Song Post... The World Ain't Slowin' Down

Every so often, I find a song that resonates with my life in general. This is one of those songs. It's one of those songs that just makes me smile, but it also speaks to me and some of my major flaws and faults. It is sung by Ellis Paul and is used in the movie, Me, Myself, and Irene (a movie that I really didn't like all that much, but I was obsessed with this song after watching!). Here are the lyrics... 

I found you sitting on a suitcase crying
Beneath my feet I feel the rumble of a subway train
And I laugh out loud
Cause it's the one thing I hadn't been trying
The train came in breathless
The passenger's restless
You say, "Baby, you'll never change"
[chorus]
You gotta get gone
You gotta get going
Hey, the world ain't slowin' down
For no oneIt's a carnival calling out to you
And it sounds like a song
It hits you like scripture
You paint the picture
With colors squeezed from your hand
Weren't you the kid
Who just climbed on a merry-go-round
Hey, look, the world ain't slowin' down
Out on the sidewalk
The pigeons do the moonwalk
I'll be dancing like Fred Astaire
The lampposts are rockin'
The whole town is talking
Like a fool in a barber's chair
And I get the sensation
It's joy and frustration
Like getting caught by a drop of cold rain
Freedom can numb you
When there's no place to run to
It feels just like Novocain [chorus] You packed up all your handbags
You're throwing off the sandbags
I let go when you stepped free
I didn't want to lose you
You said, "You didn't choose to --
It's just how your karma came"
But thanks for the vision,
And the twenty-twenty wisdom
It hit me like a south-bound train [chorus]
www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/memyself&irene/theworldaintslowindown.htm‎

For some odd reason, I tend to fixate on the words, "the world ain't slowing down for no one..." Those words especially ring true right now as my second weekend in February is filling up, right up to the brim, with work and volunteer responsibilities. There are times when you will be busy, there are times when others will tether you to a life that you don't want or need. There will be other times when you are the tether and have to let go. Whether it is a person, a destructive influence, or a dream that I have to let go of, I feel that this song reminds me to do so in a way that is both joyful and nostalgic.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear AMTA

Dear American Music Therapy Association: I am debating long and hard about remaining in this relationship. I have been in this relationship since college, and this is not a decision that I am taking lightly or without great cost.  I am not happy with what you are bringing to this relationship. Now, I have been a selfish partner over the past several years - mainly because I am not feeling like we share a common mission anymore. It is easy for me to place the blame on you, but I know that this is not all on me. I have tried to be invested in communication and support and understanding, but everyone comes to a time where enough is enough. I am trying very hard to decide if the benefits that you provide to me are worth the feelings that I have about where I think you and I are going. I am not sure that our destination is the same anymore, and this makes me sad. To be completely honest, I am only in this relationship these days for the music therapy interns. I don't think that is a hea...
Read more

Songwriting Sunday: Repetition

Image
One of the things that I find to be helpful with my client population (children, adolescents, and young adults with dual diagnoses) is repetition of phrases, lyrics, and music. As a result of 30+ years of working with this population in various iterations, I have found that my clients respond the most to songs with three repeated phrases to prime their responses with a different phrase to communicate the important part of the experience. DISCLAIMER: This is not a definite way to write music for clinical interactions. This is what seems to work well with my particular group of human beings. Don't go to your supervisors and tell them that I told you that this is the ONLY way to write music - It is NOT! You have to find what works for your clients and for their clinical goals. Since my clients respond well to this type of song, I tend to write songs in this format more than any other. What I have found is that my clients remember these songs more than the ones that I do in different f...
Read more

Being An Internship Director: On Hiatus

Image
It has been long enough since I have had an intern that I am seriously feeling like I have little to say on the subject. At the same time, I am currently writing Chapter 5 of my general internship handbook, so I am able to write about being an intern and what types of things to think about during this important time in our professional development. It is a strange place to be in, and it is one that is a bit challenging for me. Right now, I have had three vacant internship positions since the beginning of the calendar year. I will have a vacant position next month and that will be an entire year of rejected offers. In the past nine months, I have offered positions to three applicants who have declined. It is interesting how people complain that there aren't enough internship programs, but programs like mine are empty. I guess there aren't enough internship programs that pay large stipends (which mine cannot) out there. I get it. It is interesting to me how we have moved from an ...
Read more