You Are a Tourist

Listen while you read:  This fire grows higher . . .

When there's a burning in your heart
An endless yearning in your heart
Build it bigger than the sun
Let it grow, let it grow
When there's a burning in your heart
Don't be alarmed

This fire grows higher

When there's a doubt within your mind
Because you're thinking all the time
Framing rights into wrongs
Move long, move along
When there's a doubt within your mind

When there's a burning in your heart
And you think you'll burst apart
Oh, there's nothing to fear
Save the tears, save the tears
When there's a burning in your heart

And if you feel just like a tourist in the city you were born
Then it's time to go and define your destination
There's so many different places to call home
Because when you find yourself the villain in the story you have written
It's plain to see that sometimes the best intentions
Are in need of redemptions
Would you agree?
If so, please show me

~  Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie)

Death Cab is one of my favorite bands, but I have yet to see them in concert. Bucket list. And, as you may have guessed, the bulk of my bucket list consists of places to travel. I am a traveler, not a tourist.

This song appears on Codes and Keys, Death Cab's seventh release. And here's the coolest thing: the song premiered on the Seattle radio station 107.7 (The End) on March 28, 2011. Guess where I'm headed as you are reading this? Seattle! Seattle is the start and end point of a 15-day road trip through five states and two Canadian provinces. And guess what? I'm going to take you along! Yep, my blog will focus on songs that connect to the places I'm visiting. To cut myself a little break, I am trying to do some of the groundwork ahead of time, and to give myself ample time, the posts will be a day later than my actual visit. So if I'm in Vancouver on July 6, you can read about it on July 7. I hope you'll travel along with me.

So by the time this post goes live, I will be buckled into my seatbelt and in the air. Arrival in Seattle is 6:30 p.m., but of course, my body will think it's 9:30 p.m.! Whatever. Rule #1 on traveling: NO WHINING!

This fire grows higher
When there's a burning in your heart