A Poem
Listen to the song here: https://soundcloud.com/zoe-the-lemur-plait/fall-again-final-vocals
I caught September’s first golden leaf
like autumn waving hello
remember when you caught me
so many falls ago?
seasons change, but you remain an
open door when my curtain closes
center of my web of roses
through fall, fall, fall again
strokes of amber leaves and pumpkin
paint you new again
time has not touched our haunted home
the sweet chill of October
sends its love from San Francisco
seasons change, but you remain an
open door when my curtain closes
center of my web of roses
through fall, fall, fall
heartbeat when my breath is fading
everything that is worth saving
through fall, fall, fall
through fall, fall, fall again
another Thanksgiving warms our home again
you’re in your favorite sweater
nutmeg candles crackling
give thanks we’re still together
seasons change, but you remain an
open door when my curtain closes
center of my web of roses
through fall, fall, fall
heartbeat when my breath is fading
final name I am engraving
through fall, fall, fall
through fall, fall, fall again
Miss Misery 
Wow. Such a pretty song – thanks for sharing!
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Thank you!
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When I’m thinking about someone — and circumstances that they’re either going through or have been through — I often scour my collection for a song to channel my thoughts. It won’t be long before your blog prompts me to listen to enough songs to fill an entire mixtape.
I thought about sharing some lyrics in response to your first post, as a couple of candidates came to mind, but decided instead to go with the Henri Nouwen quote that I shared on Twitter. (I shared it on Twitter rather than as a blog comment because I was feeling a bit embarrassed about not having blogged for over six months … I think lots of people are taking time off blogging this year because the mental energy that ought to go into writing is being used up just processing world news.)
Anyway, this song of yours makes me think about other songs that use seasons as a metaphor for the ups and downs of human experience. With that in mind, I’d like to nominate After Rain by Oysterband as song of the day. (The link goes to a lyrics page on the artists’ website.)
I used to compose when I was younger but not so much now.
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Wow, I’m really touched that you’d compose a mental playlist based on my music. I get a lot of inspiration from various artists, and I think my songs reflect that, so maybe you’ll come up with some of the artists who compel me to write. Please continue to share – I’m always looking for new stuff.
Zoe
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Well, would you believe it … while drafting a reply yesterday I turned my monitor off so I could test run some music in a darker, more atmospheric setting … but afterwards my monitor wouldn’t turn back on again! Panic!!
I switched the computer off, thinking maybe it would sort itself on restart, and sacrificing my reply in the process. A hard sacrifice, but had it worked it would have saved me the $400 I’ve just spent on a new monitor and technician callout. The technician confirmed that the monitor had failed.
There’s a metaphor for depression here that’s not lost on me, and I shudder to think how it would have hit me if I were vulnerable. Fortunately I am able to see the lighter side and pick myself up. So, how much of my original reply should I retype…?
My collection includes a lot of music with lyrics in languages other than English, and Track One in my imaginary mix CD based on your blog is in Hebrew. The lyrics were translated for me by a friend, and I’d say it resonates pretty closely with your description of depression. There’s an excerpt below, and you can listen on Youtube. (I believe this is an official channel, so no copyright issues.)
“And the light outside changes. I do not understand what is happening. Thoughts chase my head. I am trying to get back to myself. || What is happening all of a sudden? Heat turns to cold when I am lost on the trail. Nothing turns right. Light turns to shadow. Something awful begins. || The reality is like the dream. And the meaning for another day is more confusion and fears. The demons are all awake.”
For Track Two I’ve picked another foreign language song, “Dounia”, from the album Tchamantché by Rokia Traoré. You can find it on Spotify. The album comes with a translation, but it must be very loose because it doesn’t match the original wrt number of lines or verses or anything. Nevertheless, here’s an excerpt. I think it resonates with some of your thoughts in “Happily Sometimes After”.
“Each dawn announces a new day. The moon shines down on different nights. Beyond the hours flowing inexorably by, no-one can see, even from the highest point of existence, what tomorrow will be. Days that are honey-sweet; days that taste of gall.”
“After Rain” comes next as Track Three.
For Track Four I think it needs something that resonates with the “morose allure” you discuss in your goth post. I’m not sure about this. One option is to forego lyrics altogether and choose a nice, melancholy instrumental. For that, you could do worse than “Sligo Lament” by John McGann (also available on Spotify). This is a Celtic piece that to me sounds like tears turned to music, and I love its stark simplicity. Played loudly in a dark room I think it’s quite powerful. This is the piece I was playing when my monitor failed. If Sligo Lament doesn’t hit the spot, another instrumental worth checking out is “Baroki” by Kíla.
I once had an email friend with some definite gothic tendencies who was also heavily into all things Celtic, so it kind of takes me in that direction. During our correspondence I took a creative writing course at university, and a lot of things from my conversations with her made it into my art. But that’s a story for another time.
I have other songs that resonate somewhat, some on highly obscure albums that you won’t find online, but for now I’ve decided that they don’t quite fit. Also, I don’t know if you feel an affinity for people who have suffered in history, but that would open up more possibilities.
As a postscript, if you’ve glanced at my Twitter page you may have seen that I shared a short composition, with these lyrics: “There is no place so distant as my only world. There is no sound so faint as our most piercing scream. What shall I build, here where a thousand stones are hurled, and where the wind erodes away each worthless dream?” The composition itself is years old, but it was you that prompted me to write it out properly and figure out the chords. It’s one of several fragmentary compositions that I was never quite inspired enough to develop into a complete song.
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Postscript: Another song you might like is The Road Less Travelled by John Coleman (this one’s in English). I think some of the lyrics fit well, but others don’t (verse 2 particularly is about humility rather than depression). But verses 1 & especially 3 resonate with your goth post in particular, so maybe I rejected it too hastily.
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Link failed in previous comment: https://johncoleman.bandcamp.com/track/the-road-less-travelled
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