Celebrating My Top Writer in Life Lessons!
A Mixtape With My Favorite Lyrics, Songs, and Messages
What life’s about: sand, wind, turquoise water, and smiles at the West Ruskin Pavilion at Seaside, Florida with my sweet rascal/Credit: Jacqueline Ward Images
For those who know me (even tangentially), you should know that THIS was the ONLY way I would celebrate my surprising latest top writer designation.
I have culled some of my very favorite songs filled with messages of authenticity, honesty, reality, hope, and love to celebrate LIFE LESSONS.
“So if you have something to say
Say it to me now”
Actually Glen Hansard’s “Say It to Me Now” is so special to me that I’m going to devote an entire story to it. For today, though, this story would be incomplete without briefly mentioning its lyrics and message.
Say it to me now. Carpe diem. Regardless of the exact phrasing, it’s a universal message: don’t squander your time; don’t withhold your love; trust yourself; embrace your friends, loved ones, your life, and your passions.
“No one ever talks about their feelings anyway
Without dressing them in dreams and laughter
I guess it’s just too painful otherwise”
It was a happy accident circa 1992 while I was a sophomore at FSU. A neighbor of my best pal loaned me a tape with Jackson Browne’s Late for the Sky on one side of it. (Lyle Lovett was on the other.) I reluctantly took the tape and listened to it with low expectations.
These songs instantly won me over. And those lyrics smacked me in the face. I was only 20 and knew how true they were.
Hiding the truth. Our thoughts. Our dreams. Ourselves.
And if we do take the leap to share ourselves. We curb it. We smile, we laugh, we make light. We brush off. We belittle our own dreams and hopes. To avoid exposing too much.
“The Late Show” remains one of my favorite songs. The lyrics are beautiful and the observations remain universal.
“You will find a great weight lifting
Easing your mind, a great weight lifting
Just leave it behind, a great weight lifting
And you will find a great weight lifting”
If you aren’t familiar with the Scottish band, Trashcan Sinatras, you’re in for a treat! Lead singer, Frank Reader, brings his most delicate, gorgeous delivery on the aptly named “Weightlifting.” He almost sighs rather than sings. Truly angelic!
I’m a long-time fan of these talented guys who never fail to bring the jangliest of British guitars! I always feel a little lighter when I listen to this song. What a gorgeous reminder to breathe and let go of life’s burdens.
“When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be”
Personally, I appreciate the paradoxes of the Beatles’ masterpiece “Let It Be.” It’s religious yet it’s not, it’s understated yet lush, it’s about hope yet also about acceptance, it’s sublime yet intense, it’s simple yet complex. It can kind of be whatever you want it to be.
“Everything must change
Nothing stays the same
Everyone must change
No one stays the same
The young become the old
And mysteries do unfold
Cause that’s the way of time
Nothing and no one goes unchanged
Winter turns to spring
A wounded heart will heal
But never much too soon
Yes everything must change”
“Everything Must Change” has a straightforward message.
Of course there are so many types of change. Some challenging, some devastating, some bittersweet, some joyous. May we handle that change with acceptance, with grace, and, in the case of a joyous event, with gratitude.
As for the song itself, I find it beautiful in the most classic of ways. And there’s no one like Nina Simone, is there? I dig James Ingram’s (and Oleta Adams’) versions, but there’s more “weight” with Nina’s version.
She’s just a little more sincere, more heartfelt, more intense, deeper, more intoxicating. I never fail to “feel” her in her songs.
And, as always, her piano playing is fantastic — a little lovelier and more restrained on this particular tune, but wonderful nonetheless.
“I love you in place where there’s no space or time
I love you for in my life you are a friend of mine
And when my life is over remember when we were together
We were alone and I was singing this song for you”
Karen Carpenter sings the iconic version of “A Song for You,” so beautifully crafted by Leon Russell. Some of the most romantic lyrics ever written. An exquisite song about what life is all about: love, being present, and connectedness.
“Music
(Add some music add some music)
When you’re alone
(Add some music add some music)
Is like a companion
(Add some music add some music)
For your lonely soul”
Well, duh. I’m not a top writer in music for nothing! “Add Some Music to Your Day” is pretty much my life mantra!
Last lesson: Sometimes you don’t need lyrics or words or a voice. The music, the instrument, the musician give EVERYTHING you need to hear and experience!
Be swept away and rejoice in the wonder that is Billy Preston playing “How Great Thou Art” on the organ!
As always, I thank you for reading my (often) random tales, whether they are about life, love, dating, music, or more shallow topics (fashion and my other passions)! And thank you for celebrating my most recent top writer accolade!
If you enjoyed this story, you might also like:
Thank you for reading this story
I know you are busy and have lots of ways you could be spending your time. You using your time to read my work means the world to me — my sincerest thanks!
If you liked this story, please press the 👏 applause button as generously as you feel called (Medium allows up to 50 claps)! It will help other people find my work.
Also, please follow me on Medium, Instagram, and Facebook if you want! I would love that.
