I saw Lanterns on the Lake on a small stage in Stockholm and this song was one of their closing acts. It was January this year, I was with my good friend Malin, it was cold, dark, snowy and melancholic as only Stockholm can be in the winter. I remember feeling so privileged to see them. It was majestic, magnificent and powerful.
You learn fear is just a fleeting thing.
You learn love is not a fleeting thing.
A friend introduced me to this song about two years ago. It remains on my playlist today because it’s exciting, jovial and full of energy. It’s the kind of song that makes you feel like closing down the laptop, running outside and dancing in the rain.
GET ALIVE!!!
I think I’ve never encountered such a fitting name for a song before: if you ever broke something that thought you couldn’t live without, I imagine it would feel like this song. Let me take you through the short but intense journey.
First 11 seconds – Denial. “I refuse to believe that this just happened”
12 – 18 seconds – Confusion. “It happened, but I can’t yet grasp what it means”
19 – 35 seconds – Realisation and grief. “I want to pull my heart out”
36 seconds – 1:00 minute – Dwelling and depression. “It hurts so much, I will never heal”
1:01 – 1:29 – Acceptance. “I have to accept that it’s lost”
1:30 – 1:33 – Silence
I don’t know anything about Ryan Vail. Nothing. When you google him the first few hits are images and the blog of a professional distance runner. Somehow, I don’t think this is the same guy. There is a website, with nothing on it. There is a Facebook page with 3,188 likes. Clearly, Ryan Vail is up and coming. I would like to think I’m in the know and I’m sharing this insider tip with you right now, but finding this song was a complete accident. Either way, I love it and hope you do to.
Self-reflection is good, but like all good things, balance is necessary. Sometimes, I find myself looking a little too greatly inward. My troubles seem immense, my thoughts far too complicated and my world nonsensical. This song helps me step outside my own messy thoughts and pretend that through connection with others, I’m able to leave my troubled mind behind. Travelling around America on a motorcycle is a liberating experience and I’m embracing this song. While the lyrics are hard to make sense of, this is kick back to the freeing, intoxicating, calming sounds of Help Me Lose My Mind by Disclosure (ft. London Grammar). Enjoy it!
Souad Massi, an Algerian woman who sings in five languages, who faced death threats due to political lyrics in the 90’s, who cut her hair and tried to disguise herself as as a man but eventually had to leave the country. Beautiful voice and mesmerising songs, I’m a fan.
3 Women 3 Journeys 