What is an album or a song that speaks to you? That transports and connects you to a different time in your life? That stirs your soul?
I came across one when I found a Genesis CD buried long ago in an overstuffed cabinet. I cried as I did every single time I listened to this album when I was a courageous but anxious young woman, new to Denver where I knew almost no one. An album about navigating through change, And Then There Were Three spoke to the angst and self-doubt of a young woman transitioning to a new city, finding new friends and brimming with hopes, dreams and fears.
Back then, I wondered if the move west would work out and if I would seize the day. The lyrics that hit home the most were from the song “Undertow”.
“If this were the last day of your life, my friend
Tell me, what do you think you would do then?
Stand up to the blow that fate has struck upon you
Make the most of all you still have coming to you
Lay down on the ground and let the tears run from you
Crying to the grass and trees and heaven finally on your knees”
Dramatic yes, but also cathartic. I wanted to live as though it was my last day – squeeze out every ounce of life and not be defeated by what had come before. But in the next moment, I would give in and feel consumed by fear.
It was the song’s lyrics but also the music, the way it pushed and pulled me emotionally. I fell into the song’s rhythms, the drama. It stirred feelings of anger and being broken, then soothed me, before cycling through my emotions again. Each time I listened it was a rebirth, a connection to a place without words.
There is power in a song that helps us navigate a moment in our life. I am thankful for this glimpse of my younger self, and I only had to hit play and listen to be transported through the music.
Photo source: https://www.amazon.com/Then-There-Were-Three/dp/B000002J2D, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1075798
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