upon his knee
Listen to the many tales
Of life upon the sea
We'd go sailin' back on barkentines
An' talk of things he did
Tomorrow was just a day away
For the captain and the kid
...He's somewhere on the ocean now
A place he outta be
With one hand on the starboard rail
He's wavin' back at me."
Isn't that a beautiful song? Download it!
Jimmy Buffett holds so much history for me- like I said, I've listened to it since I was a kid and so many of the songs remind me of my childhood, my dad, my grandpa and vacations... Another song I really like a lot, and relate to my dad, is "A Pirate Looks At 40." I think that song describes my dad pretty well :)
"Yes I am a pirate, two hundred years too late
The cannons don't thunder, there's nothin' to plunder
I'm an over-forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late"
-Thats another one you should listen to :)
Now for Jack Johnson :) He is in my generation, rather than Jimmy, who is in my dads/grandpas generation. For those of you who don't know, Jack Johnson's "Better Together" was Ryan & I's first dance song at our wedding...
"...Our dreams, and they are made out of real things,
Like a shoebox of photographs,
With sepiatone loving,
Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart ,
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy,
And sometimes life can be deceiving,
I'll tell you one thing, its always better when we're together"
Isn't that so beautiful? It's an awesome song :)
A few songs that have been pulling at my heart strings lately are "Go On" and "Losing Keys"- both of those songs are on his new album "Sleep Through the Static."
"Go On" is about his kids, which obviously makes me emotional about Maeve :)
Here is a snippet from "Go On"
"In my rear view, I watch you, watching the twilight
behind the telephone lines with nothing to prove,
or to assume. Just thinking that your thoughts
are different than mine. Through my rear view, I watch
you, I gave you your life, but you give me mine."
I LOVE that last line- so true- I worked so hard to bring Maeve into this world, I and with much help from God, gave her life, but she gives me mine. :) So true huh?
Losing Keys has one lyric that I think can speak volumes about my life:
"The world has its ways to quiet us down,
the world has its ways to quiet us down comes the rain,
down comes our spirits again, but down comes the strength
that lifts us up and then..."
Anyways I could probably go on forever listing lyrics that I love and that are near and dear to my heart, but instead I will leave you with one last Jimbo song:
This particular song I think can describe ME- I feel like a "Cowboy in the Jungle" so many times- just out of place. Meant to be in my hometown of St. Augustine, FL, but instead here, in Jackson, MI.
"Cowboy In The Jungle"
"We've gotta roll with the punches
Learn to play all of our hunches
Makin' the best of whatever comes your way
Forget that blind ambition
And learn to trust your intuition
Plowin' straight ahead come what may
And there's a cowboy in the jungle"
