Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Love in the Third Degree.
No matter how eloquent or poetic I sometimes wax, there are still times when only a song can say it for me. Even when I myself cannot manage to sing through the tears in my throat or the laughter in my heart. This is one of those times, so I’ll let someone else’s lyrics speak for me. I’ve discovered some new songs and rediscovered some old ones that ring true for the moment…in a mix of sadness, relief, and just…observing without doing anything about what I see because it’s not mine to do.
If there’s no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I’ll follow you into the dark.
—“I’ll Follow You into the Dark,”
Death Cab for Cutie
These are dangerous days
To say what you feel is to dig your own grave
“Remember what I told you
If you were of the world they would love you”
—“Black Boys on Mopeds,” Sinead O’Connor
When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone.
—“Dante’s Prayer,” LoreenaMcKennitt
Lend your voices only to sounds of freedom
No longer lend your strength
To that which you wish to be free from
Fill your lives with love and bravery
And you shall lead a life uncommon.
—“A Life Uncommon,” Jewel
I am looking for someone
Who can take as much as I give
And give back as much as I need
You know and they still have the will to live ah no
Cause I am intense, I am in need
I am in pain, I am in love.
—“Blood and Fire,” Indigo Girls
I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
If the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too.
—“Where Soul Meets Body,” Death Cab for Cutie
Well, I’ll be damned.
Here comes your ghost again.
—“Diamonds and Rust,” Joan Baez
And I know that I’m gonna be like this forever
I’m never gonna be what I should
And you think that I’ll be bad for just a little while
But I know that I’ll be bad for good.
—“Bad for Good,” Jim Steinman
You got to cry without weeping
Talk without speaking
Scream without raising your voice
—“Running to Stand Still,” U2
In a room
Without a door
A kiss is not enough
—“Love My Way,” Psychedelic Furs
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
But that was just a dream
—“Losing My Religion,” REM
It’s nothing but time and a face that you lose
I chose to feel it and you couldn’t choose
—“Ex-Lover Is Dead,” Stars
The little conversations
On me are very rough
They leave me all in pieces
You know there’s never time enough
—“Little Conversations,” Concrete Blonde
And she will always carry on
Something is lost
But something is found
They will keep on speaking her name
Some things change
Some stay the same.
—“Hymn to Her,” The Pretenders
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