A musical interlude.
Some days, I run across a song that says what I’m thinking far more eloquently than I could. One of my new favorite bands is an amazing group called The Arcadian Wild. If you haven’t discovered their music, I highly recommend looking them up. This time in quarantine has given me a huge amount of unencumbered time to dive into the rabbit hole of Spotify to discover new-to-me groups, and this is the favorite of my newly-discovered bands.
Spoiler alert – I am going to book this group for my theater if there’s any way I can make it happen.
Anyway, while listening to their catalogue, I ran across the following song. Today, this sums up how I feel as I labor at my job and wonder just why I am doing what I am doing. All of my work – job, volunteer, whatever – it feels utterly futile to me sometimes, and “The Anthem of Mr. Dark” puts a finger on some of the same things I am feeling today.
I will link to a YouTube audio at the end of the lyrics.
THE ANTHEM OF MR. DARK
By The Arcadian Wild
I never have the time to do the nothing that I want to do
I’m always rushing around being what other people want me to be
Well, the fabric of my soul is frayed and falling apart at the seams
I’m tied up and tied down by the strings of other people’s dreams
I’m starting to see that that isn’t me
My freedom isn’t free
All I really want is some room to breathe
CHORUS
Someday, I’ll learn to say “No!”
Find a way to lighten my load
People take possession of the pieces of my weary heart
I’ll learn to let go, and learn to say “No!
Feeling like a lion lying down behind the bars of this cage
The king of the beasts is now the king of this enclosed space
Wear and tear and worry, they’ve been drawing their lines on my face
I feel a whole lot older than my chronological age
I’m starting to see that that isn’t me
My freedom isn’t free
All I really want is some room to be me
CHORUS
Give us your time and give us your money
Just lay down your body, there’s no sense in running
Now cut off your hair and put on a tie
Just do what you’re told without wondering why
Don’t ask for a reason, no matter the season
Sit down and comply, ’cause we don’t want no free men
We’ll say what you are, decide what you’re not
You’ll go, and you’ll go, and you never will stop.
It’s only Quarantine if it comes from the Quarante province of France. Otherwise, it’s just Sparkling Isolation.
Sparkling Isolation – Day 131