Song….Soul

Ever hear a song that rips not only at your heartstrings, but your soul?  Ya…. I had that experience.  More than once.  In this instance, I heard the song many times before I started dissecting it.  And I started dissecting it because I wanted to cry every time I heard it and wasn’t sure why.

It’s crazy how the subconscious just starts beating down on you when you aren’t paying attention.

Something about this song tugged at me every time I heard it, but as I hadn’t really listened to the words or the meaning, I just let it run through the recycle bin until it started screaming at me;

All across the water
Oh little brother
What did you find?
And did it all make sense
Outside of the room
You left behind?
Was it easier on you
Without me
In your life?
I didn’t realize
I was so guilty of letting you down

Time all this time
And I still don’t know
What I did
Time all this time
And I still don’t know
Why

chorus
But it seems
All in all
I guess I
Can’t make this better
Little boy
Are you still hiding under your hood
darling?
Through it all
I guess I’m still chasing shadows
Little boy I thought you knew
I was a child too

Staring at your picture
You’re getting older
I didn’t know
She said your name out loud
I swallowed it down
Into the hole
You were once forever
You were my laughter
My home
Does none of this
Mean nothing to you any more?

 

The song is called “Brother” by Jane Taylor.  This woman is a TRULY gifted artist and singer.  She was brought to my attention by a beloved dance teacher.

As I finally sat down and listened to the words, I started tearing up and realizing why I loved this song so much.

It absolutely resonates with the misguided deeds of childhood and how some never outgrow the misdeeds done by others (no matter how innocent).

You have to admit; as children, we are naïve.  We remember the bullies, but the funny thing is the bullies don’t always remember what they did, because they were just acting blindly or lashing out without realizing their impact.

So often in life we come back to those who have affected us most.  But the question is; how many times to the “assailants” remember their offenses?  Especially in adolescence?  Yet the affected tend to live their lives remembering and persecuting those who caused them “harm”.

Everything is a two sided story.

In the song she says, ” I didn’t realize I let you down” followed by “Are you still hiding under your hood”.

Can I just say WOW…..?

How many times have we inadvertently affected another by our mere existence and NOT realized the impact???

This song had me in tears because in my own family I can fit this song into each one of our lives on some level.

Innocent in action, yet lifelong in impact……

We may not always realize the impact we have on one another, but I think it’s poignant to try to see things from another perspective.

Every message delivered is at the mercy of the recipients filters.

Let me repeat that……

EVERY MESSAGE DELIVERED IS AT THE MERCY OF THE RECIPENTS FILTERS………

In the case of this song, the recipient received a message that forever changed him.  And the deliverer….the sister, had NO idea what happened.

And her response……

“I was a child too……….”

Lifelong impact from a seemingly innocent action……

Think about it…..