Sweltering summer evening. Small wooden Church. Windows open against the heat admit the sounds of crickets and frogs. And wet night air. A couple stands and slowly walks to the front. He places his hands on the strings of a guitar, and she turns her face toward his. And from them sings a longing so deep I can't be sure if it's theirs or mine....
But I forget myself...
It's easy to do. The music seems to belong to another place. Another time.
Beyond time.
It takes our most intimate yearnings and makes them poetry. And gives them back to us. And our hearts hear them. And know them at once.
Painfully exquisite harmonies weave over and under, in and out. Sometimes they come alongside one another, caressing, sensuous. And then.....a unison....that seems to be two sides of the same breath.
And I am grateful that the instrumentation is clean and spare. Uncluttered. Every note chosen. Of purpose. Sometimes raucous and driving. Sometimes delicate as rain. Always right. Just right.
I finally give myself permission to add a third part. Sometimes. To sing with the two...to be lost in the music with them...is intense. And wonderful.
Love is hymned here. Love untasted, but missed. Love without end. Love bitter...and irresistible. Love lost. Love redemptive. Love whimsical. Love that might yet be....
I wonder if it is disingenuous to have fourteen favorite songs on the same album
and
I wonder how many songs there would have to be for me to not wish there were more....
Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars
Agreed! I can't stop listening to them! :) Thank you for the recommendation.
Posted by: Jen | 08 February 2011 at 08:42 AM