When Miriam was born, I made her a mix of songs that played at our house over and over and over for weeks if not months. One of the songs was "Daughters," by John Mayer. I love the soulfulness but yet not polished quality of his voice, and Brent and I would often talk about how we especially liked it when that song came on. For Valentine's Day that year, Brent got me the at-that-time new John Mayer CD "Continuum." I absolutely loved it, listened to it over and over, and it is still one of my favorite CDs. One thing I love is the obvious thought that is put into the lyrics of the songs. They sound more like poetry than mere lyrics. I love listening to them and hearing how the words fit together and come together to mean something bigger. My favorite two songs on the album are "The Heart of Life," and "Stop This Train." They explore the feeling that life-is-turning-out-to-be-not-quite-what-I-thought-it-was-supposed-to-be-yet-I-think-it'll-be-okay. John was born the year after I was, and this might be a common theme for those who have been in the adult world for a few years now and are trying to cope with the "is this it?" emotion. I listened to "The Heart of Life" nonstop for a while. It sums up so perfectly the motto of life. "No, it won't all go the way it should, but I know the heart of life is good." It made me cry the first time I heard it because it was so apt. In "Stop This Train," he wants the world to stop so that he can go back to being a little boy when things were safe and happy. In it, he talks to his dad about how to deal with getting older. I love imagining John turning to his parents for advice and just wanting to be little again. I can relate to that. I also love how he refers to himself in his songs as "John." When his dad answers in the song, he says "John, honestly..." It makes it so personal like he really is my friend telling me a story. I have purposefully not read a lot about John's personal life. I don't want the idea that he's a player or rude or gay or a guy who makes bad financial decisions taint his music for me. I'll just keep his music as my friend.
4 comments:
Glad you got the video to post and I love john mayer.
Played on the teter totter today at willow park....thought of you.
Enjoyed the post. I too have longed to go back in time and visit my childhood. I agree that life is very different than I had imagined by I enjoy it all the same.
Sarah Brightman sings many songs in several foreign languages. It is her voice that I find soothing during this time in life.
Ah yes, the teeter totter. I finally found one by the new WalMart in Sandy in the Quarry Bend development. It was raining when I saw it, so we didn't stop, and I haven't been back with both Miriam and Brent since, but there is a teeter totter in our future! Thanks for thinking of us! And thanks for the technical assist on the video post.
Oh....and I you I forgot to say this before, but you should totally be a music therapist....look at you....finding the deeper meaning in the lyrics and applying it to your personal situations in life. Dr. Y would be so proud!
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