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Hand Over your Heart

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Open up...

"There's a bird that nests inside you..sleeping underneath your skin, yeah when you open up your wings to speak I'd wish you'd let me in"....
-Counting Crows/ August & Everything After...
An Original by: Me :)

The album that started it all. My love affair with anything and everything lyrically genius.
Actually that isn't entirely true. I can remember distinctly having my own "boom box" in 3rd grade and listening to love songs on the coast when I was supposed to be sleeping..and memorizing words. They were fascinating to me.. that words could be formed into a song that said everything you've ever wanted to say. YOu could say that I was a passionate kid. All heart. And you would be correct.
By the time I was in 5th grade I knew every single note worthy , cheesy love song "on the coast" that there was. Jen would write in and express her love for Jonathan with a ballad from Chicago...and I would intently listen... quite as to not disturb my father would would "have killed me" if he found out I wasn't sleeping..and I would write the lyrics.
In 6th grade I got a double cassette player and I could record RIGHT OFF THE RADIO! It was so rad.
And I would record it...and listen to it over and over and study the lyrics..what they meant...and why love inspired so much happiness and so much pain...and mostly so much art.

It was a saving grace for me..in a tumultuous and uncertain time... lyrics/music got me through the teen years.. scouring through my fathers old LP collection and discovering time and time again Elton Johns goodbye yellow brick road..just sounded better when you could hear it spin on the record player.
And Led Zeppelin would take me to places I was sure were other worldly..completely sober.. however willing to receive it's transformative majic through lyric...and heart stopping, wrenching song.

I painted this picture for my best friend of 18 years.
I hope she receives it well...as it is my intention to show to her that I love her more than I could ever express in any song, poem, lyric or limerick.
I had to do it through gesso, paint, ink, stamps and lots and lots of patience.

I hope you love it Tee.

3 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed reading this story about you. Thank you

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  2. thank you for taking the time to read this and then comment .. means the world to me :)

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  3. How could I not <3 I hope its the first of many :) This blog also reminded me of my "love songs on the coast" nights, haha, whenever I hear the lyrics "The lady in red is dancing with me... cheek to cheek .... There's nobody here, it's just you and me, it's where I wanna be" I too remember having my ghetto blaster in my bed and listening to those love notes, when I song would come on I would hit record, my mother told me years later that they could hear me record. stop. record. stop, those big clunky buttons made lots of noise. Digging through records I fell in love with Barbara Streisands "memories" & Billy Joels "Piano man".
    I love us!!!
    Thank you so much for the many years of friendship, support and love, in addition to the many more to come!!!
    And Thank you again for the beautiful painting, your so talented!!! Always have been !!!!
    Love you

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