About three years ago I had the idea of hiring myself out as a lyricist. I put some feelers out and ended up getting a short piece of music from a guy in New York who was managing two twin sister singers. I took the music with me everywhere and listened to it and soaked in it. Then, one day, as I sat in a McDonalds, I felt a flash of inspiration and wrote down the entire song.
A friend of mine who runs a studio recorded it for me and I submitted it but in the end the manager decided the song was not right for the singers.
I will share it with you, my Loyal Readers:
THE FLIGHT OF THE SWAN
[Spoken]
I stood there and I wondered
As I watched your taillights fade away in the rain
All these things you've said to me
Could it all be a game?
Our love will grow if we take our time
But first I've gotta know
If you can read the signs...
[Sung]
I thought I knew you
When I saw you
But I didn't think to ask you
If you knew yourself
First you kiss me
Then you dis' me
Now I'm hearin' that you're gonna put me
On a shelf
Yeah I want to be your baby
And I know that I am crazy
Read between the lines
If you feel it
Then reveal it
Cause I know that if you're real about it
You'd see the signs
[Chorus]
You can tell the winter by the flight of the swan
You can feel the summer by the height of the sun
So when will you begin to see that I'm the right one
For you?
Well it appears
That all my tears
Are gonna saturate my years
Until you make up your mind
But I know
Our love can grow
And you can make me free although
You've got to read those signs
You can tell the winter by the flight of the swan
You can feel the summer by the height of the sun
So when will you begin to see that I'm the right one
For you?
Don't tell me I didn't do it just right
Don't destroy the candle just to put out the light
I'm waiting for you baby but I can't wait all night
It's up to you...
You can tell the winter by the flight of the swan
You can feel the summer by the height of the sun
So when will you begin to see that I'm the right one
For you?
Copyright (c) 2005 The Doug
Abraham Lincoln on the Civil War:
"The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be--and one must be--wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party--and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect his purpose.
"I am almost ready to say this is probably true: that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By His mere quiet power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds."
I am learning something new this week. Sometimes it's about the contest. Sometimes the best way to work out a situation is to work it out.
In the recent years of my life I've tried to avoid conflict. But now I think it's not helping anything. The conflict gets internalized and battles its way inside my head, until I'm frustrated with the whole thing. What is this fear I have? Of letting people down. Of upsetting people. Of hurting people. Yet it can still all happen. You can't avoid this.
It's best to be honest. To be direct. If I'm going to let people down, then let them down by being myself. Upset them when they understand my true intent. Hurt as part of the contest that must exist. I can't keep hurting myself, putting my dreams and desires in the back to avoid the pain others might feel. That's part of their contest as well.
The other day I got on the elevator at work and heard a conversation. "The food in the cafeteria is ok," said the first guy. "The cafeteria sucks. It's too expensive." said the other one. "I don't want to pay six dollars for a breakfast sandwich."
Now, this was an exaggeration. I had a four-dollar omelet in a takeout box with me at the time. The conversation frustrated me. I'm glad we have a cafeteria at all. I figure you can always go out and get whatever else you want, but if you don't feel like going out, it's ok to pay a little extra for the convenience.
But the big thought that hit me was this: what is something worth? If the elevator were to break down right now, my omelet would suddenly be worth more than four dollars. Eight hours later...who knows what it might be worth?
