This live one's cool, too: https://youtu.be/NXT4YJekeXc
I went on the search for something true
I was almost there when I found you
Sooner than my fate was wrote
A perfect blade, it slit my throat
And beads of lust released into the air
When I awoke, you were standing there
There's no fortune at the end of the road that has no end
There's no returning to the spoils once you've spoiled the thought of them
There's no falling back asleep once you've wakened from the dream
Now I'm rested and I'm ready
I'm rested and I'm ready to begin
I'm ready to begin
~ The Avett Brothers
This is a love story. I'll get to that. But first, watch one (or both) of the videos linked above. You won't be sorry you did.
"I and Love and You" may be an Avett Brothers song that you know. "February Seven" may be a lesser known song. It appears on The Carpenter, the Avett Brothers' 2012 release. Scott Avett has been somewhat evasive as to the song's meaning, despite the curiosity of his fans. Although many think the song is about infidelity or drug addiction, the most that Scott will offer is that it is "a take on the age-old material chase that we all have." He further addresses the creative process by dismissing the catalyst for writing a song as not as important as the song itself, a debatable position. "It's really hard to record these songs, because they're DOA upon recording. They're open-ended feelings and rapport with a memory or an emotion, and once you stamp it with a recording, in a lot of ways . . . you would say, 'That's it, it's over.'" While I'm not sure I agree with his take on the writing process, I appreciate his position that one does not have to analyze every word, every line, every verse of a song in order to appreciate and enjoy it.
That being said, let me get to the love story, and let me begin with the caveat that it is primarily the first two lines that frame the story.
Most of you know that I was widowed at a relatively young age. I spent a dozen years focused on my kids and my home and caring for my Alzheimers-ridden mother. I didn't date much. When I became a snowbird, I looked to online dating to meet people in my new location. Online dating is not a pretty thing, but it's there and some of the sites are free.
Two years ago today, I began communicating with a man that I met online. A week later, we met. When he asked me if I was at all uneasy about meeting on a Friday the 13th, I said no. "It's just another day," I said. Except it was my birthday, the one where one of the cards you get is a Medicare card. We met at the Jupiter Lighthouse. We seemed to like one another, so we kept meeting. And then winter was over and I went back to New Jersey. In an effort to keep our distant relationship alive, I came up with a game in which we would try to have a conversation in song lyrics, since our love of music is one of the things we have in common. He said, "Fine. You go first."
On my way to the dentist the next morning, a song came on the radio that captured my attention. The first lines especially seemed appropriate to my relationship with this man. I recognized the voices of the Avett Brothers, but I didn't know the title of the song. I glanced at the radio screen to see the title "February Seven" and nearly drove into a barbed wire fence. (I live in farm country.) Yep, February 7th was the day that I met Ed online. I went on the search for something true. I was almost there when I found you.
At my age, we all have baggage. Ed and I have spent two years on and off sorting through our baggage. What to keep, what to throw away. And we're still tangled up in one another, enough so that I feel comfortable sharing this part of our story. Two years in, I think it's safe to say we're rested and we're ready.
 |
| Capital Reef National Park, June 2016 |
No comments:
Post a Comment