Category Archives: Music

Gabriel’s Oboe

Posted on by learning to live like water

 

This is one of my favorite pieces of music.  Yo Yo Ma playing Gabriel’s Oboe and The Falls from the movie The Mission.  It can bring me to tears.  It always felt like it should be played at the end of a long emotional journey, in which our spirit triumphs over incredible odds.  I picture someone standing at the edge of the ocean, the sun a half circle on the horizon, arms upstretched.  Thanking all the powers that be for giving them the grace to have made it.  I hope you enjoy it, as I do.

Love to all.

 

Both Sides Now

Posted on by learning to live like water

I’ve loved this version of Both Sides Now since I heard her sing it at the Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremonies.  I think it speaks to where many of us are, as we approach the last half, or third or quarter of our lives.  Just felt like sharing today.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

An Evening with the Opera

Posted on by learning to live like water

Tonight I’m home, and watching TV and on the computer.  Bored with FB, I went on YouTube.  I just perused the home page, and clicked on Luciano Pavarotti.  The first video was Pavarotti singing Nessum Dorma in Central Park.  And I thought….God, to listen to him, imagine in person!, is to be in the presence of true true greatness.

Then something he sang with Celine Dion, I Hate you then I love you, which was nice but not as impressive as Nessum Dorma.  Then singing Miserere with Zucchero.  I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t know who Zucchero was, but I googled him.  So now I know that he is well known in Italy, but is not an opera singer.  I watched Pavarotti sing  Ave Maria with Bono at an anti Iraq war concert in Italy.  That was amazing.

I never liked Opera as a kid.  I have grown to love it as an adult, but still don’t have any of it to listen to.  I think I need to put some on my iPhone though.  It is so beautiful, something you feel, not just hear.  None of it is in English, yet…you can feel the emotion.  It’s enough to make me cry, but because it just delights the senses, with it’s richness, and fullness, and it’s sheer beauty.  It has the ability to transport us to a higher place.

S once told me he would take me to the opera.  One more of those things he said that was just idle talk, never meant to be taken seriously, and had to be let go.  Well…..someone will.  Or I’ll take myself.  That’s for another day.  Right now, I think I’ll go to iTunes and see if I can’t find some Pavarotti to put on my phone, for those days when I am numbed by all the callousness in this world.

I leave you with this.  In the words of David Crosby, “Music Is Love”.

Mercedes Benz

Posted on by learning to live like water

I’m considering taking my last blog down. I had such a difficult morning emotionally. I had all these memories from my marriage, a difficult night’s sleep with that picture of my son all bruised in my head. Some overwhelming guilt, and it all blended in with S’s recent actions. I don’t think the gray pouring rain day was helping me either.

But anyway, I pushed through all that stuff. I sat with it, which for me means writing about it. So I did, two blogs on all that nasty, abusive stuff that my ex put us through. And one on S. It’s just that I think I’ve maybe over-dissected the thing with S. The outcome will always be the same, he betrayed me yet again. Even if he didn’t say that to her, he said it to me. He thought it. He is an asshole. I am done. I hope I’m done expending any more energy on his loser ass. If he’s sick, I’m sorry. Actually, I mean, sickER because he’s already sick. I am sorry, but I don’t want to know about it. I don’t want to be encumbered by that knowledge.

Tonight I’m in a good place. I am back to my basically happy self. I know I have a really nice life. So many good things are falling into place, and so many bad things are falling by the wayside.

So…I won’t take it down, because it was cathartic to write it. But it was a wave, it was temporary. The real me is back. Don’t read too much into it, it’s just another level of letting go.

In other news, lol, I was sitting at my desk today, and started singing Mercedes Benz by Janis Joplin. One of the other 60-something women I work with sang with me. I decided at that moment I needed that song on my iphone, so I bought it for 99 cents. I need to go back and look again, because there is so much good music by Janis. But I thought I’d put up Mercedes Benz tonight, because….it’s just the way it is sometimes. Love and light all, and enjoy the song. If you don’t know it, you are young it’s short and pretty funny. And true….

I Should Stop a Listening to My Music

Posted on by learning to live like water

On my phone when I go to lunch. There is too much to remind me of S.   Songs like Harvest Moon by Neil Young.  Slow dancing in his living room to it. Laying on his shoulder…  I put a lot of Neil on after that. Van Morrison, Someone Like You. Always thought that was about S. 

