I love me some horoscopes, and how each one reveals things about us that are amazingly true and accurate. Of course, there are also those moments, when you read them and go, who is that? For me and for the most part, those things are surprisingly close to who I actually am, so I tend to regard those seemingly not-so-me parts as yellow flags - I mean they could be the me that I'm too proud to remember (or too sober) or they could be me coming up... You can learn some interesting things about yourself when you're reading those 'scopes, but it's more interesting to me to learn more about my friends and family. Some of that stuff kinda wows you, some of it even makes you gasp in surprise and wonder, and some revelations leave you wondering if you ever really know a person (I mean, how much do we really want to know? How much will we ever get to know?)
But horoscopes are second on my list of "getting to know you" tactics. I consider myself to be a rather musical person. I think in terms of melodies, write with rhythm in mind and surround myself with a neverending flow of tunes. I've found that the people I love the most feel the same way about music and how it impacts our lives. I admire and am infinitely tickled by how whenever we talk, somehow "you gotta hear this song I'm listening to right now!" always crops up into the conversation. It peppers our exchanges, and it's the BEST thing when your song becomes your friend's song.
That's where I am right now. As y'all know, I am constantly documenting my mood swings and struggles to "find myself." And you know that what comforts me the most is when one of you says "me too!" That happened for me last week.
A great friend of mine, someone who always manages to challenge me to think in a different way, sent the following song to me. It included her thoughts interspersed with the verses, and like those horoscopes, I saw a little bit of what I knew and so much more about her that I'd never even glimpsed.
Yet unlike a horoscope, this song holds things for me too, and that is the goodness that I am talking about. It's so important and revealing and fun and necessary. I listen to this song, Vienna by the GREAT Billy Joel, and I consider it as a scope on myself as I am right now and a glimpse of who I can be. That's what songs are about, right? Soundtracks to our lives.
I am passing this song along, one, because that's what Billy Joel intended - for his music to reach the world - and, two, because I suspect that it may tell you some things about yourself, too. I hope it does.
I also hope that more lyrics find their way into the days of our lives and continue to open us up.
Enjoy!
Vienna
Slow down you crazy child You're so ambitious for a juvenile But then if you're so smart tell me why You are still so afraid? Where's the fire, what's the hurry about? You better cool it off before you burn it out You got so much to do and only So many hours in a day
But you know that when the truth is told That you can get what you want Or you can just get old You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through When will you realize...Vienna waits for you
Slow down you're doing fine You can't be everything you want to be Before your time Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight Too bad but it's the life you lead You're so ahead of yourself That you forgot what you need Though you can see when you're wrong You know you can't always see when you're right
You got your passion you got your pride But don't you know only fools are satisfied? Dream on but don't imagine they'll all come true When will you realize Vienna waits for you
Slow down you crazy child Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while It's alright you can afford to lose a day or two When will you realize... Vienna waits for you. -Billy Joel
*So, two things:
1. What's your song, baby? and, 2. I want to know about it, if Vienna speaks to you, too =) I'm gonna share my interpretations of this song in my next post!