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February 22, 06
Being in that hyper sensitive mode I tend to be in the day after a migraine I maybe should not have listened to Back to Bedlam on the way to the office. But I have been ever more impressed with the singer/songwriter James Blunt as I have heard more of the CD. And yes, I did get the “clean” version. His story is really quite fascinating. On the home front it is of some interest that this is a singer/songwriter I have introduced to the family that my daughters maybe like as much or more than I do. Even my wife tolerates him!
You’re Beautiful is just making the rounds in the states. I heard it as background music on an advertisement for a TV program the other day. It’s a good and simple and beautiful song in itself about a moment when two people catch each other’s glance, and know for a second that “if only,” which for me has several layers or possibilities of meaning beyond the obvious man/women romantic thing, which makes it richer. It’s more of a song about the transitory nature of beauty to me, about the "possibilities" of entering into beauty and joy. Anyway, it hooks you good, worms its way right into your mind, and on a day like today maybe I didn’t need that.
My favorite two songs may be the first, High, a song about the surprise blessing of love and the insecure hope of its continuance, and the fifth, Tears and Rain, a song which reminds me a little of the theme of U2’s vertigo, just the ongoing reality of the insecure mixed bag that we are, though without U2's grounding..
My daughters really like Goodbye My Lover. I couldn’t blame anyone if they saw this as a corny school girl break up song. But it’s more than that in my mind. It is a break up song, a good-bye song for sure. But there is a level of pathos and sadness that goes beyond what a teenager could or should know. Again, for me, it’s more than what it is at first glance; it is a song about loss, and how to deal with what’s left over.
The last two tracks, Cry and No Bravery both draw from Blunt's experience in Kosovo. They are powerful songs which evoke the shock and ambiguities of those who have experienced the darkness and death of what take place in places like Kosovo.
No Bravery is more powerful and compelling the more I listen to it. I have included the lyrics below.
Why I would listen to a CD like this on a day when my emotions are on hyper mode I have no idea. It was in the CD player from yesterday.
No Bravery by James Blunt
There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he's been here.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
Tracer lighting up the sky.
It's another families' turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
Old men kneel and accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Yes, he has been here.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
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