I am so in touch with my inner 12 year old boy this spring, in part, because of my having been cut loose of the most difficult
responsibilities & being cognizant of my audacious happiness, happiness
that I may have given up ever living with again.
I was so happy today, even though I should be on the most cautious of budgets, I bought a turntable! In one week, a bicycle & a turntable! I appreciate that the same stuff that I swooned over 46 years ago still thrills me. I didn't even have to mow any lawns to come up with the dough. Getting old turns out to not be so bad. As long as I am still in the game, I’ll play.
I was so happy today, even though I should be on the most cautious of budgets, I bought a turntable! In one week, a bicycle & a turntable! I appreciate that the same stuff that I swooned over 46 years ago still thrills me. I didn't even have to mow any lawns to come up with the dough. Getting old turns out to not be so bad. As long as I am still in the game, I’ll play.
When I chanced upon the tid-bit that May 1 is the
birthday of Jazz artist Shirley Horn & my musical senses went immediately
to her recording of Here’s To Life. Tonight, as the first day of May exits, I
feel as if this song was being sung just to me.
She was decidedly not gay & not really a Gay Icon,
but on her birthday, I want celebrate Shirley Horn’s amazing ability to
accompany herself with nearly incomparable independence & ability on the
piano while singing, something that I have only tried a few times, & when I
did it in the musical- Pump Boys & Dinettes in the early 1990s, I only got
away with it because it had a rock score.
Horn had a lush, smoky contralto, which begged the
listener in close with her compelling confidential& vibrato-less delivery.
Horn's reputation rode on her ballad work, with one of the slowest deliveries
in jazz & a very unusual way of phrasing. I am looking forward to
appropriating my parent's Horn albums on vinyl on my next visit to see them. I am also looking forward to my
new life in Hi-Fidelity.
No complaints & no regrets
I still believe in chasing dreams & placing bets
For I have learned that all you give
Is all you get
So give it all you’ve got
I had my share, I drank my fill
& even though I’m satisfied,
I’m hungry still.
To see what’s down another road
Beyond the hill
& do it all again
So here’s to life,
& all the joy it brings.
Yes, here’s to life
& dreamers & their dreams
Funny, funny how the time just flies
How love can go from warm
& those to sad goodbyes
& leave you with the memories you memorize
To keep your winters warm
How love can turn from warm hellos to sad goodbyes
& leave you with the memories
You’ve memorized
To keep your winters warm.
There’s no yes in yesterday
& who knows what tomorrow brings
Or takes away
As long as I’m still in the game I want to play
For laughs, for life, for love.
So here’s to life & all the joy it brings
Yes, here’s to life
& dreamers & their dreams
May all your storms be weathered
& all that’s good get better
Here’s to life, here’s to love, here’s to you.
May all your storms be weathered
& all that’s good get better
Here’s to life, here’s to love, here’s to you.
May all your storms be weathered
& all that’s good get better
Here’s to life, here’s to love, here’s to you.
Molinary/Butler
1962
What an interesting adjective to use, "audacious." I'd like to hear more about what lies behind that choice of term regarding your feeling of happiness these days. I wonder if some measure of audacity is actually required in order for a particularly exhilarating kind of happiness to present itself. Buying yourself those things, going against commonsense financial prudence -- a palpable show of faith in the future? In any event, congratulations on your new record player and all the future pleasure it brings. I ditched my CDs, sold 'em all to Everyday Music, and went back to vinyl a couple of years ago and it's certainly been wonderful for me. I have my digital downloads still, but I prefer listening to to records. Shopping for them is so much fun.
ReplyDeleteThis song, which I'd never heard, instantly resonated. I think I heard it at the perfect time for me. A match of song and listener isn't enough -- timing is important too. There's a suggestion of weariness in her delivery, an undertone of sadness even, that complicates the lyrics, for me anyway. It's as if she's trying to convince herself that she really does have it in her to "do it all again." But maybe that's just me. Those of us given to melancholy tend to see evidence of it everywhere.
I had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Horn at Yoshi's in Oakland many years back. What a wonderful experience that was.
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