The world is spinning fast tonight
You can hurt yourself tryin' to hold on
To what you used to be
I'm so glad the past is all gone
Been out in the wild
Been out in the night
Been out of your mind
Do you live here or is this a vacation?
Volcano
You don't wanna, you don't wanna know
Volcano
Something in you wants to blow
Volcano
You don't wanna, you don't wanna know
Your eyes were like landing lights
They used to be the clearest blue
Now you don't see so well
The future's gonna land on you
You were alone
And now you're not alone
You were alone
But you are rock 'n roll
You and I are rock 'n roll
You are rock 'n roll
You and I are rock 'n roll
~ Bono and U2
When Paul Hewson (Bono) was 14, his mother died. Channeling that experience, he wrote "Volcano," a metaphor for that kind of pain. "After grief comes rage . . . the molten lava that turns to rock if it can . . . this kind of fire in the belly cannot sustain. If you're lucky, it burns out before it burns you out." "Volcano" is on 2014's Songs of Innocence, the album that came free with your iPhone if you bought one that year. (I did.) Although I did not catch U2 on their Joshua Tree Tour, I have seen them in concert a couple of times, and damn, they put on a great show. You might call it explosive.
Yesterday, we did some major sightseeing in Washington, and Mount St. Helens was on the itinerary. I do remember well the 1980 eruption of that volcano, the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. All told, 57 lives were lost, and 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. And here's something I didn't know: a massive debris avalanche, triggered by an earthquake, lowered the Mount St. Helens summit from 9,677' to 8,363'. Over 1300 feet lower!
After viewing Mt. Rainier rising above the clouds, we drove Rt. 25 south, expecting to take Rt. 99 west for spectacular views of Mt. St. Helens. Such a disappointment to find the road closed! We continued on Rt. 25 and luckily, came upon some viewpoints. Rt. 25 then dropped us down on the Columbia River Gorge where we headed west to Lyle and our lodging for the night. An amazing dinner, new friends, and too much local wine capped off a full and beautiful day.
No comments:
Post a Comment