Everything waits to be noticed
A tree falls with no one there
The full potential of a love affair
Everything waits to be noticed
Twenty-eight geese in sudden flight
The last star on the edge of the night
A single button come undone
The middle child, the prodigal son
Everything waits to be noticed
A trickle underneath a dam
The missing line from the telegram
Everything waits to be noticed
The whispering pains that say you're living
The slow burn of not forgiving
The quiet room, the unlikely pair
The full potential of a love affair
Everything waits to be noticed
Looking for braver days
Cautiously turning a phrase
Going unnoticed
But everything wants to be noticed
The changing light in the upper air
The full potential of a love affair
Everything waits to be noticed
~ Garfunkel, Mondlock, Sharp
Of course you know Art Garfunkel from his partnership with Paul Simon. In that relationship, it was Simon's brilliance that was responsible for the lyrics. Garfunkel took a back seat and then settled into it, denying himself (and us) the opportunity to see what he could add to the poetry. Decades later, in 2002, he released Everything Waits to Be Noticed, an album for which he shares credit with Buddy Mondlock and Maia Sharp. He co-wrote the lyrics to six of the songs, including the title track. I, for one, am grateful that he finally shared his lyric-writing talents with us. These songs are gorgeous.
On the liner notes, Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone, referred to the album as "an intimate and festive exploration of adult relationships and the language of the heart." Having just settled in after a ten-day road trip during which I visited friends and family, I feel like I've been a firsthand witness to a variety of adult relationships, and I listened carefully to the language of their hearts. I find the poetry in Garfunkel's lyrics to exquisitely capture the essence of that language. Yes, we all want to be noticed, but what exactly is it about ourselves that we want others to see? The whispering pains? Perhaps. The trickle underneath the dam? The missing line? We are so complicated, so much a product of every happenstance that has been visited upon us for so many years. And all of it seeks its time to be center-stage, to say, "Look at this! Here's a clue to why I am who I am!" Beyond wanting to be noticed, we want to be understood. Is it asking too much?
On my recent travels, I have encountered the unlikely pair, I have paid attention to the changing light, and I have seen the damage that the slow burn of not forgiving can inflict upon our attempts at love, the full potential of which we never seem to reach. I am no wiser for the observations, just more puzzled about what, exactly, our purpose here is. Wenner suggests that Garfunkel "teases apart all the tiny bits and pieces" of an examined life. It's a lot to have to notice.
For now, I am content to spend some time in this quiet room and put aside my need to be noticed. I can wait.
No comments:
Post a Comment