Playlist Power (AKA lyrics speak)
Lessons in Life School (Lesson 14)
Play to Listen.
La Cathédrale Engloutie
The familiar final piano chords of Debussy’s “La cathédrale engloutie” (“The Sunken Cathedral”) are fading away as I write. It happened to be the last piece on my “Liked Songs” playlist as I strolled around the neighborhood looking for inspiration to write and to reflect on this week’s lesson in Life School. As a piano student who once learned to play this song, I was taught that it depicts the legend of the rise out of the calm, morning sea of a beautiful cathedral (replete with chanting monks and bells and chimes) that then disappears back into the sea. A sort of rising and falling that reminds me of the ups and downs of life itself.
My liked songs playlist is eclectic, I suppose, and arose as my inspiration. Perhaps you, too, have had moments where just the right musical lyrics appeared at the right moment, almost as if some message were pushing through from the other side. I’ve had such a thing happen enough times in my life that I now enjoy “tuning in” just to see what I find. Perhaps sharing today’s reflections can serve as reminder that our Life Lessons are always present, if only we would notice.
Going for a Walk
We’ve been mighty busy lately as our oldest has secured an apartment and my husband and I have been helping his transition. For several days running it feels like we have been on full blast helping to pack, transport, and haul boxes and belongings. Then come the days of trips to stores to get whatever else is needed for settling in. In the meantime, a snowstorm hit our area - which means both the labor of shoveling and the beauty of a cleansing snowfall.
It is no surprise, then, that when it came time to write, I first needed to walk to clear my head and allow my muse to sing. And sing, she did.
“Here We Go” by Wild
The air is crisp, the sky is blue, the white snow nearly blinding. Ah, what a perfect start to a walk. And while I often walk only listening to the music of the birds and traffic, today feels like a good day for music.
Diving in
while the current’s fast
gotta leave the past - it’s in the past -
Yeah, I won’t look back.
Strike a match
watch the flames go higher
we can burn much brighter
if we don’t look back. . .
Darlin’, HERE WE GO.
The pounding beat of my most recent “liked song” syncs with my heart immediately. Boom. Boom. Boom. The heavy drum sound lifts me somehow. And I realize, “Sound can do that!” It has such an immediate impact. Even more, sound doesn’t have to be a song to create an impact - not at all - a voice (soothing or strident), the sounds of nature versus machines, or the sound of a gong all leave their mark. But here is the pounding beat and the prospect of powerful lyrics. Together, what did they have to offer?
The opening lines resonate with our present moment - Adam moving out and moving forward: “Diving in/ while the current’s fast. /Gotta leave the past /-the past’s the past- / Yeah, I won’t look back.”
But it also seems to speak to the present in general. So much change is upon us as humans that the past can’t seem to keep its grip like it used to. That’s why I especially appreciate the lyrics that follow: “Strike a match / we can burn much brighter / if we don’t look back. . . /Here we go.” In the light of the uncertainty and unknowns we all are facing, each of us can and do burn brighter from that light within as we strike out into the unknown together.
Here we go!
“Ripple (Cut Song)” from Spirited
Next, the light, rhythmical instrumental beat followed by Will Ferrell’s whimsical and saccharine voice sings:
All around the world the change is gaining some traction.
Reaching other planets (maybe aliens!)
From one man we began a chain reaction. . .
If you wanna make a ripple that can turn into a wave
[it’s] time to mean what we’re about
Gotta turn this mother out,
Friends, it’s just called being brave. . . .
While the lyrics and upbeat music unfolds, I pause on my stroll through the neighborhood compelled to take some photos. Somehow it just makes me feel balanced and better to notice nature’s patterns and beauty. (Don’t the trees stripped of leaves look just like the circulatory system?).
Crazy!
Ah, the lyrics, again resonate. I love this song for the hope it brings. With some bravery, we each have the power to create a ripple effect. That concept of ripple reminds me of the tone and its overtones of the gong (the “one note played”) that I play as therapy and restoration for people each week. Each strike of my mallet creates overlapping sound waves that ripple through the room and positively interact with clients on energetic and cellular levels. I’ve also come to believe my human ripple matters to them and on and on it goes - like that “chain reaction” destined to become a wave that Ferrell sings about. But to claim those ripples and waves, we do need a bit of bravery, too, don’t we?
