Dienda

Listen while you read:  Sting

How like the fall to be gone in a day
Just as the leaves had turned gold
I was drawn to a sound that the wind carried down
From an open window pane
And, oh, how like a song or a sad melody
To linger long after the end
And the harmony rings with the promise of spring
On a Broadway street

How like the fall to be gone in a day
Just as the trees had turned gold
I was drawn to this sound that some fingers had found
But now the winter seems to stay too long
How like a song or a sad melody
To linger long after it's gone
Though the window is closed and the questions it posed
On a Broadway street

How like the spring to return in a day
When everything seems to be new
But here's someone who's hoping the window is open
On that Brooklyn street again
Ond, oh, how like a song or a sweet melody
To linger after it's gone
Let the harmony ring with the promise of spring
On a Brooklyn street

~  Sting

So even though my daughter Jenna declined my invitation to be a guest writer today (as I am feeling a bit under the weather), she did recommend a song that fits the season. No surprise that it's one of Sting's songs, as he has been her favorite since she was nine years old. That means she's been loving Sting for two decades now. I still remember that little fourth grader belting out, "Their logic ties me up and rapes me," wondering if it was time for a little mother-daughter talk. Her younger brother, whose bedroom adjoined hers, had to fall asleep every night asking himself if the Russians love their children, too. I think Jenna has seen Sting seven or eight times, and I know I was with her for at least a couple of those concerts. The last time was in Massachusetts two years ago when he was touring with Peter Gabriel. Good show.

The concert responsible for this live version of "Dienda" took place in Tuscany, Italy. You may be surprised to learn the date. It was on September 11, 2001. Sting and his people made the decision to proceed with the planned event after hearing about the terrorist attack, and they dedicated the album, All This Time, to those who lost their lives that day.

The song "Dienda" was composed by Kenny Kirkland, but Sting provided the lyrics. Kirkland was the pianist for Sting's The Dream of the Blue Turtles, released in 1985. He died of congestive heart failure three years later on November 13, 1998. The song serves as an elegy for him.

Does that information make the song seem sadder to you? There's nothing new in using the changing seasons as metaphor for aging, and there is always the promise of spring to rescue us from our melancholy. But I have often wondered about those who live in locales that do not experience a real change in season. Here in the North, we can blame the cold and the wind for our blue moods. If your home is in the tropics, who/what do you blame? And who's better off?

Last night the temperature dipped down into the low 20s. It is dark by 4:30. This makes for an uneasy adjustment for me, but my house is warm enough and I sleep under a down blanket. And I'll let the music warm my soul.

Sting's Tuscany Villa