for the journey...

seattle sunset, august 08

did you say you were headed out...on your own...on a journey? i think you mentioned that. i think you mentioned you were on your way...headed around a new corner, walking down a different street. i think that is what you are up to. i think you mentioned you were doing something just for you these days...thinking about focusing on yourself for a bit. leaning forward into life and love and hope.

is that what you are up to these days?
yes?

well, i'd like to share some songs i am taking along with me. i thought you might want to listen to a few. maybe even all of them.
in this very order.

i think they might give you exactly what you need. right now. because i think you just might need a dance break, a few songs for singing, a song to sing to one you love, a song to sing to you, a song for twirling, a song or two for remembering, a song to remind you that you are not alone, a song to tuck you in at night, a song to keep you going and to make you laugh and to let the tears gently fall....and...of course...some tina turner.

*****

the old apartment. barenaked ladies
don't ask me why. billy joel
raspberry beret. prince
mother and child reunion. paul simon
stop, stop, stop. the hollies
ob-la-di, ob-la-da. the beatles
galileo. indigo girls
songbird. fleetwood mac
army of one. cass fox
orbiting. the weepies
goodnight elizabeth. counting crows
if these walls could speak. nanci griffith
let me touch you for awhile. alison kraus and union station
sweet baby james. james taylor (one man band)
louisiana woman, mississippi man. conway twitty & loretta lynn
ruby don't take your love to town. kenny rogers
kentucky woman. neil diamond
blackbird. the beatles
three of us in a boat. jackopierce
sometimes a fantasy. billy joel
can't slow down. lionel richie
better be good to me. tina turner
kiss. prince and the revolution
somewhere over the rainbow/what a wonderful world. iz
power of two. indigo girls
a brid flies out. deb talan
joleen. ray lamontagne
i play music. rosie thomas

songs overheard this morning

flower burst at metropolitan market, 12 november 2007

the "if you find yourself needing to breathe in goodness and exhale calm while a dentist drills in your mouth for 2.5 hours" playlist*:


"the lucky one" by allison krauss and union station
"dandelion" by antje duvekot
"like a star" by corrine bailey rae
"fly away" by the indigo girls
"traverse city" by daytime volume
"a bird flies out" by deb talan
"most of me" by mandy moore
"easy silence" by the dixie chicks
"everything" by michale buble
"we walk the same line" by everything but the girl
"songbird" by fleetwood mac
"johannesburg" by the housemartins
"these photographs" by joshua radin
"just remember i love you" by firefall
"extraordinary" by mandy moore
"closer to fine" by the indigo girls
"once upon a time there was an ocean" by paul simon
"walking in memphis" by marc cohen
"tenderness" by deb talan
"main title" from the american president
"landslide" by fleetwood mac
"let it be me" by rosie thomas
"anything at all" by sarah olsen
"brave" by stephanie dosen
"wartime prayers" by paul simon
"twilight" by mary chapin carpenter
"virginia woolf" by the indigo girls**
"i hope" by the dixie chicks
"everything'll be alright (will's lullabye)" by joshua radin
"simple life" by the weepies
"white sandy beach of hawaii" by iz

*i suggest playing it on shuffle so you can always be surprised as to the next song
**it had been a few months since i had heard this most favorite of songs. and tonight, i listen to it again and slip it on like a comfortable old sweater...

overheard while walking in circles, week 3

Deb Talan reminds me:
Now you only dream in peaceful blue
The morning doesn't even scare you anymore
You are a phoenix with your feathers still a little wet
Baby, the ashes just look pretty on your eyes.

The Cranberries picks up the pace with:
Oh my life is changing everyday
Every possible way

Frou Frou sings:
So let go, jump in
Oh well, whatcha waiting for

Keith Urban keeps me going with:
'Cause days go by
I can feel 'em flyin'
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by
Yeah it's all we've been given,
So you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by.

Kelly Clarkson invites a little grin with:
But since you've been gone
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so movin' on
Yeah yeah
Thanks to you
Now I get
What I want
Since you've been gone

Dashboard Confessional sings a few of my current favorite lines:
I watch you spin around
In the highest heels
You are the best one
Of the best ones

Tina Turner does what she does best with:
Cause I don't have no use
For what you losely call the truth
You better be good to me

The Dixie Chicks remind me of the truth:
Well, I fought with a stranger and I met myself
I opened my mouth and I heard myself
It can get pretty lonely when you show yourself
Guess I could have made it easier on myself

But I, I could never follow

Paul Simon sings his sweet song:
I figure that once upon a time I was an ocean
But now I'm a mountain range
Something unstoppable set into motion
Nothing is different, but everything's changed

the "no one is going to stop me (not even me)" playlist

"Ashes on Your Eyes" by Deb Talan
"Let Go" by Frou Frou
"Days Go By" by Keith Urban
"Since You've Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson
"Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional
"You Better Be Good to Me" by Tina Turner
"The Long Way Around" by the Dixie Chicks
"Once Upon Time There Was an Ocean" by Paul Simon

overheard while walking in a circle, weeks 1 and 2

Deb Talan sang:
Tell your story to anyone who'll listen
Tell your story
Don't stop talking
Just tell your story walking

Natalie Maine's reminded:
I know you said
Why can't you just get over it
It turned my whole world around
And I kind of like it

Neil Diamond encouraged:
Can't stand still while the music is playin'

Paul Simon picks up the tempo:
Gone at last, gone at last
I had a long streak of bad luck
But I pray it's gone at last

Tina Turner spoke her truth:
And I never lost one minute of sleeping
Worrying bout the way things might have been

Keith Urban kept me going with:
My troubles behind me
I'm alive and I'm free
Who wouldn't wanna be me

Natalie Maines pushed me forward:
Well, I fought with a stranger and I met myself
I opened my mouth and I heard myself
It can get pretty lonely when you show yourself
Guess I could have made it easier on myself

But I, I could never follow

And, Deb Talan invited in healing:
Dry your wings in the sun
You have only begun to understand

The "do I really have to do this" playlist:

"Tell Your Story" by Deb Talan
"Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks
"Cherry, Cherry" by Neil Diamond
"Gone at Last" by Paul Simon
"Proud Mary" by Tina Turner
"Who Wouldn't Want to be Me" by Keith Urban
"The Long Way Around" by the Dixie Chicks
"Ashes on Your Eyes" by Deb Talan