free for you: a melancholy song about divorce (which says so much about where we’re all at right now)
Bit of a sad-sack giveaway, you might be thinking? Ahhhh, not so!
This free download from Tracey Thorn (of Everything But the Girl fame) touched this 36-year-old in lovely, poignant ways. It might you too.
Thorn is releasing her solo album soon, but is letting us download the single “Oh, the Divorces!” for free in advance. It’s so very melancholic – all about witnessing friends breaking up. I’m not sure if its the fact that the song is geared squarely at my demo that appeals… Either way, I liked this bit:
“And each time I hear who’s to part/ I examine my heart/ See how it stands/ Wonder if it’s still in safe hands”.
Examining my own heart to see how it stands…soooo important, don’t you think?. How often do we see friends who hand over their heart to someone else, expecting them to hold it with care forever? It’s like placing it on the most outer limb of a tree and thinking the wind won’t blow it down.
To my mind, it’s always best to hold your own heart close to the trunk, grounded and rooted in the earth. And then invite others over to sit with it there.
http://www.strangefeelingrecords.com/divorces.html
This applies to all types of relationships I think. It’s essentially about the risk of trusting people..and the fear of being hurt. Recently I came to this exact realisation in a business relationship of all places, not personal or emotional, but a business setting which turned sour after 3 years of my blood, sweat & tears.
So ultimately it was personal and emotional.
My greatest loss however was ending a friendship of 23 years with a buddy. Over about a decade he turned into someone I simply lost faith in as a person and didn’t respect anymore as a friend.
It’s been 3 years now and I still think about what a loss it was all the time. A best friend of 23 years is alot to lose. Hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life. But the right one.
So I guess divorce is not just about men & women, boys and girls. It’s about all kinds of relationships.
Sarah, I don’t mean to argue with the Chief Blogger – but aren’t you asking people to take the risks that you won’t by inviting them over to your tree? Aren’t they having to stray away from their trunk to sit with you?
I’d propose a mutual de-trunking to meet at ground level followed by abit of good old tail-sniffing to test the waters. You know, double-checking the pheromones are in sync.
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Agree Paul….all relationships are part of this, and it really comes down to trust (at least for me). Tail-sniffing, pheromones in sync….this is what, I hope, everyone does to decide if they want to get going on a relationship. The meet and dating bit, before it heats up.
Thing is, being single, I think: “well next time I’ll be more sensible and wont rush and put my heart out.” We’ll all be close to the trunk and be safe, and, here’s the but……the rush of meeting someone exciting takes over and all the well thought out logic goes out the window!
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Tim, I think Mr T in the A-Team series said it best – “no guts, no glory” – we all need to take risks in life.
He also said “I pity the fool!” and more recently “get some nuts!” so I could be wrong.
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