Gareth Dunlop and Kim Richey - One And The Same

Sometimes I hear a song and I get goose bumps because the lyrics, or at least parts of them, seem to address me, talk to me, and call me out. "One And The Same" written and performed by Gareth Dunlop and Kim Richey falls into that category and, somehow, has been on my mind for some time now. The video comes with the lyrics but I've added a copy anyway. I just think they are worth contemplating ... 

... what's rolling around in your head - it's too hard to say so you leave it unsaid ...

One And The Same

I know what's rolling, around in your head
It's too hard to say so, you leave it unsaid
It's easier to turn, and walk away instead

Paul Simon - The Cool, Cool River

Paul Simon's album "The Rhythm of the Saints" accompanied me on one of my first road trips in the U.S. By the end of the trip I knew all of the songs by heart. Of course, by the end of the trip sadness began casting a shadow over the sunny days - the care free time was running short, the 'normal life' and its hectic and constraints began looming ~ and the closer I go to the end of the road, the more I turned to "The Cool, Cool River" ...  

[Ed. 24.07.16] Another city, another coward spilling blood ... "sometimes even music cannot substitute for tears" ...

The Cool, Cool River

Moves like a fist through traffic
Anger and no one can heal it
Shoves a little bump into the momentum
It's just a little lump but you feel it
In the creases and the shadows
With a rattling deep emotion
The cool, cool river
Sweeps the wild, white ocean

Bruce Springsteen - War

My heart cries for the people in Munich and around the world ~ thoughts and prayers to all affected by the cowardly acts ...

War, what is it good for?

Absolutely nothing!

War

Oh no-there's got to be a better way
Say it again
There's got to be a better way-yeah
What is it good for? (war)

Bruno Pelletier - Le Temps des Cathédrales

My thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by the horrific events in Nice on 14. July 2016 ~

~*~ liberté, égalité, fraternité ~*~

Bruno Pelletier - Le Temps Des Cathédrales

C'est une histoire qui a pour lieu
Paris la belle en l'an de Dieu
Mil quatre cent quatre-vingt-deux
Histoire d'amour et de désir

Lokua Kanza - Shadow Dancer

To me, music is all about emotions. When I close my eyes and listen to "Shadow Dancer" by Lokua Kanza I'm carried away to dancing away a warm summer night under a star-lit sky away from the hassle of the city ~ perhaps on a beach or on the shores of a lake (I love open water so, yeah, an ocean, lake or river has to be there) ... 

Of course that's just me and the emotions evoked in somebody else may be completely different :)

Shadow Dancer
(Ray St John/Lokua Kanza)

Angel of the night
Come into my life
Answer every prayer
And stay

Oum - Taragalte (Soul Of Morocco)

It's been quite a while since we visited Morocco. Nonetheless, the memories are never far as the souvenirs included a beautiful rug which graces the floor of the living room and a brass tea table sitting in front of my favorite perch. We roamed the country for three weeks, from Tangier to Casablanca to Marrakesh, along the Atlantic Ocean, across the Atlas Mountains, and into the Moroccan Sahara. Remarkable towns, inviting villages, breathtaking landscapes and people, friendly and happy to invite us to share stories over a glass or two of their traditional peppermint tea. So many things could have gone wrong (miraculously, we managed to outrun a flash flood by a scant hour, we nearly got our car permanently stuck in the soft sands edging a lake, we managed to almost get lost in the desert at night ~ but those are stories for another day ...) and always, when things got dicey, there were people happy to lend a helping hand.

And then there's the music of Oum and the video which gives glimpses of the beauty of the country and its people ~ enjoy ...  

Van Morrison - Into The Mystic

Imagine: Sailing through the night, out in the bay. The sky is clear, sprinkled with stars, the moon is almost full and reflects in the choppy water. The breeze is just enough to keep our sails filled and propel us southward. In the distance the big container ships cling to the shipping channel - lit up like Christmas trees. They are far enough away so the rumble of their enormous engines does not reach us. Only the boat's radio, tuned in to their communication frequency, lets us hear their voices from time to time. It's the wind murmuring in the sails, the creaking of the boat, the water splashing against the hull ~ nothing matters but staying the course and watching the water to avoid any objects floating along with us which could damage the hull ...  and, of course, enjoying the moment!

When I first heard "Into the Mystic" by Sir Van Morrison it brought back the memory of that sailing trip and in particular that night out on the bay. Such a soothing, peaceful night - such a soothing, peaceful song ~