“Far” by The Canopy Climbers, Friday, January 8, 2021

 

Back in college and a little after I used to get a bunch of free music from NoiseTrade. This song was on 2012 Holiday Road Trip Mix. In the mix there were artists from different states. None of the songs in the mix are tailored to a particular holiday, and I find that this song works just as well in the spring or fall as much as the winter. I love to listen to this song as I walk. I picture it being the song that plays in the middle of a movie to speed up time to relevant points in a movie. It's quite arrogant to think that my life is worthy of a movie, but I'm going to imagine the montage. First, listen to the song. And maybe read the lyrics.

IF HOME IS WHERE MY HEART IS SAFE, WHY DO YOU LEAD ME AWAY? I'm walking home from work under the shade of the ginkgo trees. First it's spring. The warm sunlight lights the sidewalk and the air is fresh. Traffic is crazy around me. Next it's later spring. I'm carrying my jacket in my hands. The light is stronger. Next it's summer and I'm in a short sleeve shirt button shirt, clean. The next shot I'm covered in sweat because it's bloody hot, even though it's six in the evening. Next light begins to shift and weaken. Fall is coming. The ginkgoes start turning yellow and the awful smelling fruit begins to drop. I play a game to avoid stepping on them. I lift my dress shoes to see if I stepped on any. The leaves start to thin more and more. Soon the trees are bare. The song slows down. Snow begins to fall. I shiver in a thin coat. "Where you lead, I will go" comes in. I'm in a thicker coat more sure of myself. "Where you go, I will will follow." I'm looking at my phone and I slip on the ice. I catch my footing. A middle aged store owner is sweeping the sidewalk in front of his store. The snow starts piling up.

THROUGH ALL THE NOISE AND THE LACK OF SILENCE. That was all cinematography and no story. However, if I every have the privilege to tell my story of Tyler becoming a competent teacher and falling in love and balancing his life and eventually making a difference doing something, you'd better believe that this song would be in the soundtrack.