Theme Party
Every week I try to come up with a theme to keep my mind on task when I roll out of bed in the morning and am a blank slate. Usually they’re things like the self-improvement tips and inspirational guidelines. But lately I have had some songs lodged into my head that absolutely refuse to come out. That combined with my new love for adding You Tube clips to spice up the blog have coalesced to produce this week’s theme: Peter Gabriel.
I love him. I started a love affair with this man when I was about 11 years old and I’ve never looked back. The first song I ever heard of his (“The Blood of Eden”) was on a mixed tape while I was riding with my best friend as her big sister drove us around in her blue Volvo. She was 16. My friend and I were in 5th grade and pretty much thought she was the coolest thing ever. I have the most vivid memories of that Peter Gabriel song. He has built my dreams of love, expressed my feelings of loss and grief and absolutely transformed moments of my life with his songs. I love him. There’s a message in every song – so I found the You Tube clips with the lyrics that pop up so you can listen or read along if you like.
Today’s song is one of my absolute favorites. It’s hard to say that about a Peter Gabriel song but it’s impossible for me to listen to this song without my heart melting into a big puddle and shedding a few tears. I love the reverence he has for love, and the occasional lighthearted jab like “no one can lift the damn thing.” I feel like it’s how I express myself. I have a lot going on inside and I can get it out, but then I am compelled to make a joke to lighten the mood. I love the idea of a man being in love and expressing it (because I only ever get to see love from the feminine side, which seems “typical” so I am fascinated by the male expression of the concept- they do have feelings?! Who knew?).
I think you can find inspiration in the lyrics. Not just the romantic love kind (which is certainly prevalent) but there is also kindness, having an open heart and a reminder of simple acts that we do out of love (i.e. the “I love it when you read to me” part makes me think of my mom reading to me when I was a little girl and now of me reading to my niece which is very simple but intense act of love as well).
Enjoy!
Tags: peter gabriel, the blood of eden, the book of love
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.