Music…

Follow Your Heart

Thunder Seven

Triumph
and Words

People say
Don′t ever look behind
Happiness is just a state of mind
Rock and roll lives and breathes in the hearts of the young

So carry on
You’re runnin′ on borrowed time
Tryin’ hard to survive
Keep on runnin’
Your time is comin’
Keep your dreams alive

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.


As I entered my tenth grade English class in high school one morning, I realized that we had a test that completely slipped my mind.  This particular test was a simple vocabulary test.  Our workbook introduced us to a collection of new words and their definition, and for the test we simply needed to scribble down the definition and perhaps use it in a sentence.  Vocabulary lessons like this taught me words like ‘elicit’ and ‘illicit’ that may sound similar but are very different.

While I only needed about five or ten minutes to look over the words carefully preceding the test, I did not and thus I failed that test.  Following my disastrous first year, I changed my trajectory and transitioned to nearly a straight-A student.  Honestly, I didn’t worry about it.  I did the math in my head and understood that this failed test would not affect my grade at all.  It may bring my grade down 1-2%, but I consistently scored in the mid to high 90%.

Continue reading “Someone who believed”

Music…

As I Lay Me Down

Whaler

Sophie B. Hawkins
and Words

It felt like spring time on this February morning

In a courtyard birds were singing your praise
I’m still recalling things you said to make me feel alright
I carried them with me today now

As I lay me down to sleep
This I pray
That you will hold me dear
Though I’m far away
I’ll whisper your name into the sky
And I will wake up happy

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.


In the mid-1990’s, a song captivated my ears.  Truthfully, her voice mesmerized me as much as the words she sang; that voice held a delicate femininity.  When I discovered that Sophie B. Hawkins would come to Seattle on tour, I simply needed to go.  I cast a wide net; I sent mails to many friends asking if any were interested.  These were the days before streaming music services (or really even the internet), so I copied a few sound files to a share and had them sample it.

I got one bite.  A Vietnamese friend who knew her by her music, but not her name agreed to join me.  While he was more familiar with her debut album, we still went and enjoyed the evening.  We also made plans to have dinner that evening, and it was a date, of sorts.  I was delighted to have seen her in concert.