Tuesday, September 17, 2013

A beautiful song by Empire of the Sun

I fell in love with this song when it was released in 2008. The lyrics are somewhat cryptic, but when I hear the song, I am transported to another realm, helped by the dreamlike video. I am reminded of what's important in life when I hear it--love and personal relationships, but also that life does not last forever and that we must face losing those we love, as reflected in the words 'I can't do well when I think you're gonna leave me, but I know I try'. The leaving could be the end of a relationship, or it could be death. I think it is the latter. The imagery in the music video was inspired by the ancient Mexican festival Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) according to online sources. But to each his or her own interpretation. In any case, the song is beautiful and I'm including the YouTube video at the end of this post.  


We Are the People

We can remember swimming in December,

Heading for the city lights in 1975,
We share in each other,
Nearer than farther,
The scent of a lemon drips from your eyes

We are the people that rule the world
A force running in every boy and girl
All rejoicing in the world
Take me now' we can try

We lived an adventure
Love in the Summer
Followed the sun till night
Reminiscing other times of life
For each every other
The feeling was stronger
The shock hit eleven' Got lost in your eyes

I can't do well when I think you're gonna leave me
But I know I try
Are you gonna leave me now
Can't you be believing now

I can't do well when I think you're gonna leave me
But I know I try
Are you gonna leave me now
Can't you be believing now

Can you remember and humanize
It was still where we'd energized
Lie in the sand and visualize
Like it's 75 again

We are the people that rule the world
A force running in every boy and girl
All rejoicing in the world
Take me now' we can try

I can't do well when I think you're gonna leave me
But I know I try
Are you gonna leave me now
Can't you be believing now

I can't do well when I think you're gonna leave me
But I know I try
Are you gonna leave me now
Can't you be believing now

I know everything about you
You know everything about me
Know everything about us

I know everything about you
You know everything about me
Know everything about us

I can't do well when I think you're gonna leave me
But I know I try
Are you gonna leave me now
Can't you be believing now
(repeat 2X)

The Spinners--It's a Shame

I saw the movie The Holiday again recently, and one of the main characters had this song as his cell phone ringtone. I grew up with this mu...