Lyrics that Light

The best lyrics stir our hearts and spin our heads.

I think all of us have had a song stuck in our head, or remember a moment where “time stands still” (Mindy Smith - Edge of Love).  Hearing a lyric we have heard a thousand times before rise in a new way from a song’s melody will often freeze and sometimes free us in the moment.  Songs and the words in them can make us smile, causes us to cry or sometimes simply just to sit and ponder all that may be behind them.  Everyone has their favorites. 

“I see a bad moon a rising” (John Fogerty - Bad Moon Rising) transports you back to the late 60’s and AM radio. “You know my name, look up the number” (Lennon/McCartney- You know my name) evokes a grin if you  think of the possibilities of who may actually utter that lyric.  

The best lyrics stir our hearts and spin our heads. “The broken mirror of innocence” (Bob Dylan - Every Grain of Sand) reminds you of the time yours was lost.  “Through the night, you and I drove, Have you ever seen lighting and snow?” (Kathleen Edwards - Buffalo) carries you down a wintry road in upstate New York. 

 “A Steamin’ greasy plate of enchiladas” (Lyle Lovett - This Old Porch) makes your stomach growl.  “I’m the pines behind the grave yard and the cool beneath their shade, where the boys have left their beer cans, I am weeds between the graves” (Mary Chapin Carpenter - I am a town) connects you to the secret hiding places of your youth.

Great songs and especially great lyrics shine a light on our moments and our memories.    

ACTION POINT:  Break out the CD’s, Ipod or old LP’s, switch on the stereo and in the words of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Turn it UP! (Sweet Home Alabama)