The songs we choose to like – to listen to over and over – presumably we choose because of, but also deepen, our fascinations with specific themes and needs. For me, it’s songs of loss and time’s passage. “St Swithin’s Day” by Billy Bragg. “Flame Trees” by Cold Chisel. Heaps of others… Don’t really know why. Nobody in my family snuffed it before I was 13. Didn’t lose any friends to death until I was older. Big move when I was 7, but that was an adventure, appreciated and one that still resonates. Maybe a shrink could unpack it for me. Meh.
Years go by
Everyone gets older
The steel begins to rust
Life goes on and the lights go out
And dreams they turn to dust
Skyhooks “Powdertown”
So many faces in and out of my life
Some will last, some will just be now and then
Life is a series of helloes and goodbyes
I guess it’s time for goodbye again
Billy Joel, “Say Goodbye to Hollywood”
You try to hold on to the moment
But time won’t let you stay
for every step you take
you lose something on the way
You can’t look forward to tomorrow
And still hold on to yesterday
Randy VanWarmer