“Better When I’m Dancin’” by Meghan Trainor
By this time with the music and the wintry air and beauty, I’m feeling pretty rejuvenated. How perfect then that the next song is “Better When I’m Dancin’.” It’s Latin rhythm instantly appeals, and I’m reminded of the circumstance that led me to the song in the first place; a friend on a group chat recommended it to another friend whom she knew loved to dance but who had been feeling down. “It’ll lift you up! It’ll make you want to dance,” she said. And so it does:
Don’t think about it.
Just move your body. . .
Listen to the music,
sing oh, ey, oh. . .
Show the world you’ve got that fire.
Feel that rhythm getting louder.. . .
Oh, we can do this together.
I bet you feel better when you’re dancing.
Yeah, yeah.
Now I’m feeling better too. Great, actually. I’m moving and dancing.
And taking more pictures!
See that?
Then I notice another pattern: two of the songs reference fire. It just so happens I have begun reading Bliss Brain by Dawson Church. He begins his latest book with a chapter recounting how he and his wife lost their house and all possessions in a California fire in 2017. The subheading of his book is “The Neuroscience of Remodeling Your Brain for Resilience, Creativity, and Joy.” So, as you can imagine, he uses himself as a case study in resilience after a huge trauma - the fire - while providing the latest scientific research findings. Believe it or not, it appears as though the science is leading toward specific meditative practices to hardwire our brains for resilience, creativity, and joy. Interesting. I look forward to learning more from his book in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, here I am, living my own little bit of bliss brain on my walk, a much needed break from the recent stresses of moves and transitions.
Which brings me to the present moment. I’m being summoned to go install a curtain rod and hang curtains at Adam’s apartment. . . I must be on my way.
(pause)
“On My Way” by Phil Collins
It’s not surprising that the next song up on my playlist was, “On My Way” from Disney’s film Brother Bear.
Tell everybody I’m on my way
New friends and new places to see
With blue skies ahead, yes,
I’m on my way
And there’s nowhere else that I’d rather be.
I love this song and these lyrics for it’s upbeat feel and the hope and promise it suggests for my children, just newly “on their way” in the world. I know it’s not nearly as easy or simple as this verse makes it sound; yet, I love the spirit of it and the way the sound of the instruments, vocals, and lyrics settles in my bones.
Tell everybody, I’m on my way
And I’m loving every step I take
With the sun beating down, yes
I’m on my way
And I can’t keep this smile off my face. . .
Ah, that’s me! On the walk - soaking up the sun, feeling good. A sort of bathing and basking in the light. Love it!
Life School does have a way of always being ready to offer something any moment of the day, if only we can become conscious enough to see it, feel it, and hear it. What is Life School showing you today as you are on your way?
And a final blessing, to you, the reader, and to myself and my children:
Not the snow, not the rain
Can change my mind
The sun will come out, wait and see,
and the feeling of the wind in your face
can lift your heart
Oh, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
References
Church, Dawson. Bliss Brain: The Neuroscience of Remodeling Your Brain for Resilience, Creativity, and Joy.
Collins, Phil. “On My Way.” Brother Bear Soundtrack. Spotify, 2003.
Debussy, Claude. “Preludes, Book 1: No. 10: La Cathédrale Engloutie.” Debussy: Piano Music, Vol. 4 - Preludes, Books 1 and 2. François-Joël Thiollier, pianist. Spotify, 1998.
Ferrell, Will and Ryan Reynolds. “Ripple (cut song).” Spirited (sound track from the Apple Original Film). Spotify, 2022.
Trainor, Meghan. “Better When I’m Dancin’.” Spotify, 2015.
Wild. “Here We Go.” Spotify, 2018.
You can find all of my series in the archives:
Adulting 101 Coupons: A Gift from your Parents
Partnering 101: A Deep Dive into Leaving Kindly
Me-Time: Self-care in the time of Covid
Reasons for Hope
From Fog to Flow
With a Grateful Heart
Lessons in Life School
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Writer. Gong Player. Teacher.
Find more of my writing at GreenBaytoKorea.blogspot.com
Learn about my business at CelestialSoundGB.com
On Instagram @applebb09
All photos by © Brenda Brayko 2023 unless otherwise credited.
Love how you see patterns in all things!
Loved this one.. especially the face poses! Did you know that by sticked out your tongue as far as you can will tighten up you under chin and neck muscles and prevent turkey neck?? Too late for me but not for you.... not that you would ever get a turkey neck....well, except maybe on Thanksgiving??