It’s been a while since I’ve listened to some spoken word artists. While this piece you’re about to listen to isn’t strictly spoken word, it’s still pretty good. It’s like a poem wrapped up in a story, wrapped up in a song. Sage takes his rhymes and weaves them into a story that you can follow, all to the beat of some instrumentals.
Hope you enjoy!
The Best of Times
Sage Francis
It’s been a long and lonely trip but I’m glad that I took it because it was well worth it. I got to read a couple books and do some research before I reached my verdict. Never thought that I was perfect. Always thought that I had a purpose. Used to wonder if I’d live to see my first kiss.
The most difficult thing I ever did was recite my own words at a service realizing the person I was addressing probably wasn’t looking down from heaven. Or cooking up something in hell’s kitchen, trying to listen in or eaves drop from some another dimension. It was self serving just like this is.
Conveniently religious on Easter Sunday and on Christmas. The television went from being a babysitter to a mistress. Technology made it easy for us to stay in touch while keeping a distance, ’til we just stayed distant and never touched. Now all we do is text too much.
I don’t remember much from my youth. Maybe my memory is repressed. Or I just spent too much time wondering if I’d live to have sex. Fell in love for the first time in 4th grade but I didn’t have the courage to talk to her. In 8th grade I wrote her the note but I slipped it in someone else’s locker.
Considered killing myself cause of that. It was a big deal. It was a blown cover. It was over for me. My goose was cooked. Stick a fork it me. The jig is up. I blew my chances, the rest is history, our future was torn asunder. It became abundantly clear that I was only brought here to suffer.
At least I didn’t include my name. Thankfully I wrote the whole note in code and it had 10 layers of scotch tape safety seal making it impossible to open. Plus, it was set to self destruct. Whoever read it probably died laughing. I wonder if they lived long enough to realize what happened.
A year later, I came to understand that wasn’t love that I was feeling for her. I had someone else to obsess over. I was older. I was very mature. I forged my time signature while practicing my parents autograph cause I was failing math. Disconnected the phone when I thought the teacher would call my home.
I checked the mailbox twice a day at the end of a long dirt road. Steamed open a couple envelopes like I was in private detective mode. If you snoop around long enough for something in particular you’re guaranteed to find it. For better or worse that’s how I learned that it’s best to just keep some things private. It was the best of times. It was the end of times.
It was the best of times. It was the end of times. I was always on deck, I was next in line. An only child with a pen and pad writing a list of things that I could never have. The walls in my house were paper thin. Every squabble seemed to get deafening. If my memory serves me correctly I made it a point to void and forget some things. Probably to keep from being embarrassed. Never meant to upset or give grief to my parents. Kept my secrets hid my talents in my head, never under the mattress.
Therapy couldn’t break me. Never learned a word that would insure safety. So I spoke softly and I tip toed often. The door to my room was like a big old coffin. The way that it creeked when I closed it shut. Anxieties peaked when it opened up. As if everything that I was thinking would be exposed. I still sleep fully clothed. It was the best of times. It was the end of times.
It was beautiful. It was brutal. It was cruel. It was business as usual.
Heaven. It was hell. Used to wonder if I’d live to see 12.
When I did I figured that I was immortal. Loved to dance but couldn’t make it to the formal. Couldn’t bear watching my imaginary girlfriend bust a move with any other dudes.
Tone Loc was talking bout a Wild Thang but I was still caught up in some child thangs. Scared of a God who couldn’t spare the rod. It was clearly a brimstone and fire thang.
Pyromaniac. Kleptomaniac. Couldn’t explain my desire to steal that fire. Now I add it to my rider. Like Please oh please don’t throw me in that patch of brier! It was the best of times. It was the end of times.
The school counselor was clueless cause I never skipped classes. Perfect attendance. Imperfect accent. Speech impediment they could never really fix and I faked bad eyesight so I could wear glasses.
Considered doing something that would cripple me.I wanted a wheelchair. I wanted the sympathy. I wanted straight teeth so then came braces. 4 years of head gear helped me change faces. It was the best of times. It was the end of times.
Now I wonder if I’ll live to see marriage. Wonder if I’ll live long enough to have kids. Wonder if I’ll live to see my kids have kids. If I do I’m gonna tell em how it is.
Don’t listen when they tell you that these are your best years. Don’t let anybody protect your ears. It’s best that you hear what they don’t want you to hear. It’s better to have pressure from peers than not have peers. Beer won’t give you chest hair. Spicy food won’t make it curl. When you think you’ve got it all figured out and then your universe collapses trust me, kid it’s not the end of the world.
Here’s a fun fact about me, I love the song Ave Maria. in fact, I have nine different versions of it in my music library. I’m sure that I’ve sung this song at least once when I was a part of the children’s choir at St. Luke Catholic Church and I can still remember Mr. Delvecchio telling us how to pronounce each word in Latin. It wasn’t until years later that I realized the words we were singing were the words to the "Hail Mary" prayer.
Sometimes I just close my eyes and imagine that I’m in an old Gothic cathedral as the sounds of the music echo throughout the stone sanctuary. The room is full of so much color as the light passes through the stained glass windows.
