“What is it about music that makes you remember things you prefer to forget?”
- From Chetan Bhagat’s ‘One Night @ The Call Centre'
In all the years I have spent reading books, I have never come across a line that has found more resonance with the deepest corners of my heart than the one above. And yet, it isn’t often that one feels like it is time to ‘update’ something so close to one’s heart. So, with a smile on my face, I shall go on to ask, ‘What is it about music that makes you feel things that you never knew were in you?’
Perhaps it really is someone else’s creativity that makes you feel the need to give vent to your own. The song that made me feel the urge to rewrite a piece of my heart is called ‘I hope you Dance’ by Lee Ann Womack. It is a song with lyrics as pure and simple as mineral water, but which can literally teach someone how to live their life.
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder…
You get your fill to eat, but always keep that hunger…
May you never take one single breath for granted…
God forbid, Love ever leave you empty-handed…
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the Ocean…
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens...
Promise me you’ll give faith a fighting chance…
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,
I hope you Dance…
Never settle for the path of least resistance…
Living might mean taking chances, but they’re worth taking…
Loving might be a mistake, but it’s worth making…
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter…
When you come close to selling out, reconsider…
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance…
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,
I hope you Dance…
Combine this, first with a soothing, inspiring and almost divine melody and then with the voice of a woman. What results is something that, for me, goes beyond being a mere piece of art, something that transcends any barriers that might stop one from not feeling the magic associated with it, and that can even, for some, perhaps become a sort of ‘theme song’ for life. It, so simply, talks of how one should not ever stop marvelling at the sheer greatness of life, because no matter how much a lot of us may to tend to curse life, if you stop to think about it, the greatest thing about life is life itself. And life really is all about living it. It is about living it to the full, and loving it to the full. The song really talks of things that every human being actually inherently knows before he even knows his ABC and Q. But in the kind of world where we live, such elementary knowledge gets lost under the sheer weight of the problems that we think we carry. My method of reminding people of this would have involved clubbing them with my favourite hammer, and then pointing to a black board with such things written on it in big bold letters. Thankfully, Lee Ann Womack found a better way…
For me, as a person, it is all about love and life. So for me, being the person that I am, the ultimate beauty of this song lies where the verse reaches its crescendo.
When the song goes on to say ‘I hope you dance…’
The feeling I get in those exact moments cannot be described by mere adjectives. Or maybe they can be, but not by any adjectives that I know. They can perhaps be understood by knowing what I see in those moments.
I see her, adorned in pure white, walking by a beautiful beach at sunset. She seems ethereal as ever. The gentle wind is caressing her hair, as it almost rhythmically sways with the advance of each zephyr. She is smiling her usual simple yet effervescent smile, which can light up not just rooms, but lives as well. The soft ringing of her anklets signal her presence, just as they always do. (I have always wanted that sound to be a physical object, just so that I can touch it. :-) ) The impression she gives while walking in this beautiful setting is that she owns the place, but I suspect, for her, it is actually more about loving the place. She runs her hand over the head of a troubled child. And as he looks into her eyes, that tiny soul gets to know that eventually, all will end well. She continues walking, and as she walks by, anyone whose eyes fall on her, no matter what and how many problems they have in life, just for that one instant, they forget everything. At that moment, all of them find the strength to smile at her. Smile in spite of adversity.
And eventually she comes to a lone man who is standing by the sea, staring at the setting sun. Me. She just comes, holds my hand, and stands with me.
If someone came up to me and simply asked me to paint love and life, what would end up on canvas would probably look a lot like this scene. Salvador Dali would not have liked this painting at all :-) .But I suspect, deep down, he would see where I’m coming from.
I have never danced my entire life, but when Lee Ann Womack goes on to say ‘I hope you dance’, I almost do. I would ask everyone to listen to this song. It may inspire you to look at life and lives differently. Or as with me, it may make you visualize the person you love, living life with you. Or at least, if nothing else, when you hear this song, I hope you Dance…
One day, an Artist decided to make something perfect. So He started. But as He was nearing completion, for reasons that He Himself doesn’t know, He added some deliberate mistakes. And when He was done, He realized that it were those deliberate mistakes that truly made His art perfect. I am talking about God, and her…
1 comment:
:D..
I have never danced either.. maybe just once - garba here in gainesville.
and though i (most probably) wont ever dance, for reasons i wouldnt like to explain here, i do like dance.
That scene which you have described - have you written it? or is it taken from somewhere?
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