Also lots of music that brings back the pain, and I don’t want to revisit that either. Silver Spring by Fleetwood Mac, Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd, Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez. 

I think I better switch to Pandora.  Less chance of a trigger.  Struggling a little today.  First time all week, probably because it’s a long weekend, and once again  I’m alone. Dammit. I’ll be ok. 

I’m posting this from my phone. Don’t know if the YouTube link will display. 

Hot Summer Day

Posted on by learning to live like water

This song has been in my head this morning, because it’s late summer and going to hit 90°F today.  I saw this band, It’ A Beautiful Day, back in 1970 when I was in college.  They blew me away.  They made one album, then had issues with royalties or song rights or something.  Now they have re-recorded a lot of their music under David LaFlamme, the leader and incredible violin player. The recording is from Tanglewood in 1970, so is not real hi-tech but still is awesome. These are the lyrics.  ENJOY!

Hot summer day (Hot summer day)
Carry me along
Oh, hot summer day (Hot summer day)
Please carry me along
Hot summer day
Carry me along
To its end
Where I begin

Long summer dream (Long summer dream)
Sliding round my mind
Those long summer dreams (Long summer dream)
Are leaving me behind
Hot summer day
Carry me along
To its end
Where I begin

Circling like a river
Over brightly colored stones
Breaking up my soul
And taking part of me home
Leaving the other half
To tumble all alone
Love, love, where did you go?

Hot summer day (Hot summer day)
Carry me along
To its end where I begin
Those long summer dreams (Long summer dream)
Still spinning round my mind
And they end where they begin

And I want to grab that river
And stop the love that’s dying
Because I know that somewhere
Deep inside my soul you’re still lying
Waiting to awaken
And shake that river’s flow
Love, love, where did you go?

They told me that the sun turned green
I said I didn’t know
And they told me that the moon turned blue
I said it didn’t show
And they told me that I looked a fool
And I said I’d let that go
But when they told me that our love was dead
I had to turn and go

Oh love
Love
Love
Love
Love
Where did you go?

Hot summer day (Hot summer day)
Carry me along
To its end
Where I begin
Long summer dreams (Long summer dream)
Sliding round my mind
And they end
Where they begin

Circling like a river
Over brightly colored stones
Breaking up my soul
And taking part of me home
Leaving the other half
To tumble all alone
Love, love, where did you go?

Burning Man

Posted on by learning to live like water

Today my son was off work, so he and I made a run to Sam’s Club to restock the house.  He has gotten into going to music festivals recently.  He went to one in NJ, at Giant’s Stadium.  He’s going to another in NY over Labor Day and next summer some HUGE festival in Las Vegas.  We have been talking about festivals, Woodstock forward.  I didn’t go to Woodstock, I lived in the midwest then.  I told my son I’d really like to go to Burning Man.

His eyes got huge. “Really, Mom???”  It’s like a hot bed of drugs.”   “Well, sure,” I said.  “Name a festival that doesn’t have HUGE amounts of drugs.  Doesn’t mean you have to do them.”  I told him that I know a lot of people my age that want to go someday. So after he calmed down, he told me about a documentary on Netflix called Spark, which is about Burning Man.

It’s not about the music, it’s really about the art, the huge performance art.  It seemed to be about people being free, and conscious of the environment, living in the moment.  It seems like it gets crazy, but it’s so non judgmental.  And crazy in a fun way, though with the fire I guess it could easily get out of control. But mostly just crazy fun!

I was chatting on text with A who was at a teeny little country music festival up in Michigan, and he told me Burning Man is on his bucket list.  He said he plans to take his trailer with him and park it there. We said maybe we’d meet up there.  Who knows what the future can hold.  I had fun chatting with him anyway.  Amazing to talk to someone via text for a couple hrs who never tries to make me feel bad about anything.  There is never an unkind word. I feel like I just woke up from a bad dream, into one that is absolutely pleasant.

I am really blessed.  I have so much to be grateful for, and so much going on in my life.  Gonna go back to my default mode and be grateful.  My trip to NY, my carpal tunnel surgery to end the stupid pain I have.  New carpeting in my TV room, a move to a warm place and no more winter, a far off dream of Italy and Burning Man, an awesome kid, a great bunch of friends, a loving family.  And a male friend, who, at the very least, makes me feel like what I say has value.

Burning Man would be so much fun though……