Mood Music and Poetry

No matter what I'm feeling, I can usually find something something breathed out by another creative soul to catch my mood. Sometimes, that's a comforting thought - like when I realize that almost everything I feel (from physical desire to blind utter despair) is covered in the poetry of the Bible. Sometimes, it's absolutely chilling to know that my deepest fears and worst thoughts are represented by some artistic person in this world.

As a wanna-be novelist myself, anyone else's creative expression makes me feel that I am in unique company. I can't sing, but I hear songs and think, "Yes! That's just what it feels like." ("It" might be pain or worry or joy or madness.)

Though I love music, I often unintentionally re-write song lyrics as I sing them loudly (and badly, badly, badly) while dancing around my apartment. I try not to sing as loudly while I'm driving, or anywhere around the very young or very elderly for fear of causing internal organ trauma.

Before I get too far off subject, here are some songs and poems that fit certain moods. I hope you like them:

If you are sad

• x..... A Little Sadness (Auphy Zophy) love this!
• "Mmm" (Laura Izibor) not really a sad song, but comforting.
• "Sad Violin" (Thao Nguyen Xanh) beautiful, not depressing.
• "The Wolves" (Bon Iver) 
• "Sitting On the Dock of the Bay" (Otis Redding)
• "In the Upper Room" (Mahalia Jackson) comforting & hopeful
• Words from Psalm 56:8 always move me: Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

If you are in love, out of love or just confused

• Almost anything by D'Angelo, Melody Gardot, Ella Fitzgerald
• The Staple Singers and Marvin, of course. Just stay out of trouble.
• "To Be in Love" (Gwendolyn Brooks) my very favorite
• The Bible's Song of Solomon has a verse so beautiful, it might make you weep.
• This poem by Langston Hughes is reported as his first. It's another favorite poem.

Just because I loves you-

That's de reason why

My soul is full of color

Like de wings of a butterfly

Just because I loves you

That's de reason why

My heart's a fluttering aspen leaf

When you pass by (Hughes 28)

If you need to dance or do anything else to work off stress

• Beth Hart just kills it. She's so badass & I love her work. Get her if you need to move, pretend you can move or if you feel love.
• Go oldies with The Temps, Lionel, or LTD
• Go new with whoever you want to. I almost gave myself whiplash trying, so I'll stop here.

Getting back to mishearing lyrics, here's a fun fact: There is a name for mishearing/misquoting lyrics - "Mondegreen". Interesting...

More Interesting: The origin of the word.

Most Interesting: The one mondegreen I'm not guilty of is the funniest one ever. ("Desperado, you've been outright offensive, for so long now" (Real lyric: "You've been out riding fences," The Eagles.)

"In Da Club" (by 50 'Fitty' Cent) is one of my favorite songs to have a dancing fit to. My family will never, ever let me forget that I always heard the words as "We gonna slip a tardy" instead of, "We're gonna sip Bacardi." Think that's bad? This next line puts me in a league of my own: I hear "toes down, be's up" instead of "hoes down, G's up." (I just thought he was doing the country grammar thing!) That's what happens when someone my age listens to music way out of generation. (I still like my 'version' best.)

Peace
--Free