It is such a beautiful arrangement and I love the version that Christina England sings. Her voice is so clear and beautiful. Have a listen, I think you’ll see what I mean.
Latin Catholic Prayer Version
Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Maria, gratia plena,
Maria, gratia plena,
Ave, Ave, Dominus,
Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus,
Et benedictus fructus ventris,
Ventris tui, Jesus.
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria, Mater Dei,
Ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
Ora, ora pro nobis;
Ora, ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
Nunc et in hora mortis,
In hora mortis nostrae.
In hora, hora mortis nostrae,
In hora mortis nostrae.
Ave Maria!
Direct English Translation
Ave Maria, full of grace,
Maria, full of grace,
Maria, full of grace,
Hail, Hail, the Lord
The Lord is with you.
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed,
Blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Thy womb, Jesus.
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Pray, pray for us;
Pray for us sinners,
Now, and at the hour of our death,
The hour of our death.
The hour, the hour of our death,
The hour of our death.
Ave Maria!
I’ve been looking for some new music and came across Matt White’s new song, "Falling in Love (With My Best Friend)." It’s a pretty easy going song and actually sounds similar to his other song, "Love." Enjoy!
Falling In Love (With My Best Friend)
Matt White
It’s so good
What we got
You and me
We laugh a lot
We’re just friends
Simple as that
I don’t want it to end
But I’m falling in love
with the best friend I got
They say you don’t want to fall in love
You don’t really want to mess this up
You don’t really want to fall in love
Because falling in love just breaks your heart
If we kiss
If we touch
All of this
Could get rough
Ain’t no thing
Ain’t no strings
Ain’t no I love you, you love me
We won’t get caught up in the stuff it brings
They say you don’t want to fall in love
You don’t really want to mess this up
You don’t really want to fall in love
Because falling in love just breaks your heart
They say you don’t want to fall in love
You don’t really want to mess this up
You don’t really want to fall in love
Because falling in love just breaks your heart
You don’t want to fall in love
You don’t really want to mess this up
You don’t really want to fall in love
Because falling in love just breaks your heart
Falling in love just breaks your heart
Falling in love just breaks your heart
Falling in love just broke my heart
I have to say that I was clearly distracted this morning at church, but that all changed as we moved into the baptism part of the service. Many of the first to be baptized were children and then the adults. There were two baptisms that brought tears to my eyes. The first one was a middle school girl whose parents had recently divorced.
The second person that caught my attention was a man who had just begun to recognize what was really important in his life when his wife told him that she was filing for divorce.
My heart broke so much for these two people who were coming from two different situations, but both being washed by the redeeming waters of the baptismal. I know from personal experience how hard a divorce can be, but I also know that while one chapter in their life is "ruined," the story of their life is not over. I came to realize this several years ago when I realized that my circumstances didn’t dictate who I was going to be and that the saving power of Jesus can give new life.
As I think about divorce, one of the songs that has resonated with me over the years is Wonderful by Everclear. It’s a great song that speaks to the pain that divorce causes. What this song fails to do is show that life does go on and that things do get better.
Wonderful
Everclear
I close my eyes when I get too sad
I think thoughts that I know are bad
Close my eyes and I count to ten
Hope it’s over when I open them
I want the things that I had before
Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door
I wish I could count to ten
Make everything be wonderful again
Hope my mom and I hope my dad
Will figure out why they get so mad
Hear them scream, I hear them fight
They say bad words that make me wanna cry
Close my eyes when I go to bed
And I dream of angels who make me smile
I feel better when I hear them say
Everything will be wonderful someday
Promises mean everything when you’re little
And the world’s so big
I just don’t understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
Tell me everything is wonderful now
Please don’t tell me everything is wonderful now
I go to school and I run and play
I tell the kids that it’s all okay
I laugh aloud so my friends won’t know
When the bell rings I just don’t wanna go home
Go to my room and I close my eyes
I make believe that I have a new life
I don’t believe you when you say
Everything will be wonderful someday
Promises mean everything when you’re little
And the world is so big
I just don’t understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
When you tell me everything is wonderful now
No
No, I don’t wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now
No
No, I don’t wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now
I don’t wanna hear you say
That I will understand someday
No, no, no, no
I don’t wanna hear you say
You both have grown in a different way
No, no, no, no
I don’t wanna meet your friends
And I don’t wanna start over again
I just want my life to be the same
Just like it used to be
Some days I hate everything
I hate everything
Everyone and everything
Please don’t tell me everything is wonderful now…
I don’t wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now
I’ve been looking for some new music lately and couldn’t really find anything that interested me. So I did what I normally do when this happens, I looked through my music library and started to look for new music from artists I already have. I was pretty happy to stumble across this song by Dave Barnes, I hope you enjoy!
God Gave Me You
Dave Barnes
I’ve been a walking heartache
I’ve made a mess of me
The person that I’ve been lately
Ain’t who I wanna be
But you stay here right beside me
Watch as the storm goes through
And I need you
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you
There’s more here than what were seeing
A divine conspiracy
That you, an angel lovely
Could somehow fall for me
You’ll always be love’s great martyr
Ill be the flattered fool
and I need you
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you
On my own I’m only
Half of what I could be
I can’t do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I could baby, never undo
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you, gave me you.
Gave me you.
